The lower court(s) ruled that a federal criminal statute that enforces constitutional limits on conduct by law enforcement officers, provided in relevant part as: "whoever, under color of any law, willfully subjects any person to deprivation of any rights, privileges, immunities secured or protected by the constitution or laws of the united states shall be guilty of a crime." Section 242 is intended to protect all persons in the united states in their civil rights, and to furnish the means to their vindication.

Whether the Fourteenth Amendment and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 prohibit law enforcement officers from using excessive force against individuals who are handcuffed and pose no threat