Mark Tennyson v. Harris County Texas, et al, No. 19-20556 (5th Cir. 2020)
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The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on April 16, 2020.
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Case: 19-20556 Document: 00515382076 Page: 1 Date Filed: 04/14/2020 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit No. 19-20556 Summary Calendar FILED April 14, 2020 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk MARK TENNYSON, Plaintiff - Appellee v. E. VILLARREAL; P. WILLIAMS; M. ALSTON; R. GARCIA; K. HANDY; T. SANDERS; J. RAMON; JOASH BUTLER; CASSANDRA AMIE, Defendants - Appellants Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No. 4:18-CV-119 Before JOLLY, JONES, and SOUTHWICK, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:* Appellee Mark Tennyson sued Harris County, Texas and twenty current and former police officers pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1983 after he was injured while being handcuffed during an incident at the Harris County jail. The district court granted summary judgment on all claims except Tennyson’s excessive force and conspiracy claims against nine of the officers (collectively, Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4. * Case: 19-20556 Document: 00515382076 Page: 2 Date Filed: 04/14/2020 No. 19-20556 the “Officers”). The Officers appeal, arguing they are entitled to qualified immunity. We reverse. We review a district court’s denial of a motion for summary judgment de novo. Linbrugger v. Abercia, 363 F.3d 537, 540 (5th Cir. 2004). Government officials “are entitled to qualified immunity . . . unless (1) they violated a federal statutory or constitutional right, and (2) the unlawfulness of their conduct was clearly established at the time.” District of Columbia v. Wesby, 138 S. Ct. 577, 589 (2018) (internal quotation marks omitted). To prevail on an excessive force claim, a plaintiff must show “that the force purposely or knowingly used against him was objectively unreasonable.” Kingsley v. Hendrickson, 135 S. Ct. 2466, 2474 (2015). As a pretrial detainee, Tennyson “can prevail by providing only objective evidence that the challenged governmental action is not rationally related to a legitimate governmental objective or that it is excessive in relation to that purpose.” Id. Factors relevant to a determination of reasonableness include the relationship between the need for the use of force and the amount of force used, efforts to temper or to limit force, the threat reasonably perceived by the officer, the extent of the plaintiff’s injury, and whether the plaintiff was resisting. Id. at 2473. Tennyson argues the Officers used excessive force by taking him to the ground while attempting to handcuff him. 1 We disagree. At the time of Tennyson’s injury, the Officers were attempting to diffuse a disruptive situation involving at least eight non-compliant detainees. As part of that process, the detainees were told to line up against a wall, and Tennyson was instructed to face the wall and put his arms behind his back so he could be 1 ground. Tennyson does not identify which Officer he alleges actually brought him to the 2 Case: 19-20556 Document: 00515382076 Page: 3 Date Filed: 04/14/2020 No. 19-20556 handcuffed. Tennyson admits that he refused to comply, and that the Officers had to take him to the ground to handcuff him because of his noncompliance. The Officers deny that Tennyson was ever brought to the ground, but even accepting that he was, we cannot say that the force used to subdue Tennyson was objectively unreasonable under the circumstances. The Officers are therefore entitled to qualified immunity as to Tennyson’s excessive force claim. And because the Officers are so entitled, Tennyson’s conspiracy claim is not actionable. See Hale v. Townley, 45 F.3d 914, 920–21 (5th Cir. 1995). For the foregoing reasons, the district court’s denial of summary judgment is REVERSED and judgment is RENDERED in favor of the Officers. Tennyson’s claims of excessive force and conspiracy against the Officers are DISMISSED. 3
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