Opinion ID: 8414547
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Summary Judgment on Excessive Force Claim

Text: Mulvania claims the Rock Island County Jail has a widespread custom or practice of using excessive force to require detainees to change into jail-issued uniforms. She acknowledges that the jail’s official policy authorizes a use-of-force continuum to ensure compliance with the uniform policy. She claims that in practice, however, excessive force is the norm. The district court Concluded that Mulvania put forward insufficient evidence of such a custom or practice of using excessive force. We agree. We review de novo the district court’s decision granting the Sheriffs motion for summary judgment. Chaib v. Geo Group, Inc., 819 F.3d 337, 340 (7th Cir. 2016). We construe all facts in the light most favorable to Mulvania, who is the non-moving party. Id. Summary judgment is appropriate if there is no genuine dispute of material fact and the Sheriff is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). Mulvania relies on two statements by corrections officers to support her claim of a widespread practice of using excessive force to ensure compliance with the jail’s uniform policy. Officer Bailey testified in his deposition, “When someone refuses to remove their clothes, we have to take their clothes away from them and give them a jumpsuit.” Officer Nesseler testified that if a detainee refuses to remove her clothing, ‘We just take ’em off.” Neither of these statements is evidence of the use of excessive force, let alone a widespread practice of it. The first statement is consistent with the Sheriffs stated use-of-force continuum policy. The second statement is quoted misleadingly by plaintiffs. Officer Nes-seler’s “We just take ’em off’ statement responded to the question: “how would you go about taking a detainee’s clothes off?” Her response is not evidence of any use of excessive force. Mulvania argues, however, that the defendants did not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence in their motion for summary judgment. She claims that the district court raised this argument on its own and failed to give her notice and a reasonable time to respond on the issue as required by Rule 56(f). This is not correct. The defendants did argue that there was insufficient evidence of a widespread practice of excessive force in their motion. They claimed that Mulvania “cannot show that the policy of the Sheriff requires excessive force given the circumstances” nor can she “show a widespread practice or custom based on only her arrest and detention.” That was sufficient to require her to come forward with evidence of a widespread practice. It was not an error for the district court to decide the motion on these grounds.