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CA11: Briefly tasering resisting plaintiff after warning was not excessive

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Tasering plaintiff after he was repeatedly warned was justified because plaintiff was no cooperating in his arrest. Buckley v. Haddock, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 19482 (11th Cir. September 9, 2008) (unpublished)*: In the light of the undisputed facts established in the record, we conclude that Defendant's use of force in this particular situation was not outside the range of reasonable conduct under the Fourth Amendment. Of particular importance are three facts. First, the incident occurred at night on the side of a highway with considerable passing traffic. Second, the deputy could not complete the arrest--that is, truly control Plaintiff--because Plaintiff was resisting. Third, the deputy resorted to using the taser only after trying to persuade Plaintiff to cease resisting, after attempting to lift Plaintiff, and after repeatedly and plainly warning Plaintiff that a taser would be used and then giving Plaintiff some time to comply.continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on September 16, 2008 (boomark / email).