Opinion
CAUSE NO. 3:20-CV-938-RLM-MGG
05-03-2021
JORDAN WAYNE FISHER, Plaintiff, v. SHADE, Defendant.
OPINION AND ORDER
Jordan Wayne Fisher, a prisoner proceeding without a lawyer, filed a complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging excessive force was used against him. The court must review the merits of a prisoner complaint and dismiss it if the action is frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A. A filing by an unrepresented party "is to be liberally construed, and a pro se complaint, however inartfully pleaded, must be held to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers." Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94 (2007) (quotation marks and citations omitted).
Mr. Fisher alleges that on July 27, 2020, his cell door was opened for showers. Upon stepping out, he heard a command to lock down. He turned to reenter his cell, and Sergeant Shade shot him on the back of his arm with a 40mm wooden slug for no reason. The shot caused nerve damage, and Mr. Fisher continues to experience numbness, tingling, and limited use of the arm.
The "core requirement" for an excessive force claim is that the defendant "used force not in a good-faith effort to maintain or restore discipline, but maliciously and sadistically to cause harm." Hendrickson v. Cooper, 589 F.3d 887, 890 (7th Cir. 2009) (internal citation omitted). "[T]he question whether the measure taken inflicted unnecessary and wanton pain and suffering ultimately turns on whether force was applied in a good faith effort to maintain or restore discipline or maliciously and sadistically for the very purpose of causing harm." Whitley v. Albers, 475 U.S. 312, 320-21 (1986) (quotation marks and citation omitted). Mr. Fisher's complaint plausibly alleges Sergeant Shade used excessive force in violation of the Eighth Amendment.
For these reasons, the court:
(1) GRANTS Jordan Wayne Fisher leave to proceed against Sergeant Shade in his individual capacity for compensatory and punitive damages for shooting him in the arm on July 27, 2020, in violation of the Eighth Amendment;
(2) DISMISSES all other claims;
(3) DIRECTS the clerk to request Waiver of Service from (and if necessary, the United States Marshals Service to use any lawful means to locate and serve process on) Sergeant Shade at the Indiana Department of Correction with a copy of this order and the complaint (ECF 2), pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(d);
(4) ORDERS the Indiana Department of Correction to provide the full name, date of birth, and last known home address of any defendant who does not waive service, if they have such information;
(5) ORDERS, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(g)(2), Sergeant Shade to respond to the complaint as provided for in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and N.D. Ind. L.R. 10-1(b), only to the claim for which the plaintiff has been granted leave to proceed in this screening order.
SO ORDERED on May 3, 2021
s/ Robert L. Miller, Jr.
JUDGE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT