Lombardo v. Saint Louis City, 361 F. Supp. 3d 882

Background

December 8, 2015: Nicholas Gilbert was arrested, booked into St. Louis central patrol holdover, placed in an individual cell, and later restrained after officers observed alarming/erratic behavior and an apparent suicide attempt.
Multiple officers (10 named) entered the cell; Gilbert was handcuffed, leg‑shackled, moved to the floor and restrained in a prone position while continuing to struggle; EMS was called and CPR/AED attempted but Gilbert died at hospital.
Autopsy: Dr. Turner concluded death was accidental from arteriosclerotic heart disease exacerbated by methamphetamine and forcible restraint; parties dispute whether asphyxiation from prone restraint was the primary cause.
Plaintiffs sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for excessive force and municipal liability (Monell); they later abandoned deliberate‑indifference medical and state negligence claims. Individual officers and the City moved for summary judgment.
The magistrate judge granted summary judgment for defendants, holding officers entitled to qualified immunity because the law on prone restraint under these facts was not clearly established; City liable only if individual violations established, so municipal claims failed.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether officers used constitutionally excessive force in restraining Gilbert (including prone restraint)	Restraints and alleged pressure on back/torso while handcuffed/prone caused asphyxiation and violated Fourth Amendment	Officers responded to an apparent suicide attempt and active resistance; force was objectively reasonable to gain control and prevent harm	Officers entitled to qualified immunity because the unlawfulness of their conduct was not "clearly established" as of Dec. 8, 2015; summary judgment for officers granted
Whether a reasonable officer would have known prone restraint under these circumstances was unlawful	Prone restraint on handcuffed detainee is per se or clearly unlawful, especially when it results in breathing distress	Controlling precedent did not place the question beyond debate; circuits are split and existing precedent did not clearly prohibit the conduct here	Court: right not sufficiently particularized; no bright‑line rule; qualified immunity applies
Whether the City is liable under Monell for policy/custom or failure to train	City policies/customs and training caused constitutional deprivation — City deliberately indifferent	Individual officer liability is a predicate to municipal liability; officers are entitled to immunity	Municipal claims dismissed because individual constitutional violation was not established
Whether length/placement of restraint (time prone, pressure on back) made force excessive	Fifteen minutes prone and pressure on torso/back rendered force unreasonable and dangerous	Similar case law permits short-term prone/body‑weight control for resisting subjects; factual differences in plaintiff’s cited cases	Court finds no controlling consensus tying liability to these facts; time/placement do not render right clearly established

Key Cases Cited

Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (qualified immunity protects government officials from suit absent violation of clearly established rights)
Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989) (excessive‑force claims judged by objective‑reasonableness standard)
Mullenix v. Luna, 136 S. Ct. 305 (2015) (clearly established inquiry must be particularized; officers entitled to deference in split‑second decisions)
White v. Pauly, 137 S. Ct. 548 (2017) (reiterating not to define clearly established law at high level of generality)
Kisela v. Hughes, 138 S. Ct. 1148 (2018) (excessive‑force outcomes depend heavily on facts; qualified immunity where precedent does not squarely govern)
De La Rosa v. White, 852 F.3d 740 (8th Cir. 2017) (qualified immunity standards and need for robust consensus of authority)
Ryan v. Armstrong, 850 F.3d 419 (8th Cir. 2017) (placing body weight on restrained, prone detainee inside jail cell that later died — officers granted qualified immunity)
Pratt v. Harris County, 822 F.3d 174 (5th Cir. 2016) (affirming immunity where multiple officers restrained prone, handcuffed detainee and death followed)
Wagner v. Bay City, 227 F.3d 316 (5th Cir. 2000) (officers entitled to qualified immunity for force on prone arrestee who later stopped breathing)