UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT MURREL MCQUEEN, Individually and as Administrator of the Estate of Ivory Virginia McQueen, Deceased, Plaintiff-Appellant,

v. MORRIS BEDSOLE, as Sheriff of Cumberland County, North No. 95-1033 Carolina; BOB CLARK, Individually and as Lieutenant, Cumberland County Sheriff's Department; REGINA ROBERTSON, Individually and as Deputy, Cumberland County Sheriff's Department; CUMBERLAND COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA, Defendants-Appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, at Fayetteville. W. Earl Britt, District Judge. (CA-93-55-3-BR) Submitted: March 19, 1996 Decided: April 3, 1996 Before MURNAGHAN and NIEMEYER, Circuit Judges, and PHILLIPS, Senior Circuit Judge.

_________________________________________________________________ Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

_________________________________________________________________COUNSELMurrel McQueen, Appellant Pro Se. Bobby Grey Deaver, Fayetteville, North Carolina; Douglas Edward Canders, CUMBERLAND COUNTY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, Fayetteville, North Carolina, for Appellees.

_________________________________________________________________ Unpublished opinions are not binding pr ecedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c).

_________________________________________________________________ OPINION
PER CURIAM: Murrell McQueen appeals from the district court's orders granting judgment as a matter of law, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 50(a), to the Defendants in his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (1988) action. McQueen sought damages from Cumberland County, Sheriff Morris Bedsole, and two of his deputies (Clark and Robertson) as a result of the shooting death of his wife, Ivory McQueen, during an attempt by the deputies to serve an involuntary commitment order on her on June 27, 1991. Our review of the record and the transcript of the trial reveals noreversible error by the district court. McQueen failed to establish liability on the part of either Cumberland County or its Sheriff's Department with respect to the actions of the two deputies. See Monell v. Department of Social Servs. , 436 U.S. 658, 694 (1978) (doctrine of respondeat superior generally inapplicable to § 1983 suits); Slakan v. Porter , 737 F.2d 368, 372 (4th Cir. 1984), cert. denied , 470 U.S. 1035 (1985). Further, the evidence at trial, which was undisputed as to any material fact, established that Robertson and Clark were entitled to qualified immunity because a reasonable officer in their positioncould have believed that the use of deadly force was objectively reasonable in light of the circumstances. At the time of the shooting, Ivory McQueen had a butcher knife in her hand and was about to stab Deputy Clark, after just attacking and stabbing her sister and father.
2See Tennessee v. Garner , 471 U.S. 1, 11 (1985) (police officer may use deadly force when "the officer has probable cause to believe thatthe suspect poses a threat of serious physical harm, either to the officer or to others."); see also Rowland v. Perry , 41 F.3d 167, 173 (4th Cir. 1994). Accordingly, we affirm the district court's orders granting judgment as a matter of law to all Defendants. We dispense with oralargument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED
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