A civil rights lawsuit against three Oklahoma City Police Department officers will continue after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit affirmed the trial court’s rejection of officers’ qualified immunity defense for their alleged use of excessive force. The case stems from an incident at the Biltmore Hotel in 2020 where Dawawn McCoy Sr. died after an altercation as officers tried to remove him from the property.
On March 27, 2020, OKCPD officers Kelly Cassidy, Brandon Lee and Robin Ridner responded to a call from the Biltmore Hotel at 1:25 a.m. alleging someone who had not purchased a stay was sleeping in a room. Cassidy arrived first and found McCoy, who indicated he could not walk. Cassidy called for medical support, and the fire department arrived first and determined he did not need immediate medical attention. An ambulance call was cancelled when McCoy declined an offer for transport to the hospital.
Body camera footage
Body-worn cameras recorded OKCPD officers’ actions. Published by The Oklahoman, six minutes of footage depicts officers’ use of force to arrest Dawawn McCoy, who states he cannot feel his legs or place his hands behind his back. After shocking him and pinning him to the ground, officers eventually struggle to identify McCoy’s pulse.
The Oklahoman reported that one officer referred to the altercation as “a good little fight,” while another noted they “didn’t get a whole lot of the action.”
After the fire department checked McCoy, Cassidy called for backup to help remove him from the hotel premises. Lee and Ridner responded. When McCoy did not stand up and leave with the officers, they attempted to handcuff him. A struggle ensued, and McCoy was pepper sprayed and struck with a Taser twice.
Following five minutes of the altercation, McCoy was “lying on his side on the floor” when officers rolled him onto his stomach, according to the 10th Circuit’s ruling. For about 90 seconds, officers applied pressure to McCoy’s back and legs while he did not resist.
About 10 minutes after being handcuffed, McCoy’s breathing and pulse became fainter. He died in the hospital six days later, and the cause of death was determined to be hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy — deprivation of oxygen to the brain — following cardiac arrest. Methamphetamine was found in his system.
The mother of McCoy’s three children, LaQuita Bruner, sued the OKCPD officers, their chief, the City of OKC and the owner of the Biltmore Hotel, arguing the officers violated McCoy’s Fourth Amendment rights “by using excessive force against him and by their deliberate indifference to his medical needs.”
The officers argued their conduct was privileged under qualified immunity — a liability exemption provided to public officials during the reasonable performance of their expected duties.
In the Western District of Oklahoma, Judge Joe Heaton found the officers were entitled to immunity for the deliberate indifference claims, but he denied qualified immunity for the excessive force claims. The officers appealed to the 10th Circuit.
On appeal, three appellate judges sided with the district court.
“The district court determined, and the record does not contradict at this stage of the proceedings, that for a period of 90 seconds, McCoy was handcuffed and subdued, and yet the officers continued to apply excessive force while McCoy was prone. This force came in the form of a knee in his back and a leg restraint similar in effect to a hog-tie, which are known to pose significant risks,” Judge David Ebel wrote in the majority opinion. “This use of force was excessive, and the law clearly established it was a constitutional violation at the time, meaning the officers are not entitled to qualified immunity.”
The ruling allows McCoy’s estate to continue to pursue its excessive force claim against the officers in federal district court. McCoy’s death occurred two weeks into the COVID-19 pandemic in Oklahoma and two months prior to George Floyd’s murder by a Minneapolis police officer, which sparked nationwide protests about police brutality, particularly involving Black Americans. Then-Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater did not charge the OKCPD officers who arrested McCoy.
In the 10th Circuit appeal for the civil case, Judge Veronica Rossman wrote separately to emphasize “kneeling on a prone person’s back after they are subdued is a constitutional violation ‘due to the significant risk of positional asphyxiation associated with such actions.'”
Since McCoy’s 2020 death, his family has faced additional turmoil. Dawawn McCoy Jr. has been charged with property crimes in three counties, and in January 2025, KOCO reported on Del City police using a drone to arrest McCoy Jr. during a pursuit. In November, Dawawn McCoy III died at age 1 after sustaining severe burns. A murder charge against the 21-year-old man who was said to have been watching the baby is pending in Oklahoma County District Court.
Biltmore Hotel a long way from its heyday
Nearly a century ago, before changing management and moving locations, the Biltmore Hotel once stood as one of Oklahoma City’s most famous hotels. Initially located at 228 W. Sheridan Ave. after its completion in 1932, the Biltmore boasted “access to a free radio” in every room. For the next four and half decades, the Biltmore became the premier location to stay in OKC, until it was demolished in 1977.
OKC’s current Biltmore Hotel, at 401 S. Meridian Ave., was finished in 1972 as the Hilton Inn West. For several decades, it continued its reputation as a high-class establishment among travelers, businessmen, politicos and equestrians, according to The Oklahoman. In 1998, the owners renamed the hotel after the historic Biltmore, and in 2013 the prior owners sold the establishment.
In the past decade since, the hotel’s reputation has declined, with 546 police responses to the hotel between 2017 and 2022, according to The Oklahoman. The current hotel complex features a liquor store, a marijuana dispensary and Chisolm’s Saloon, a dance hall that routinely features live country music.
