Bill Mitchell and Sean Keenan obtained summary judgment in U.S. District Court for a Georgia sheriff and a deputy in a civil rights excessive force lawsuit. Plaintiff claimed that during his arrest the deputy broke his neck requiring two surgeries. Plaintiff further claimed that the sheriff did not have sufficient policies and training related to custodial arrests of psychologically impaired persons. In ruling in favor of the deputy and sheriff, the court ruled that the deputy’s conduct was reasonable under the circumstances and that the sheriff had sufficient policies and training in this context.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed the grant of summary judgment in favor of a Princeton police officer in a civil rights case wherein Plaintiffs alleged that the officer used excessive force in fatally shooting Plaintiffs’ decedent, who was armed with a knife. Douglas Sanchez and Jacqueline Curko obtained summary judgment in the District Court of New Jersey, Trenton Vicinage, and the Court of Appeals upheld the District Court’s decision, finding that the officer’s conduct was objectively reasonable and, thus, constitutional.