Lawsuit against Huber Heights cop settled

The lawsuit stems from a 2014 incident in which a former resident said the officer mistreated her.

An excessive force federal lawsuit against a Huber Heights police officer was settled for $10,000, according to city and federal court records.

Marcia Laning, then 63, claimed she was mistreated when officer Brian M. Doyle handcuffed her and pinned her to the hood of his squad car after he stopped her for a traffic violation in January 2013.

The interaction between Laning and Doyle was recorded by a police cruiser camera. The video was released to whio.com in January 2014.

The settlement, obtained by this news organization after a public records request, stipulates that Laning and her husband, Franklin, don’t comment publicly about the terms.

In October, the Huber Heights city council passed a resolution authorizing Huber Heights city manager Rob Schommer to “take whatever steps are necessary to effectuate the settlement of that certain litigation.”

Schommer, Huber Heights’ police chief when the incident took place, did not return a message seeking comment.

Alan Gabel, one of the Lanings’ attorneys, said the couple felt they had to move from Huber Heights so they sold their house and relocated to Florida. Gabel said he could not comment on the settlement.

In March 2015, U.S. District Court Judge Walter Rice dismissed some of the suit’s charges but allowed others to move forward.

“It shows pretty well when (Doyle) sticks the Taser at her and threatens her and picks her up and puts her down — not gently — on that car,” Gabel said in 2015. “It’s not right. He shouldn’t be doing that.”

Doyle, who has since been promoted to detective, did not face any discipline for the incident, according to a late 2013 review of his personnel file from when the case was originally filed in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court.

A separate 2012 federal lawsuit against Doyle and others which also alleged misconduct against a woman was dismissed by summary judgment in December 2014.

“If we can get this to a jury and the jury sees that tape, I suspect that there will be some monetary damages forthcoming,” Gabel said last year. “Furthermore, we’d like to see, if not already done, disciplinary action taken against (Doyle).”

A dash-cam recording of the incident shows Doyle pulling Laning over for what he termed a marked lane violation. Laning pulled into the parking lot where she works and backed her vehicle into a parking spot.

Laning allegedly didn’t immediately comply with Doyle’s commands and he pulled his Taser and threatened to fire it at her. Later, the 6-foot-2, 215-pound officer twice pinned the 5-foot-2, 140-pound Laning against his squad car.

As she was pinned against the hood of the police vehicle, Laning said, “I didn’t do anything.” As Laning is crying, Doyle asks, “What is your deal?” and later adds, “This lady is … nuts.”

After he placed Laning in his squad car, Doyle tells other officers his knee hurts because he hit it on his cruiser “when I planted her on the hood.”

Prosecutors dismissed resisting arrest and failure to comply charges against Laning, who was found not guilty of the traffic violation.

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