Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca8-05-02394/USCOURTS-ca8-05-02394-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 550
Nature of Suit: Prisoner - Civil Rights (U.S. defendant)
Cause of Action: 

---

United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

___________

No. 05-2394

___________

Jason J. Ross, *

*

Appellant, *

* Appeal from the United States

v. * District Court for the

* Southern District of Iowa.

Sgt. Dale Buck; K. Stewart; City of W. * [UNPUBLISHED]

Des Moines; Bill Jess, Officer; A. *

Kooiker, Officer; Vesey, Officer; James *

Wade, Officer, *

*

Appellees. *

___________

Submitted: May 30, 2006

Filed: June 23, 2006

___________

Before WOLLMAN, MURPHY, and COLLOTON, Circuit Judges.

___________

PER CURIAM.

Jason J. Ross appeals from the district court’s adverse grant of summary

judgment and adverse judgment entered after a bench trial in his 42 U.S.C. § 1983

action. We affirm in part and reverse and remand in part.

Ross brought this civil rights action against the City of West Des Moines,

Iowa, and six of its police officers, alleging that the officers used excessive force in

arresting and detaining him on December 29 and 30, 2000, and in arresting him again

Appellate Case: 05-2394 Page: 1 Date Filed: 06/23/2006 Entry ID: 2059937
-2-

on February 3, 2001. The district court granted summary judgment to Officers Keith

Stewart and Christopher Vesey for their roles in the December 29 arrest, to Officer

Aaron Kooiker for his role in the December 29-30 detention, and to Officer William

Jess for his role in the February 3 arrest. After a bench trial, the district court entered

judgment for Officers Dale Buck, Dan Wade, and Vesey for their roles in the

February 3 arrest. On appeal, Ross argues only that the district court should have

granted his motions to amend his complaint and for appointment of counsel, and that

the district court erred in granting summary judgment to Officer Jess. 

We conclude the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Ross’s

motion to amend his complaint to add Officer Luiza Fritz as a defendant. The motion

was untimely, as it came sixteen months after Ross received information that Fritz

was the jailer who had checked on him in detention and thus had been the one to

whom Ross had directed his complaints about his restraints being too tight. The

amendment was also futile, given the district court’s ruling that the claim failed for

lack of evidence of long-term or permanent injury from the restraints. See

Thompson-El v. Jones, 876 F.2d 66, 67 (8th Cir. 1989) (standard of review; good

reasons to deny leave to amend include undue delay, undue prejudice to non-moving

party, or futility of amendment); see also Foster v. Metro. Airports Comm’n, 914 F.2d

1076, 1077-78, 1082 (8th Cir. 1990) (without medical records indicating arrestee

suffered long-term injury, allegations of pain and nerve damage as result of being

handcuffed too tightly for two hours were insufficient to support excessive-force

claim). We also conclude the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying

Ross’s motion for appointment of counsel, as Ross appeared capable throughout this

litigation of representing himself. See Phillips v. Jasper County Jail, 437 F.3d 791,

794 (8th Cir. 2006) (standard of review and relevant factors). 

We review de novo the grant of summary judgment for Officer Jess, viewing

the facts in the light most favorable to Ross. See Peter v. Wedl, 155 F.3d 992, 996

(8th Cir. 1998) (standard of review). In deciding that Jess was entitled to qualified

Appellate Case: 05-2394 Page: 2 Date Filed: 06/23/2006 Entry ID: 2059937
-3-

immunity, the district court was required to consider whether the officer’s conduct

violated a constitutional right, and whether that right was clearly established. See

Saucier v. Katz, 533 U.S. 194, 201-02 (2001). Under the Fourth Amendment, the

constitutionality of the force used during an arrest depends upon the facts and

circumstances, including the severity of the crime at issue, whether the suspect posed

an immediate safety threat to the officers or others, and whether the suspect actively

resisted arrest or attempted to evade arrest by flight. See Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S.

386, 395-96 (1989). 

The undisputed evidence showed that when officers responded to a call about

a disturbance in an apartment, they encountered a naked Ross, who resisted orders to

get on the ground in the bedroom and instead grabbed his female companion around

the neck and kicked at the officers. Once restrained, Ross was escorted to the living

room and was placed lying face up on the couch. Officer Jess assisted in controlling

Ross, and when Ross’s foot came into contact with Jess’s head, Jess sprayed Ross

with pepper foam. What happened next is disputed, but believing Ross’s version of

the facts, as we must, Officer Jess sprayed Ross with pepper foam a second time when

Ross turned his face into the couch to wipe off the foam from the first spray. Then,

while Ross’s feet were being held, some of the officers--including Jess--punched,

choked, and sprayed Ross a third time with pepper foam. The district court did not

discuss whether Jess’s second and perhaps third use of pepper foam was reasonable,

or whether Jess participated in any conduct besides the macing that could have been

deemed excessive force. Because a reasonable jury could conclude that Jess’s use of

the pepper foam and other conduct was gratuitous and therefore unreasonable, see

Henderson v. Munn, 439 F.3d 497, 502-03 (8th Cir. 2006) (use of mace on prostrate,

restrained arrestee who posed little or no threat to safety of officers or others was not

objectively reasonable), and because the unreasonableness of the alleged conduct was

clearly established at the time of the incident, Ross is entitled to proceed on these

claims against Officer Jess. 

Appellate Case: 05-2394 Page: 3 Date Filed: 06/23/2006 Entry ID: 2059937
-4-

The grant of summary judgment in favor of Officer Jess is reversed, and the

case is remanded to the district court for a trial on Ross’s claims against him. The

judgment in favor of the other officers is affirmed in all respects. 

______________________________

Appellate Case: 05-2394 Page: 4 Date Filed: 06/23/2006 Entry ID: 2059937