Jody Lombardo v. City of St. Louis
956 F.3d 1009
8th Cir.2020Background
- On December 8, 2015, SLMPD officers arrested Nicholas Gilbert and placed him in an individual holding-cell at the central station after observing erratic behavior.
- Officers observed Gilbert acting strangely, then attempted to restrain him after he appeared to try to hang himself and resisted; he was handcuffed, leg-shackled, and held prone during a roughly fifteen-minute struggle.
- Multiple officers rotated in and applied weight/control over Gilbert’s shoulders, torso, arms, and legs; Gilbert at times continued to thrash, struck his head, and kicked officers.
- Gilbert stopped breathing while prone, was transported to the hospital, and died; the medical examiner listed cause of death as arteriosclerotic heart disease exacerbated by methamphetamine and forcible restraint (manner: accidental); plaintiff’s expert attributed death to restraint-induced asphyxia.
- Lombardo sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against ten officers (individual capacities) and the City for excessive force and for a facially unconstitutional policy/failure to train; the magistrate judge granted summary judgment to the officers and the City based on qualified immunity; Lombardo appealed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Excessive force by officers (Fourth Amendment) | Holding Gilbert in prone restraint while handcuffed and shackled for ~15 minutes was excessive and caused death | Prone restraint was objectively reasonable because Gilbert actively resisted and posed safety/self-harm risks | Officers did not violate clearly established Fourth Amendment rights; no excessive force under the circumstances |
| Qualified immunity | Not applicable because constitutional violation occurred; officers reasonably should have known restraint was excessive | Officers entitled to qualified immunity because no constitutional violation shown | Court resolved favorably to officers on the constitutional-violation prong and granted qualified immunity |
| Causation of death / weight of expert evidence | Plaintiff’s expert: forcible restraint induced asphyxia and was principal cause of death | Defendants rely on ME: severe heart disease and methamphetamine substantially contributed; ongoing resistance justified restraint | Court found plaintiff’s expert insufficient to create a genuine dispute given resistance and toxicology/heart disease; factual record does not show violation |
| Municipal liability (Monell): unconstitutional policy / failure to train | City’s restraint policy and training caused constitutional violation and show deliberate indifference | City not liable because no underlying constitutional violation by officers | Because officers did not violate rights, City cannot be held liable under § 1983/Monell |
Key Cases Cited
- Ryan v. Armstrong, 850 F.3d 419 (8th Cir. 2017) (prone restraint not objectively unreasonable where detainee actively resisted)
- Kingsley v. Hendrickson, 135 S. Ct. 2466 (2015) (standard for objective-reasonableness in force claims)
- Ashcroft v. al-Kidd, 563 U.S. 731 (2011) (courts may decide either prong of qualified-immunity analysis first)
- Pope, 910 F.3d 413 (8th Cir. 2018) (handcuffs limit but do not eliminate harmful capacity)
- Ehlers v. City of Rapid City, 846 F.3d 1002 (8th Cir. 2017) (officer perception of resistance can be dispositive even if subject not actually resisting)
- Hill v. Carroll Cty., Miss., 587 F.3d 230 (5th Cir. 2009) (expert testimony that positional asphyxia caused death insufficient where detainee resisted)
- Mitchell v. Shearrer, 729 F.3d 1070 (8th Cir. 2013) (two-prong qualified-immunity framework)
- Greenman v. Jessen, 787 F.3d 882 (8th Cir. 2015) (affirming grant of qualified immunity based on constitutional-violation prong)
- Sanders v. City of Minneapolis, Minn., 474 F.3d 523 (8th Cir. 2007) (no Monell liability without an underlying constitutional violation)