Shanika Day, et al. v. Franklin Wooten, et al.
FourthAmendment JusticiabilityDoctri
Does an arrestee have a clearly established right to have his difficulty breathing considered by officers in their handcuff and adverse body position, resulting in the inability to consume oxygen by the arrestee, even if the arrestee does not specifically state, prior to dying, that the position he is being held and handcuffs are causing or exacerbating his asphyxiation?
QUESTION PRESENTED A law enforcement officer is not entitled to qualified immunity in a § 1983 excessive force action if he violated a constitutional right which was clearly established at the time of the violation. 1. Does an arrestee crying “I can’t breathe!” multiple times have a clearly established right to have his difficulty breathing considered by officers in their handcuff and adverse body position, resulting in the inability to consume oxygen by the arrestee, even if the arrestee does not specifically state, prior to dying, that the position he is being held and handcuffs are causing or exacerbating his asphyxiation? 2. Does an asphyxiating arrestee have a clearly established right to be free from excessively tight handcuffs that are restricting his breathing, even if the arrestee does not specifically state, prior to dying, that the tightness of the handcuffs is the cause?