Raymond Berthiaume v. David T. Smith

Raymond Berthiaume brought suit against Lieutenant David Smith of the Key West Police Department and the City of Key West (“the City”) under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1988 and Florida law, alleging claims of excessive force, false arrest, false imprisonment, battery/unnecessary force, and malicious prosecution, arising from Lieutenant Smith’s October 2013 arrest of Berthiaume. Following a three-day trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the Defendants, and the district court subsequently denied Berthiaume’s motion for a new trial.

On appeal, Berthiaume contends that he was denied a fair…