Opinion ID: 69310
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Claims Against Meneses and Francis

Text: Sanchez argues that the district court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of Meneses and Francis on his due process, excessive force, and failure to supervise claims because (1) Francis and Meneses violated Sanchez’s due process rights by placing him on suicide watch, (2) Francis used excessive force by pepper spraying Sanchez, and (3) Meneses failed to adequately supervise Francis by permitting her to unlawfully pepper spray Sanchez. First, as noted above, the documentary evidence established that Francis, Meneses, and Reinoso did not order Sanchez placed on suicide watch. There is no evidence, contrary to Sanchez’s unsupported assertions, that the individual who ordered Francis and Meneses to place Sanchez on suicide watch lacked the authority to so order. Thus, Sanchez’s argument that Francis and Meneses should have disobeyed this order lacks merit. The district court therefore did not err in 8 granting summary judgment on the due process claim. Second, to determine whether a jailer’s use of force is excessive, this court considers the following factors: (1) “the need for force”; (2) “the relationship between that need and the amount of force used”; (3) “the extent of the resulting injury”; (4) “the extent of the threat to the safety of staff and inmates, as reasonably perceived by the responsible official on the basis of facts known to them”; and (5) “any efforts made to temper the severity of a forceful response.” Danley v. Allen, 540 F.3d 1298, 1307 (11th Cir. 2008) (citations and quotation marks omitted). “When we consider whether the jailers’ use of force was excessive, we must ‘give a wide range of deference to prison officials acting to preserve discipline and security.’” Id. (quoting Bennett v. Parker, 898 F.2d 1530, 1533 (11th Cir. 1990)). Francis and Meneses’s affidavits state that after Sanchez was told to surrender his personal belongings he became agitated, threw his bags on the floor, waved his arms wildly, clenched his fists, and at one point stated, “You’re going to have to kill me. I am a black belt.” According to Francis, Sanchez ignored her orders and behaved in a threatening manner. Francis pepper sprayed Sanchez, who was then immediately handcuffed and removed from the scene. Sanchez disputes that he acted in a threatening manner, but in his affidavit admits that he refused to 9 comply with the officer’s orders. “Prison guards may use force when necessary to restore order and need not wait until disturbances reach dangerous proportions before responding.” Bennett, 898 F.2d at 1533. Because “[p]epper spray is an accepted non-lethal means of controlling unruly inmates,” Danley, 540 F.3d at 1307, Francis did not use excessive force by deploying pepper spray in order to gain control of Sanchez and force him to comply with her orders. Finally, because there was no genuine issue of material fact as to whether Francis used excessive force by pepper spraying Sanchez, the district court correctly granted summary judgment in favor of Meneses on the failure to supervise claim, which was premised upon Francis’s alleged use of excessive force.