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Pepper spray and handcuffs for a resisting plaintiff was reasonable

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

"Here, faced with a suspect actively resisting during the course of a valid Terry stop and pat-down, the officers' use of physical force, including pepper spray and then handcuffs--in that order and after repeated warnings to Fuller--was, in the Court's view, an objectively reasonable response." Fuller v. Cuyahoga Metro. Hous. Auth., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8730 (N.D. Ohio February 6, 2008).* (Note: The court noted that the Sixth Circuit has held that pepperspraying an already handcuffed suspect can be per se unreasonable, those facts are not present.) Consent was found valid [apparently with the defense virtually conceding it on appeal]. United States v. Pineda, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 2629 (5th Cir. February 6, 2008) (unpublished).* Probation officer had reason to believe that defendant had been caught on tape doing a drug deal, and that justified a probation search of his dwelling...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on February 08, 2008 (boomark / email).