Claims against police officer, students dismissed in suit over Red Lion teen's suicide

A claim against a school resource officer in a lawsuit filed by the mother of a gay Red Lion Area Senior High School student who committed suicide after being bullied at school has been dismissed, according to a ruling by a federal judge.

U.S. Middle District Judge Jennifer P. Wilson also dismissed a claim against one of six students who, the lawsuit asserts, bullied Zachary Kirchner prior to him taking his own life at age 15. One claim against two other students – identified only by their initials because they are minors – was dismissed, but other claims remained intact.

The lawsuit, filed by Zachary’s mother, Hope Amspacher, and older brother, Matthew Kirchner, claimed that her son was bullied and that the school district knew about it but did nothing to stop it. The suit named the school district, counselor Jason Hoffman, and the police officer, Marc Greenly, claiming they “did nothing to intervene to stop the abuse” and responded to the teen’s abuse “with deliberate indifference.”

Zachary hanged himself in the basement of his mother’s home on April 20, 2021. He had also sliced his arm open, the suit states. Zachary’s older brother, Matthew Kirchner, found his body.

His obituary said, “Zach had an amazing smile and loved to make everyone laugh, even if you were having a bad day.” He was interested in gymnastics and dreamed of matriculating to UCLA, a school known for its gymnastics program. “He was an amazing gymnast and loved skiing in the winter and riding roller coasters in the summer,” his obituary stated.

In her ruling, issued March 28, Wilson wrote, “While suicide sometimes happens with no warning, that was not the case with Zachary. He gave multiple conspicuous indications of his distress and consequent tendency towards self-harm. (His mother and brother) allege that these indications did nothing to reduce or slow the torrent of abuse and bullying that he was subjected to by several of his classmates. ... Nor did Zachary's distress, or the abuse he faced, lead the school district to shield him from harassment.”

The judge wrote that Zachary’s alleged “disruptive and distressing behavior” was “caused by the bullying and exacerbated by Zachary's autism.” The judge further wrote, “Despite being aware of the extensive harassment Zachary was subjected to by Student Defendants, the School District at no time intervened. Rather than protecting Zachary or disciplining Student Defendants, the School District allegedly responded by disciplining Zachary. On one occasion, a teacher allegedly locked Zachary in a classroom ‘against his will for an extended period of time.’ In another instance, a teacher had Zachary sit in a circle of his classmates while his classmates took turn telling him ‘all of the things they did not like about him.’”

More about the lawsuit: Mom of gay Red Lion H.S. student who killed himself after bullying sues district, others

Previously: Lawyers for mom of gay Red Lion teen who killed himself seeking witnesses - by postcard

The lawsuit, the judge wrote, asserts that the school district “created a toxic, hostile, dangerous, and harmful school environment,” which is alleged to have directly led to Zachary’s suicide.

The claims against Hoffman and Greenly allege that when they accompanied Matthew to Amspacher’s home to check on Zachary, they instructed him to go into the house and search for his brother, despite a request from Amspacher to not allow Matthew to enter the home.

Matthew discovered his brother’s body hanging in the basement, one arm bleeding from knife wounds. Since discovering Zachary's body,” the judge wrote, “Matthew has suffered extreme distress and his mental health has severely declined.”

Ruling on a motion filed by Greenly, the judge ruled that the officer enjoyed the protection of “qualified immunity” from the claims in the lawsuit.

Qualified immunity is granted to public officials to protect them from liability in civil claims in cases in which their conduct does not violate statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known,” the judge wrote.

Wilson concluded, “Because Matthew has failed to identify a clearly protected right, Officer Greenly is entitled to qualified immunity.”

The judge dismissed claims against two of the students, but upheld a claim against one student who, the judge, quoting the original complaint, wrote, “told Zachary ‘to kill himself over text message or other messaging services and made similar posts on social media for [Zachary] and other classmates to see.’”

The judge concluded, “This allegation plausibly alleges outrageous conduct, especially considering Student Defendants' alleged awareness of Zachary's suicidal thoughts.”

Columnist/reporter Mike Argento has been a York Daily Record staffer since 1982. Reach him at mike@ydr.com.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Claims against police officer, students dismissed in suit over Red Lion teen's suicide