United States First Circuit

Defendants were properly granted judgment as a matter of law in this excessive force case arising from the decision to use pepper spray on an axe-wielding man who had taken hostages in a liquor store. Because no jury could rationally conclude that the decision was objectively unreasonable, both the excessive force and the wrongful death claims were correctly dismissed.

Appellate Information

• Decided 02/25/2004
• Published 02/25/2004

Judges

• LYNCH, Circuit Judge., Before LYNCH, Circuit Judge, STAHL, Senior Circuit Judge, and LIPEZ, Circuit Judge.

Court

• United States First Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Edward P. Manning, Jr., for appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Anthony F. DeMarco, with whom Reynolds, DeMarco & Boland, Ltd. was on brief, for appellees.