According to the lawsuit, Kidney was driving home from his cottage in Roscommon County in July 2024, when Tibbetts and Uzoni pulled him over in Brighton after he was allegedly swerving on the highway. Kidney told the deputies he was suffering from severe groin pain and high blood pressure and said his blood pressure medication was on the passenger seat, the lawsuit says. Instead of treating the incident as a medical emergency, the deputies accused Kidney of being under the influence and ordered him out of his car, according to the complaint.
Kidney told the deputies he was unable to move and was experiencing groin pain and pain shooting from his leg, which the lawsuit says were signs of a life-threatening stroke. “Defendants Tibbetts and Uzoni forcibly removed Plaintiff from his vehicle while screaming profanities at him,” the lawsuit states. “Defendants Tibbetts and Uzoni forcibly threw Plaintiff onto the ground of the highway, wherein his head struck the Livingston County vehicle’s tire.”
The lawsuit alleges the deputies handcuffed Kidney, pinned him to the ground, and held him there for about 30 minutes while one of them placed a foot on his back. They then tried to perform a field sobriety test even though Kidney couldn’t stand without help, the lawsuit states[…] “Defendants Tibbetts and Uzoni laughed at Plaintiff while he was convulsing and urinated on himself due to the stroke paralyzing the left side of his body,” the lawsuit says.