Second Circuit – Rogoz v. City of Hartford

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U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

Excessive Force

Summary Judgment – Light Most Favorable to Non-Movant

Rogoz v. City of Hartford

14-0876

Judges Kearse, Parker and Wesley

Background: The plaintiff appealed from the grant of summary judgment dismissing his complaint that alleged the use of excessive force by the defendants in the course of an arrest. The plaintiff alleged that the defendant police officers broke a rib and his spine in two places after he had unresistingly complied with orders to lie on the ground face down with his hands behind his back.

Ruling: The Second Circuit affirmed in part and vacated in part. The court held that there were no material disagreements with the allegation that the plaintiff complied with the police officer’s orders to pull his vehicle over, exit the vehicle and lie on the ground. A jury could easily infer that when the defendant police officer jumped on the plaintiff’s back, the plaintiff was not actively resisting arrest or attempting to evade arrest. Additionally, the Second Circuit held that the district court failed to analyze the amount of force that was employed against the plaintiff.

A.Paul Spinella for the plaintiff-appellant; Nathalie Feola-Guerrieri, senior assistant corporation counsel, and William J. Melley III for the defendants-appellees