PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. — A man who was body slammed by a Paulding County sheriff's deputy in a 2022 incident that was caught on dashcam video has sued that deputy, since terminated, and the sheriff.
The man, Tyler Canaris, filed a federal lawsuit on Sept. 22 claiming civil rights violations and seeking unspecified damages for "his physical and mental pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and emotional distress."
It accuses the ex-deputy, Michael McMaster, of having a "history and problem with anger management which caused him to abuse and violate the constitutional rights of citizens" and Sheriff Gary Gulledge of failing "to take any corrective action to address these issues with Defendant McMaster until nearly a year after the incident."
"We are aware of the civil suit that was filed and due to the pending civil and potential criminal litigation, we cannot comment any further than we already have previously," the Paulding County Sheriff's Office public information officer said in an email in response to the lawsuit.
The body slamming incident occurred in March 2022, and 11Alive reported on the dashcam video after it began circulating online in February this year. Attorneys for Canaris said in February they planned to file suit, and a week later the dashcam video was officially released by the sheriff's office.
McMaster was shortly thereafter terminated, but the sheriff's office noted at the time that the termination was because of policy violations they said were not directly related to the body slamming incident. They noted an investigation at the time by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) was still ongoing.
The GBI told 11Alive's Molly Oak that it conducted a use-of-force investigation involving officers. The investigation was given to the DA’s Office in May for review.
Canaris meanwhile was indicted on an obstruction misdemeanor charge over the episode, which his attorney, Torris Butterfield, filed to dismiss on Wednesday.
"Not only was the detention and arrest of Mr. Canaris by Deputy McMaster unlawful, but the physical force used by Deputy McMaster during the arrest of Mr. Canaris was excessive, unreasonable, unnecessary, and in violation of state and federal law, including the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Following his arrest, it was determined by the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office that Mr. Canaris was not breaking into cars," the filing stated.
"He basically jumped down on him and slammed Tyler Canaris to the ground," Butterfield said. "But, what's even more outrageous, is the fact that the solicitor charged him, and she ratified that conduct."
The motion adds that Canaris neither matched the description of the person breaking into cars nor did he try to run from McMaster.
The dashcam video
Dashcam video of the incident from March 2022 was released in February.
It shows the deputy stopping a pedestrian who, the deputy said later, looked similar to the description of someone who’d been breaking into cars in the area.
"Suspicion that, as I said, was flimsy, unfounded, not supported by any reasonable facts," said Sam Starks, the attorney representing Canaris in the federal lawsuit.
In the video, the man appears to ignore the deputy’s commands as the deputy stands behind him and tries to handcuff him.
You hear the deputy say, "You match the description of someone trying to break into people's cars."
The man, Dallas resident Canaris, responded by saying, "I'm not breaking into anyone's cars."
The deputy then pulls the man backward, around and down, slams him onto the pavement, and gets on top of him.
"Deputy McMaster illegally detained him and violently threw Tyler to the ground, causing serious physical injuries to Tyler," said Starks. "And to add insult to injury, and in an effort to cover up his excessive force and the illegal detention, Deputy McMaster filed a false affidavit alleging that Tyler had obstructed him, when in fact, Tyler was fully cooperative and there was no legal basis for Tyler to be stopped and detained."
Canaris was admitted to a hospital for injuries, which attorneys said included a broken clavicle; he was later cleared of any connection to the car break-ins; he is charged with obstruction -- accused of not obeying the deputy. His attorneys have accused the Paulding County deputy of leaving their client with $75,000 worth of medical bills from fractured bones and a ruptured eardrum.
“Sometimes I feel like a cop is following me. I can’t perform my duty the way I used to,” Canaris said.
Deputy's history
The sheriff’s office initially concluded the deputy did not use excessive force and placed McMaster on administrative duty.
11Alive's Jon Shirek reported his personnel file showed a record of reprimands and commendations going back to 2015.
According to the deputy's personnel file, in 2015, his superiors reprimanded him in writing, saying that he “can be unnecessarily overly aggressive... (he) was recently written up for aggressive behavior when dealing with an inmate."
He was advised to undergo anger management counseling and threatened with termination.
The deputy's personnel file shows he's been reprimanded at least ten times, beginning in 2015 and most recently in November 2022, for minor to more serious violations.
For example, in 2016, he left a trainee alone in the book-in room for extended periods.
In 2018 he left drug evidence out in the open in the Sheriff's Office overnight.
In 2020, he arrested a man for simple battery in a domestic dispute but failed to get an arrest warrant before the deadline under the law, so the suspect was released from jail and allowed to return home.
In 2015, he left a jail phone inside an inmate’s cell, telling his supervisors later, according to his file, “I guess it slipped my mind.”
In 2015, he took a jail car without permission to run personal errands while off-duty.
This past November, he was attending a training session and called a supervisor to say that the session would last until almost the end of his shift. The supervisor permitted him to go straight home after the training session. However, the training session ended early in the afternoon, and others in that class returned to work for the remainder of their shifts that day. The reprimand said the deputy had been “misleading and dishonest to his supervisor,” which the deputy disputed.
The deputy’s file also includes commendations from the public and his superiors.
In 2016, a supervisor wrote a letter to the Sheriff nominating the deputy for Employee of the Quarter. “He has shown exemplary professionalism and leadership,” wrote Lt. Shawn Godsey, “he has improved in all areas and (has performed) beyond expectations.” The file does not indicate if the deputy received the honor.
And he has been receiving high marks on his annual job performance reviews.
In 2021, his supervisors rated his fitness for promotion to a specialized unit; he was seeking a promotion. They concluded that he needed “much improvement,” in both competence and dependability. They noted, for example, that he wasn’t showing up for the training he needed. Later, however, the deputy was promoted, and assigned to the Special Response Team.