Detainee Can Sue Officer Who Used Taser While Handcuffing Him

A jail officer who used a taser on an allegedly compliant pretrial detainee he was putting in handcuffs must face the detainee’s excessive force claim, the Fifth Circuit said.

McLennan County, Texas, officer Jeremy Johnson isn’t immune from Andre Boyd’s claim, the opinion by Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod said.

Looking at video of the incident, a reasonable jury could conclude that Boyd wasn’t resisting when Johnson fired a taser at him, Elrod said. Circuit precedent at the time of the incident also conclusively established that the use of a taser on a non-threatening and cooperative subject was unconstitutional, she said. ...