Bullets Before Sunrise: Bryan Malinowski's widow sues ATF and 10 agents (names below) for the predawn raid on her home and for killing her husband.
Maer Malinowski: "(Bryan) took a bullet to the forehead and ultimately gave his life defending me and our home" from the United States federal government.
By Jay Grelen, Moniteur de l’Arkansas
Maer Malinowski, who was a step behind her husband in a dark hallway of their home when an ATF agent shot him in the head in a predawn raid, has sued the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
The agent who shot Mr. Malinowski is one of 10 named in the federal wrongful death suit that Mrs. Malinowski’s lawyers filed today (May 15,2025) in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas.
The defendants include the resident agent in charge of the Little Rock ATF office, and a North Little Rock police officer and a Mississippi County sheriff’s deputy who were embedded in an ATF task force.
The lawsuit, which seeks compensatory and punitive damages, alleges that the agents “chose the most aggressive tactics available to serve a routine search warrant … even though no facts or circumstances justified the use of such tactics.”
Mr. Malinowski, a longtime employee of the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport, had been director there for several years when he died at the hands of the ATF.
Mrs. Malinowski’s lawyers distributed a press release today that included a comment from Mrs. Malinowski: “Today’s lawsuit seeks justice for the nightmare I’ve been living for the last 14 months. Bryan believed the men who broke into our home were intruders, and he took a bullet to the forehead and ultimately gave his life defending me and our home from people he thought were trying to harm us. While nothing can bring back my husband of 25 years, today’s filing seeks to hold the federal government accountable for what they violently and wrongfully took from me on March 19, 2024.”
In the 14 months since the raid, no one from the ATF has commented about the killing of Mr. Malinowski or any aspect of the case.
The defendants
The 10 defendants, each sued in his or her individual capacity as an agent or special agent of the ATF:
Timothy Boles, special agent, ATF.
Troy Dillard, special agent, ATF.
Clayton Merrill, the resident agent in charge of the Little Rock ATF office.
Tyler Cowart, special agent, ATF.
Matthew Sprinkles, special agent, ATF.
James Bass, special agent, ATF.
Michael Gibbons, law enforcement officer employed by the North Little Rock Police Department who was embedded as a Task Force Officer with the ATF.
Chris Griggs. law enforcement officer employed by the Mississippi County (Arkansas) Sheriff's Office who was embedded as a Task Force Officer with the ATF.
Shannon Hicks, special agent, ATF.
Amy Ness, agent, ATF.
I hope that she wins this.
I hope she wins every single time.