United States v. Schatzle case brief

United States v. Schatzle

1. 1. Facts: S was a secret service officer, who beat a person after he ran in front of a motorcade with Senator Gore (who was running for VP at that time). He subsequently arrested the individual. He was charged with a 242 violation, the allegation was that he used excessive force in his arrest.
   2. Issue: What is the standard for excessive force?
   3. The court holds that the use of excessive force in an arrest is a violation of a person’s fourth amendment right to be free from seizures, so the fourth amendment’s reasonableness test should be employed. The Supreme Court held that the standard is whether S was reasonable in light of the particular situation and dangers facing S at the time he encountered the individual.