Opinion ID: 3160286
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Excessive Force Against Mr. Stephenson

Text: Plaintiffs contend that Officer Duncan violated Mr. Stephenson’s Fourth Amendment rights by using excessive force in handcuffing Mr. Stephenson. Specifically, Mr. Stephenson complains that the handcuffs Officer Duncan used in detaining him were too tight and caused bruising on and pain in his wrists. Mr. Stephenson testified that he did not need to see a doctor as a result of these injuries. Accepting these facts as true, Mr. Stephenson’s excessive force claim fails. An excessive force claim under the Fourth Amendment requires: “(1) an injury, (2) which resulted directly and only from a use of force that was clearly excessive, and (3) the excessiveness of which was clearly unreasonable.” Tarver v. City of Edna, 410 F.3d 745, 751 (5th Cir. 2005). We have previously held that bruising as a result of handcuffing too tightly, without more, does not amount to excessive force. Glenn v. City of Tyler, 242 F.3d 307, 314 (5th Cir. 2001); see also Lockett v. New Orleans City, 607 F.3d 992, 999 (5th Cir. 2010); Freeman v. Gore, 483 F.3d 404, 417 (5th Cir. 2007) (“[M]inor, incidental injuries that occur in connection with the use of handcuffs to effectuate an arrest do not give rise to a constitutional claim for excessive force.”). Mr. Stephenson’s allegations regarding Officer Duncan’s application of handcuffs are insufficient to raise a question of fact with respect to the alleged use of excessive force, and therefore Officer Duncan is entitled to qualified immunity on this claim.