MALVERN — A federal appeals court panel has upheld a lower court ruling that an Arkansas state trooper can be sued by the family of a man who died after being arrested on a driving while intoxicated charge.
The three-judge panel of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 in an opinion released Wednesday that Trooper Zachary Owens is not entitled to immunity. The opinion says the allegations are sufficient that Owens "acted with deliberate indifference" and created "an inference of malice."
Owens allegedly failed to seek medical attention for Jeffry Barton when Barton was arrested in 2011 after an auto accident in Malvern.
Barton died several hours later in a holding cell.
The dissenting judge wrote that Owens couldn't have known Barton had a heart condition that would contribute to his death.