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A breath test after he had been taken to jail showed his blood-alcohol content was zero, the lawsuit contends. The bus driver is seeking up to $100,000 and a judge’s order for Springfield police to train its officers better

A man pulled over while driving a school bus with passengers and issued a DUII citation by Springfield police has alleged in a false arrest lawsuit he instead had symptoms of a stroke. 

Michael Fiock, in a lawsuit filed Monday, Aug. 24, in Lane County Circuit Court, seeks up to $100,000.

Fiock also asks for a judge’s order requiring the Springfield Police Department to “establish training for its police officers sufficient to enable them to distinguish the difference between impairment by intoxicants and symptoms of a stroke.”

The lawsuit does not make clear whether Fiock had a stroke on the day he was cited for DUII, and Joshua Hunking, the Corvallis-based attorney representing Fiock, did not respond to questions.

The Springfield Police Department did not respond to a question asking what training officers receive to recognize medical symptoms.

In Oregon, all officers receive 40 hours of training in impaired-driver investigations as part of their basic training requirements, said Sam Tenney, a spokesperson for the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training.

Tenney said this training includes a “Drugs that Impair Driver” curriculum in which trainees are taught “to recognize signs and symptoms associated with common medical conditions which can mimic drug or alcohol impairment, as well as to ask questions to address underlying conditions that may present as intoxication.”

Fiock’s lawsuit names as defendants three officers — Saul Oros, Edward Nowak and Ryan Brand — in addition to the city of Springfield.

The lawsuit states Fiock was pulled over Jan. 26 while driving 47 “minor passengers.” 

Police had received a call about “a potential intoxicated driver,” leading to a stop. Fiock then performed a roadside sobriety test and was taken to Springfield Municipal Jail where testing showed he had a 0.0% blood-alcohol content, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit describes Fiock, born in 1947, as having constricted pupils and speaking slowly, with his face “very relaxed and his eyelids were droopy.” In testing, Fiock is alleged to have “stumbled to the left during the walk and turn test.”

A “medication card” reportedly said Fiock had a “suspected old L cerebellar stroke.” The lawsuit did not specify when or how Fiock presented the card to police.

Fiock alleges in the lawsuit that Oros reported: “I asked him if had a stroke, and [Fiock] said that is what they called it.” The lawsuit claims Oros issued the DUII citation as well as 47 counts of reckless endangering — the same number as the number of bus passengers — despite Brand performing a “Drug Recognition Exam” and concluding Fiock was not under the influence of an intoxicant.

Springfield’s city prosecutor declined to prosecute, the lawsuit states.

“Defendant Oros breached his duty of care to Plaintiff by arresting him for a DUII when he was not impaired within the meaning of Oregon law, subjecting him to the humiliation of an unjustified intoxication investigation in addition to a delay in receiving necessary medical treatment,” the lawsuit states.