Story v. Norwood, No. 10-3178 (8th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CasePlaintiff, an Arkansas inmate, brought a 42 U.S.C. 1983 action against several defendants, including the jail administrator of Ouachita County Detention Center. After granting summary judgment to all defendants except the administrator, the district court addressed plaintiff's claim against the administrator on the merits and concluded that the administrator's use of force was necessary to ensure his own safety, the safety of others, and to regain control of the facility. Therefore, the district court dismissed plaintiff's claim with prejudice and plaintiff subsequently appealed. The court held that plaintiff failed to show by a preponderance of the evidence that he was a victim of an unconstitutional excessive use of force; the district court correctly determined that the administrator's twice shoving of plaintiff toward the wall was reasonable in light of the emergent and unsafe circumstances; and a thorough reading of the district court's decision assured the court that the district court did not enforce a minimum level of injury as a legal threshold barring plaintiff's claim. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment of the district court.
Court Description: Prisoner case - prisoner civil rights. Magistrate judge's findings of fact were supported by substantial evidence in the record; magistrate judge did not err finding that defendant's use of force was reasonable given the circumstances in the cellblock and plaintiff's actions.
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