Summary judgement Friday reaffirmed in favor of Gwinnett County Sheriff Butch Conway and members of his staff in a 2013 lawsuit over the use of restraint chairs.
United States Disctict Judge Steve C. Jones granted the summary judgement to Conway and two members of his command staff also named in the suit in February 2015, but an appellate court remanded the case to Judge Jones in light of a U.S. Supreme Court case.
In the 66 page order Friday, the Court found no constituional violations had occurred and dismissed the plantiff's claims in their entirety.
“I’ve been proud of the Rapid Response Team and their excellent work since the team was formed in 2008. They train hard to maintain a safe environment in the jail for inmates and staff alike,” says Sheriff Conway.
“Interestingly, this is the second summary judgment in our favor from the federal court. When you do things the right way, things always seem to work out in your favor. It’ll be interesting to see if attorneys Craig Jones and John Cicala are ready to concede that my highly trained, experienced deputies are doing a good job. Any further expenditure of time or resources pursuing these baseless claims would appear to be a waste for both of them.”
The lawsuit was filed by four former inmates at the Gwinnett County jail and challenged the use of restraint chairs, which are used as a safety tool for disruptive inmates, posing a danger to themselves or others.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2016/4/382831/judge-rules-in-favor-of-gwinnett-county-sheriffs-office-in-2013-lawsuit