Cory Driscoll v. Montgomery Cnty. Bd. of Comm'rs

── Cory Driscoll v. Montgomery Cnty. Bd. of Comm'rs ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Date: April 23, 2026 Category: General RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION Pursuant to Sixth Circuit I.O.P. 32.1(b) File Name: 26a0121p.06 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT ┐ CORY DRISCOLL, │ Plaintiff-Appellee, │ │ v. > No. 24-4060 │ │ MONTGOMERY COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY │ COMMISSIONERS, et al., │ Defendants, │ │ │ JENNIFER L. SMILEY, Deputy, in her official and │ personal capacity, │ Defendant-Appellant. │ ┘ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio at Dayton. No. 3:22-cv-00287—Thomas M. Rose, District Judge. Argued: October 23, 2025 Decided and Filed: April 23, 2026 Before: WHITE, STRANCH, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges. _________________ COUNSEL ARGUED: Andrew T. French, MONTGOMERY COUNTY PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE, Dayton, Ohio, for Appellant. J. Robert Linneman, SANTEN & HUGHES, Cincinnati, Ohio, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Joshua T. Shaw, MONTGOMERY COUNTY PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE, Dayton, Ohio, for Appellant. J. Robert Linneman, H. Louis Sirkin, SANTEN & HUGHES, Cincinnati, Ohio, Becca Steinberg, Brian Wolfman, Regina Wang, GEORGETOWN LAW APPELLATE COURTS IMMERSION CLINIC, Washington, D.C., for Appellee. WHITE, J., delivered the opinion of the court in which STRANCH, J., concurred. MURPHY, J. (pp. 20–30), delivered a separate dissenting opinion.  No. 24-4060 Driscoll v. Montgomery Cnty. Bd. of Comm’rs, et al. Page 2 _________________ OPINION _________________ HELENE N. WHITE, Circuit Judge. Plaintiff Cory Driscoll brought constitutional and state tort claims against Defendant Deputy Sheriff Jennifer Smiley after she shot him. Deputy Smiley appeals the denial of her motion for summary judgment based on qualified immunity and state statutory immunity. We AFFIRM. I. Factual Background On May 10, 2020, at Possum Creek MetroPark in Montgomery County, Ohio, Cory Driscoll began making noises that sounded like “rolling his R’s.” R. 38, Page ID 498. He says he was engaged in “prayer and meditation,” while “speak[ing] in tongues.” R. 29-1, Page ID 304-05; R. 38, Page ID 498. Driscoll has been diagnosed with schizoaffective and bipolar disorders which cause manic episodes where he finds it “difficult . . . to control [his] movement, [his] verbal communication, and [his] thinking.” R. 29-1, Page ID 304. Park visitors came upon Driscoll and found his conduct concerning. They approached his car to offer help but he ignored them. One of the visitors, Marisah Roberts, contacted the Montgomery Regional Dispatch Center non-emergency line and requested help. When asked, she told dispatch that she did not see any weapons, but that she may have seen a lighter in Driscoll’s car. Driscoll ignored the park visitors and, while Roberts spoke with dispatch, left hi