Nature of the Case
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Facts
Thompson, then 17 years old, was alone at his apartment when P knocked on his door. Thompson did not open the door but looked through the peephole and recognized P, who had done this before. Thompson called the police and reported a prowler at his door. Officers Terrance and Sullivan (Ds) were in their car on patrol in uniform. They responded to the call. A burglary had 'just occurred' at that address on the same night and previously there had been 'numerous prowler calls' from that particular address and that area. They saw P walking from the rear door of the first-floor rear apartment to a rear window. P put his hands on the window and attempted to push it in. P was told to come to Ds. P did so, swearing, yelling, using many obscenities, unsteady, stumbling, giving the appearance that he had been drinking. There was a smell of alcohol on his breath. P would not identify himself. P produced a wallet, then dropped it, then picked it up. He continued to shout. Ds put P under arrest for disorderly conduct and used the police radio to have a squadrol sent to take P (who had been handcuffed) to jail. A squadrol arrived with Officers Baldridge and Mickleborough, also defendants here. They took P off in the squadrol, to which he had walked without trouble and entered with some assistance. They reached the station with no issues in about 5 minutes, parked in the back, opened the door, and saw P on the floor with blood in a trickle-down the side and bridge of his nose and the upper lip area. They helped him up; he then walked with them to the jail area where he was turned over to the keeper. P was taken to Henrotin Hospital, two blocks away, escorted by the arresting officers. P was more combative, yelling louder, and was worse in every way than he had been before being arrested. The hospital staff tried to treat him but he refused treatment. The hospital report in evidence states that P was 'uncooperative', had a 'strong alcoholic-like odor' attempted 'to stage act of passing out', was 'verbally abusive', 'making racial slurs', and 'refused to have face washed.' His condition was 'fair, no acute distress.' P sued Ds under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983. P asserted in part that the squadrol had a defective design. P had the burden of proof. Ds put the designer and maker of the squadrol bodies. The design aimed for safety and sanitation. Padding, seat belts, and anything else that was loose or removable were eliminated, either because of sanitary conditions, safety for passengers, or security for police officers. It had to be possible to clean the interior with a water hose and steam. Aluminum was used, seams were avoided, fasteners and sharp edges were eliminated -- all to achieve smoothness for safety. The floor was aluminum with a non-skid pattern, especially for safety purposes. The seats and back rests were made of molded fiberglass, were four inches deeper than normal, and were slanted toward the rear so that the back was two inches lower than the front; this to prevent an occupant from being thrown forward. At trial in a motion in limine, the testimony of Franklin was excluded. Franklin was to testify that in June of 1980 he was arrested by police officers in Chicago, that handcuffed and with legs shackled he was transported in a squadrol, that during the ride he was injured by hitting the side of the floor of the squadrol, that he suffered severe injuries, and that his lips were nearly severed. The trial judge excluded the testimony as irrelevant and prejudicial. Ds got the verdict and Ps appealed.
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