Dist. Ct. erred in granting defendants-prison guards’ motion for summary judgment in plaintiff-prisoners’ section 1983 action alleging that defendants violated plaintiffs’ 8th Amendment rights by discharging their shotguns that scattered buckshot over crowded prison dining hall that injured plaintiffs during disturbance that involved two other prisoners. While defendants claimed that they fired their shotguns as necessary warning to other inmates whom defendants claimed were still resisting efforts to breakup conflict, record contained other evidence indicating that disturbance was over at time shotguns had been fired, and that shotguns had either been aimed at plaintiffs or were aimed at area in ceiling that had likelihood of buckshot ricocheting to prisoners. As such, reasonable jury could conclude that there was no need for any warning shots, and thus there was some evidence that defendants discharged their shotguns with malice and/or sadism, which would counter defendants' claim that they acted in good faith by discharging shotguns to restore order. (Dissent filed.)
Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
Prisoners