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Tenth Circuit: No Qualified Immunity for Oklahoma Jail Guard Who Kneed Handcuffed Prisoner’s Face
Loaded on Feb. 1, 2024
by Matthew Clarke
published in Prison Legal News
February, 2024, page 42
Filed under:
Jail Misconduct,
Guard Brutality/Beatings,
Restraints,
Qualified Immunity.
Location:
Oklahoma.
by Matt Clarke
On July 11, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed denial of qualified immunity (QI) to an Oklahoma jail guard because a reasonable jury could find that kneeing a handcuffed pretrial detainee’s face “sufficed to show a legal violation.”
Jesse …
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More from this issue:
- Commissary and Food Service Privatization Strands Florida Prisoners in ‘Food Desert’, by David Reutter
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Virginia Settles Suit Over Prisoner’s Death from Untreated Hepatitis C for $700,000, by David Reutter
- Eleventh Circuit Refuses to Reimpose Death Sentence for Intellectually Disabled Alabama Prisoner
- Deaths and Lawsuits Mount at “Disgusting” Atlanta Jail
- Three L.A. Jail Gang Leaders Murdered
- Nine Guilty So Far in Sprawling California Aryan Brotherhood Case
- $3 Million Settlement for Illinois Pretrial Detainee’s Opioid Withdrawal Death, by David Reutter
- First Circuit Lets BOP Take Prisoner’s Entire $10,956.36 Trust Account Balance for Restitution, by Douglas Ankney
- $2.9 Million Paid by Maryland to Exonerated Former Prisoner
- BOP Evacuates Federal Prison in Florida After Possible Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
- Censoring Women’s Health, by Kwaneta Harris
- Second Circuit Says New York Prisons Must Answer for Denying Court-Ordered Rehab, by David Reutter
- In Suit Over Connecticut Prisoner’s Death, Attorney General Will No Longer Represent Guard Convicted of Assault
- South Carolina Pays $200,000 to Jail Detainees Exposed to Toxic Fumes, by Douglas Ankney
- Ninth Circuit Revives Challenge by Federal Prisoner in Arizona to BOP’s 300-Minute Monthly Phone Cap, by David Reutter
- No Data to Prove Whether $600-Million California Parole Effort Worked
- Inmate Records Released from Closed Washington Psychiatric Lockup
- Maine Prison Official Charged with Theft and Bribery in Decade-Long Kickback Scheme
- First Prisoners Released Two Years After Illinois Passed Law to Revisit Excessive Sentences
- Ohio Prisoner Wins $2,000 Settlement for Guard Abuse Claims, Loses Appeal to Uncover Identity of Prison Officials Who Negotiated It, by Matthew Clarke
- Writing on the Prison Wall: How Prisons Suppress Prison Journalism
- Resistance to Bail Reform Powered By Untruthful Scaremongering, by David Reutter
- Fifth Circuit Denies Qualified Immunity to Louisiana Prison Chief for Prolonging Prisoner’s Detention with Sex Offender Misclassification, by David Reutter
- Sixth Circuit Revives Suit by Pregnant Mentally Ill Michigan Detainee Allegedly Kicked in Her Womb by Jail Guard, Losing Baby
- Eighth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Minnesota Jail Guard Accused of Grabbing and Squeezing Detainee’s Penis, by Mark Wilson
- Rikers Island Guard Accidentally Records Himself Planting Shiv in Prisoner’s Cell
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Disciplinary Sanction Revoking Over 15 Years of Indiana Prisoner’s Good Time, by Douglas Ankney
- Record Temperatures in Southern Prisons Called Cruel and Unusual Punishment
- Fifth Circuit Says Both Texas Prisoner’s Dismissed Suit and His Lost Appeal Count as “Strikes”, by Douglas Ankney
- Restorative Justice Program Boosts South Carolina Prison and Public Safety, by David Reutter
- Fifth Circuit: Texas Jail Guard’s Use of Taser on Compliant Detainee Unconstitutional, by David Reutter
- Lawsuit Claims Kentucky Prison Officials Ignored Chaplain’s Sexual Abuse
- Tenth Circuit: No Qualified Immunity for Oklahoma Jail Guard Who Kneed Handcuffed Prisoner’s Face, by Matthew Clarke
- BOP Slammed for Prisoner Abuse in Now-Shuttered Segregation Unit at USP-Thomson in Illinois, by Douglas Ankney
- DOJ Concludes BOP Pretrial Detainees Need Improvements in Access to Attorneys, by Matthew Clarke
- Ohio Prisoner Has Now Collected $5,700 for Denied Public Records Requests
- Virginia Sheriff Indicted for Selling Auxiliary Deputy Sheriff Credentials, by Matthew Clarke
- Seventh Circuit Reinstates Claim of Illinois Prisoner Held 18 Months After Release for Refusing to Sign Incomplete Form, by Matthew Clarke
- Oklahoma Prisoner’s Conviction Tossed After Judge’s Affair With Prosecutor Uncovered, by Douglas Ankney
- San Diego County Jail Accused of Letting Mentally Ill Detainee Starve to Death, by Matthew Clarke
- Washington Fined Over $100 Million for Delays in Competency Evaluations and Restoration, by Douglas Ankney
- Seventh Circuit Finds Jail Guard May Be Liable for Delayed Response to Illinois Detainee’s Fatal Heart Attack, by Douglas Ankney
- Misconduct Shades Sexual Assault Suit As Hawaii Settles With Prisoners for $2 Million, by Douglas Ankney
- Subclass Certified and Settlement Proposed to Address ADA Violations at Long-Plagued San Diego County Jails, by Douglas Ankney
- Former Oklahoma Undersheriff Gets 22 Months In Prison for Beating Handcuffed Jail Detainee, by Douglas Ankney
- Third Circuit Revives Claim by Federal Prisoner in Pennsylvania that Delayed Cancer Treatment Cost Him a Testicle, by David Reutter
- Texas Looks to Find Prison Guards in High Schools
- Almost $950,000 Paid by Inmate Services Corp. for Hellish Prisoner Transports, by David Reutter
- Champion of Death Row Prisoners Accused of Spoiling Oklahoman’s Clemency
- Michigan Supreme Court: DOC Owes Attorney Fees in Public Records Case Even if Plaintiff Is Represented Pro Bono, by Matthew Clarke
- News in Brief
- Cash Bail Eliminated in Illinois, Reduced in Los Angeles County
- How “Big Capital” Learned to Love Mass Incarceration
More from Matthew Clarke:
- Idaho Supreme Court Holds Indigent Parents Have Constitutional Right to Counsel at Public Expense, July 1, 2026
- Free Phone Calls Saved Prisoners and Their Families More than $600 Million, Report Finds, July 1, 2026
- California Appeals Court Holds Defendant Cannot Be Penalized for Failing to Appear at Sentencing When He Was Being Held in Another County’s Jail on Preexisting Charges, July 1, 2026
- SCOTUS Reverses Mississippi Capital Conviction, July 1, 2026
- Tenth Circuit Upholds $33 Million Jury Award in Suit Over Detainee’s Horrific Death in Oklahoma County Jail, July 1, 2026
- Texas Prison System Bans Prisoners from Receiving Hardback and Used Books, July 1, 2026
- CoreCivic’s Long Record of Abuse and Neglect in Tennessee, June 1, 2026
- Dallas County Jail Deaths, Many Preventable, Dramatically Increase Under Sheriff Marian Brown, June 1, 2026
- Ninth Circuit Lets Stand Ruling That Federal Prisoners’ Gradually Accumulated Savings Are Subject to Restitution Turnover, June 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Reinstates Illinois Prisoner’s Lawsuit Against Prison Dental Staff, June 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- Detainee Deaths Went Unreported at Dallas County Jail, July 1, 2026. Jail Misconduct, Statistics/Trends, Databases, Public Records.
- Ohio Jail Leaders Knew Cameras Were Broken for Four Years Before Fixing Them, July 1, 2026. Jail Misconduct, Security Systems, Disclosure of Records, Wrongful Death, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of.
- Safety of “The Wrap” Restraint Device Questioned Amid Fatalities and Criticism From Medical Experts, July 1, 2026. Police Misconduct, Failure to Treat, Restraints, Police--Excessive Force, Federal Legislation.
- CoreCivic’s Long Record of Abuse and Neglect in Tennessee, June 1, 2026. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Systemic Medical Neglect, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- Warden, Four Other Louisiana Jailers Indicted for Brutalizing Compliant Detainees with Riot Shield, June 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Stun Guns/Tasers, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Wrongful Use of Force.
- $112,500 Paid to Former New Mexico Prisoner Denied Public Records of Excessive Force by Guards, June 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Settlements, Public Records Act, False Imprisonment.
- $75,000 for Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Excessive Force Claim Against Jail Guard, June 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Guard Brutality/Beatings, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Monell Liability, Wrongful Use of Force.
- $1 Million Settlement Reached in Jail Suicide of Maryland Detainee Whose Emergency Hospitalization Order Was Ignored, June 1, 2026. Qualified Immunity, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Suicides, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Deliberate Indifference.
- Two More Guards Face Prison Time for Messiah Nantwi Killing, June 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Sentencing, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.
- Sixth Circuit Rules Prisoner Held After Parole Board Ordered Release on Parole Could Not State a Rights Violation Claim, June 1, 2026. Parole, Overdetention, Qualified Immunity, Fourteenth Amendment, rights, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights.

