Smith v. Bortner

In this appeal, we are asked to determine the appropriate State constitutional standard for a claim that police used excessive force on a citizen in custody following a valid arrest. The unfortunate circumstances described below led Eyrania Smith, appellant, to file suit in January 2008 in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County against Michael Bortner, appellee, an officer of the Baltimore County Police Department. In that suit, she alleged that the officer mistreated her following her arrest while she was in custody at a Baltimore County police station awaiting transfer to the Baltimore City…