Appellate Court Rejects Franklin County Inmate's Stun Gun Claim

A divided appeals court has rejected an Ohio jail inmate's claims that deputies used excessive force when shocking him with a stun gun at the jail and later at a hospital. The allegations by Michael Reed were among several claims of unconstitutional use of stun guns brought by inmates at the Franklin County jail in past years. Reed said deputies improperly used a stun gun when trying to remove him from his cell for a medical appointment following a seizure on Jan. 29, 2009, and again later in the day at the hospital. A three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that deputies responded appropriately to control Reed and his claims aren't backed up by video evidence. A message was left with Reed's lawyer.