Opinion ID: 785861
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Officers Farallo and O'Donnell

Text: 75 The Rivas family alleges that Officers Farallo and O'Donnell used excessive force on Mr. Rivas after he fell out of the stretcher on the way down the stairs. Specifically, the Rivas family alleges that, [w]hile Rivas was on the porch, face down, bound hand and foot, having sustained a head injury, bleeding from the nose and mouth, and having been unconscious just minutes before his fall, Farallo and O'Donnell, along with Officer Longo, collectively pressed down on his back with the weight of their bodies until he again lost consciousness, became cyanotic, and died of asphyxiation. 76 O'Donnell testified that, following Mr. Rivas's fall from the stretcher, he helped carry Mr. Rivas from the stairs to the porch landing, where Mr. Rivas was once again placed face down. Mr. Rivas's hands were handcuffed behind his back and there is evidence suggesting that Mr. Rivas's ankles were still bound by cloth restraints, which had been applied by Garcia before Mr. Rivas was removed from the living room. 77 Officer O'Donnell, who helped carry Mr. Rivas down the stairs, must have known that Mr. Rivas had just fallen out of the stretcher head first and had lost control of his bowels and had vomited, clear signs that he was not well. There was also testimony that a pool of blood had formed around Mr. Rivas's head on the porch. 78 A reasonable jury could find from these facts that Mr. Rivas did not present a threat to anyone's safety as he lay in a prone position on the enclosed porch, hands and ankles secured behind his back. Yet there is testimony in the record that, in order to restrain Mr. Rivas and subdue him, Officers Farallo and O'Donnell, along with Officer Longo, collectively pressed down on Mr. Rivas's back with all of their weight until he became still and unconscious. It was immediately following these acts that the paramedics noticed Mr. Rivas was cyanotic and had stopped breathing. Assuming that Mr. Rivas was handcuffed and had his ankles tied at that time, a reasonable jury could find that the continued use of force against Mr. Rivas was excessive. See, e.g., Clash v. Beatty, 77 F.3d 1045 (7th Cir.1996).