Opinion ID: 883122
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Did the District Court err in directing a verdict on Buhr's civil rights claims involving alleged use of excessive force against Joshua under the deliberate indifference standard?

Text: Buhr also asserts error in the District Court's directed verdict on his civil rights claim against Flathead County based on an alleged use of excessive force against Joshua by Officer Mike Cooper (Cooper). This claim was premised on nurses noticing, when Joshua was admitted to the hospital on January 18, that he had several areas of bruising and possibly a dislocated shoulder. Joshua did not display any noticeable bruises when he was brought to the detention center. Buhr attributed the bruises and possible shoulder dislocation to the treatment Joshua received from Cooper when Cooper placed Joshua in the soft cell. Here, as above, Buhr was required to introduce evidence on each of the four elements required to establish a local government entity's liability pursuant to § 1983, including that the county had a policy and that the policy amounted to deliberate indifference. Pearce, 954 F.2d at 1474. Buhr established the existence of the detention center's policy regarding use of excessive force. That policy required an officer who employed excessive force to file an incident report setting forth the circumstances surrounding the use of force by the conclusion of the officer's next shift. Buhr also introduced evidence that the policy did not define the term excessive force. Instead, the policy left both the definition of the term and the determination of whether excessive force requiring submission of an incident report has been used to the discretion of detention center personnel. Thus, Buhr presented sufficient evidence on the existence of a policy to meet the second element for imposing liability under § 1983. According to Buhr, it was this policy which led to the alleged use of excessive force resulting in injury to Joshua. Buhr asserts that leaving decisions on whether excessive force was used and whether an incident needed to be reported to the discretion of detention center personnel led to a deprivation of Joshua's right to be free from such force. The District Court directed a verdict in favor of Flathead County and Rhodes regarding this claim determining that, pursuant to the United States Supreme Court's decision in Oklahoma City v. Tuttle (1985), 471 U.S. 808, 105 S.Ct. 2427, 85 L.Ed.2d 791, one alleged instance of excessive force, even if proved, was insufficient to support a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Buhr was required to introduce evidence that the policy implemented by Flathead County and Rhodes demonstrated deliberate indifference to Joshua's constitutional rights. Pearce, 954 F.2d at 1474. Buhr, however, failed to introduce any evidence on this element. Buhr's evidence focused on such things as Cooper's nickname, Gestapo Mike; his performance evaluations noting that he adhered strictly to rules and suggesting that he take a more diplomatic approach with inmates; and a psychological profile of Cooper stating that, while he was characteristically gentle and non-violent, he was aggressive at deeper levels and expressed anger in indirect ways. In Tuttle, the Supreme Court stated that where the policy relied on is not unconstitutional, considerably more proof than the single incident will be necessary in every case to establish both the requisite fault on the part of the municipality, and the causal connection between the `policy' and the constitutional deprivation. Tuttle, 471 U.S. at 824, 105 S.Ct. at 2436. In this case, there was no allegation or argument that Flathead County's policy regarding use of excessive force was, in and of itself, unconstitutional. Furthermore, while Buhr has cited relevant portions of the trial record to support his assertions regarding Cooper's disciplinary style, our review establishes that Buhr failed to produce any evidence relating to more than the single incident alleged here to support his claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Buhr failed to offer any evidence establishing that Flathead County and Rhodes were deliberately indifferent to Joshua's constitutional rights through the detention center's policies with regard to use of excessive force. We conclude, therefore, that the District Court did not err by directing a verdict on Buhr's civil rights claims against Flathead County and Rhodes based on alleged use of excessive force by Cooper.