Supreme Court rules on behalf of stun-gunned pretrial detainee on excessive-force standard
A pretrial detainee who claimed jail officers used excessive force when they stunned him with a Taser doesn’t have to prove the jailers were subjectively aware their use of force was unreasonable, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled.
The detainee, Michael Kingsley, need only prove that the officers’ use of force was objectively unreasonable, the court ruled in a 5-4 decision (PDF). Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote the majority opinion considering Kingsley’s claim that the excessive use of force violated the 14th Amendment’s due process clause..
Kingsley had alleged jailers in Monroe County, Wisconsin, pressed a Taser to his back for five seconds while he was lying face down and wearing handcuffs. The officers maintain they used the Taser after Kingsley resisted their efforts to remove the cuffs.
Breyer’s opinion was joined by Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.
The case is Kingsley v. Hendrickson. Courthouse News Service has coverage of the opinion.
Related article:
ABAJournal.com: “Pretrial detainee shocked with stun gun gets SCOTUS hearing on excessive-force proof”
