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[ PUBLISH]
In the
United States Court of Appeals
For the Eleventh Circuit
____________________
No. 22-11106
____________________
DUDLEY TEEL,
as Personal Representative of the Estate of Susan Teel, deceased,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
versus
DEPUTY SHERIFF JONATHAN LOZADA,
in his individual capacity,
Defendant-Appellee,
SHERIFF ERIC FLOWERS,
in his official capacity as the Sheriff of Indian River County,
Defendant-Appellee.
____________________
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2 Opinion of the Court 22-11106
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Florida
D.C. Docket No. 2:18-cv-14367-DMM
____________________
Before JORDAN, LAGOA, and MARCUS, Circuit Judges.
LAGOA, Circuit Judge:
Dr. Dudley Teel, Susan Teel’s husband and the personal rep-
resentative of Susan Teel’s estate (“Estate”), appeals the district
court’s grant of summary judgment in Defendants’ favor. This ap-
peal stems from the events that led to Susan Teel’s death after her
attempted suicide at her home.
Dr. Teel—acting on behalf of Mrs. Teel’s Estate—sued Dep-
uty Jonathan Lozada and the Sheriff of Indian River County and
alleged two claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983: one for excessive force
under the Fourth Amendment and another under Monell v. Depart-
ment of Social Services of the City of New York, 436 U.S. 658 (1978). 1
The district court initially granted summary judgment in favor of
Deputy Lozada and the Sheriff, but we reversed in part and vacated
in part in an earlier appeal. Teel v. Lozada, 826 F. App’x 880 (11th
Cir. 2020) (“Teel I”). On remand, the district court granted sum-
mary judgment as to the Estate’s Monell claim, but the excessive
1 The Estate also alleged two Florida wrongful death claims but later volun-
tarily dismissed them, so only the § 1983 claims remain relevant to this appeal.
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22-11106 Opinion of the Court 3
force claim proceeded to trial. At trial, the jury found that Deputy
Lozada did not use excessive force in violation of the Fourth
Amendment. The Estate now appeals the grant of summary judg-
ment on the Monell claim, two of the district court’s jury instruc-
tions, and one of the district court’s evidentiary rulings.
After careful review, and with the benefit of oral argument,
we affirm as to all issues.
I. FACTUAL & PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
On July 26, 2017, Susan Teel attempted suicide by cutting
her wrists with a kitchen knife. Shortly after the attempt, her hus-
band, Dr. Teel, discovered his wife getting out of their bathtub,
which was filled with blood and water. Dr. Teel said that he was
going to call 911, but Mrs. Teel responded, “No, you are not.”
“Yes, I am,” he said. “I am not going. . . . [Y]ou are not calling 911,”
she insisted. As Dr. Teel tried to call 911, Mrs. Teel repeatedly bat-
ted at the phone to prevent him from calling for help. Dr. Teel told
his wife that he was going to text their daughter, Sara Gordon, who,
in turn, called 911.
Deputies Lozada and Samuel Earman both responded to the
911 call, but Deputy Lozada arrived first. While Dr. Teel was with
his wife, he heard Deputy Lozada knock on the front door. When
Dr. Teel opened the door, Deputy Lozada observed blood on Dr.
Teel’s shirt. Dr. Teel informed Deputy Lozada that his wife had
been drinking, may have taken Ativan, had a knife, and had cut her
wrists.
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4 Opinion of the Court 22-11106
Before Deputy Lozada ascended the stairs in search of Mrs.
Teel, Dr. Teel warned him to “be careful.” Deputy Lozada in-
tended to take Mrs. Teel into custody under Florida’s Baker Act, see
Fla. Stat. § 394.463, and felt a sense of urgency because he knew
that Mrs. Teel was injured and needed assistance. Deputy Lozada
also knew that he would need to secure Mrs. Teel and take the knife
away from her before EMS could treat her wounds.
As Deputy Lozada proceeded up the stairway, he held his
firearm in the ready position—tucking the firearm against his body
with his left hand, covering it with his right hand, and pointing the
muzzle down. When Deputy Lozada reached the top of the stairs,
he did not see or hear anyone but noticed that the master bedroom
light was on. He went to the master bedroom’s doorway and ob-
served Mrs. Teel lying face up on the bed. Because Deputy Lozada
knew that Mrs. Teel was armed with a knife, he said, “Hey, Susan,
sheriff’s office, let me see your hands.” Mrs. Teel arose, produced
a thirteen-inch kitchen knife, raised the knife above her head,
pointed the knife at Deputy Lozada, and said, “Fuck you, kill me.”
As Deputy Lozada announced over the radio that Mrs. Teel had a
knife, she started walking toward him. Believing he was in grave
danger, Deputy Lozada uncovered his firearm and said, “Don’t
come near me.” Mrs. Teel kept approaching until she was within
three to five feet of Deputy Lozada. Deputy Lozada fired one
round and retreated, but Mrs. Teel kept coming toward him. Dep-
uty Lozada fired again and continued walking backward, but she
kept advancing. Finally, as Deputy Lozada reached the threshold
of the bedroom, he fired a third shot, and Mrs. Teel collapsed.
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22-11106 Opinion of the Court 5
Deputy Lozada immediately radioed for EMS, but Mrs. Teel died a
few minutes later.
On September 10, 2018, the Estate brought a four-count
complaint against Deputy Lozada, in his individual capacity, and
Sheriff Loar, in his official capacity as the Sheriff of Indian River
County (collectively, “Defendants”). 2 In Count 1, the Estate
brought a § 1983 claim against Deputy Lozada alleging excessive
force under the Fourth Amendment. In Count 2, the Estate
brought a § 1983 claim alleging that the Sheriff is liable under Mo-
nell, 436 U.S. 658, because he failed to properly train, discipline, and
supervise Deputy Lozada. And in Counts 3 and 4, the Estate
brought two state law claims for wrongful death, against the Sher-
iff and Lozada, respectively. Because the Estate voluntarily dis-
missed the state law claims, only the § 1983 claims remain relevant
to this appeal.
Initially, the district court granted summary judgment in fa-
vor of Deputy Lozada and the Sheriff, but we reversed in part and
vacated in part in an earlier appeal. Teel I, 826 F. App’x 880. Fol-
lowing our remand, the district court granted summary judgment
in favor of the Sheriff on the Estate’s Monell claim. To prove a Mo-
nell claim, “a plaintiff must show: (1) that his constitutional rights
were violated; (2) that the municipality had a custom or policy that
constituted deliberate indifference to that constitutional right; and
2 Eric Flowers, in his official capacity, is now substituted as a party Defendant
for Deryl Loar because Flowers is Loar’s successor as the Sheriff of Indian
River County.
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6 Opinion of the Court 22-11106
(3) that the policy or custom caused the violation.” McDowell v.
Brown, 392 F.3d 1283, 1289 (11th Cir. 2004). Before the first appeal,
the district court granted summary judgment because it found that
the Estate failed to demonstrate a genuine dispute as to whether
Mrs. Teel’s Fourth Amendment right to be free from excessive
force was violated. After we reversed that ruling, the Sheriff
moved for reconsideration of summary judgment based on the lat-
ter two Monell elements. The district court granted the motion,
finding that the Estate failed to show that there was a genuine dis-
pute as to whether the Sheriff’s Office had a custom or policy of
deliberate indifference toward Fourth Amendment rights.
The Estate’s excessive force claim against Deputy Lozada
proceeded to trial, and the jury found that Deputy Lozada did not
use excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment. (DE
196.) Following the jury’s verdict, the district court entered final
judgment in favor of the Defendants and this timely appeal ensued.
II. STANDARDS OF REVIEW
“[W]e review jury instructions de novo to determine whether
they misstate the law or mislead the jury.” Caradigm USA LLC v.
PruittHealth, Inc., 964 F.3d 1259, 1277 n.12 (11th Cir. 2020) (quoting
Gowski v. Peake, 682 F.3d 1299, 1310 (11th Cir. 2012)). As to the
phrasing of jury instructions, we review for an abuse of discretion,
recognizing that district courts have “wide discretion as to the style
and wording employed” in its instructions. Id.; accord Farley v. Na-
tionwide Mut. Ins. Co., 197 F.3d 1322, 1329 (11th Cir. 1999). “If the
district court errs in its jury instructions, we will ‘consider the jury
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22-11106 Opinion of the Court 7
instructions as a whole’ to determine whether the error was re-
versible and ‘will not overturn a jury verdict because of an errone-
ous jury instruction unless there is also a showing of prejudice.’”
Caradigm, 964 F.3d at 1277 n.12 (quoting Oladeinde v. City of Bir-
mingham, 230 F.3d 1275, 1295–96 (11th Cir. 2000)); accord MidlevelU,
Inc. v. ACI Info. Grp., 989 F.3d 1205, 1215 (11th Cir. 2021); Conroy v.
Abraham Chevrolet-Tampa, Inc., 375 F.3d 1228, 1233 (11th Cir. 2004).
If a party timely objects to the admissibility of certain evi-
dence, we review the district court’s evidentiary ruling for an abuse
of discretion. Rosenberg v. DVI Receivables XIV, LLC, 818 F.3d 1283,
1292 (11th Cir. 2016). But we will not reverse where an error is
harmless. 28 U.S.C. § 2111; Fed. R. Civ. P. 61. And if a party fails to
timely object to the admissibility of evidence, we will deem the
party’s objection waived unless the district court plainly erred.
Watkins v. Bowden, 105 F.3d 1344, 1352 n.16 (11th Cir. 1997).
“We review a district court’s decision on summary judgment
de novo and apply the same legal standard used by the district court,
drawing all inferences in the light most favorable to the non-mov-
ing party and recognizing that summary judgment is appropriate
only where there are no genuine issues of material fact.” Smith v.
Owens, 848 F.3d 975, 978 (11th Cir. 2017). “We may affirm the judg-
ment below on any ground supported by the record, regardless of
whether it was relied on by the district court.” Statton v. Fla. Fed.
Jud. Nominating Comm’n, 959 F.3d 1061, 1065 (11th Cir. 2020).
III. ANALYSIS
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8 Opinion of the Court 22-11106
On appeal, the Estate argues that the district court commit-
ted reversible error through its jury instructions, evidentiary rul-
ing, and summary judgment order on the Estate’s Monell claim. We
address these arguments in turn.
A. Jury Instructions
The Estate appeals two of the district court’s jury instruc-
tions: the Graham excessive force instruction and the Baker Act in-
struction. In response, Deputy Lozada argues that Dr. Teel waived
the objections he now advances on appeal and that the district
court’s Graham and Baker Act instructions were correct, or alterna-
tively, not prejudicial.
At trial, the parties proposed different jury instructions on
Graham v. Connor’s test for excessive force under the Fourth
Amendment. See 490 U.S. 386, 396 (1989). The Estate proposed
that the district court use this Court’s pattern Graham instruction,
which directs jurors to weigh “factors such as the crime’s severity,
whether a suspect poses an immediate violent threat to others,
whether the suspect resists or flees, the need for application of force,
the relationship between the need for force and the amount of
force used, and the extent of the injury inflicted.” 11th Cir. Civ.
Pattern Jury Instr. 5.4 (emphases added). Deputy Lozada proposed
an alternative Graham instruction—one that was tailored to the use
of force in medical emergencies, not criminal arrests. Because at-
tempted suicide is not a crime in Florida and because Mrs. Teel was
not under arrest at the time of the shooting, the district court con-
cluded that factors such as “the crime’s severity” and “whether the
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22-11106 Opinion of the Court 9
suspect resists or flees” would needlessly confuse the jury. To re-
duce confusion, the district court instructed the jury to consider
“the severity of the risk of harm” instead of “the crime’s severity,”
and removed language instructing the jury to consider whether
“the suspect resists or flees.”
With regard to the Baker Act instruction, Deputy Lozada re-
quested an instruction on the procedure for involuntary examina-
tion under Florida’s Baker Act. The Estate contended that the dis-
trict court should modify Deputy Lozada’s proposed instruction
because the instruction failed to provide a fulsome recitation of the
Baker Act’s criteria. The district court rejected the Estate’s conten-
tion and instead provided an instruction quoting one of the Baker
Act’s criteria, see Fla. Stat. § 394.463(1)(b)(2), but omitting other
conditions for involuntary examination, see id. § 394.463(1)(a). We
turn first to Deputy Lozada’s waiver argument.
Deputy Lozada argues that the Estate waived its objections
to the district court’s Graham instruction and Baker Act instruction
by failing to clearly object to both instructions in a timely manner.
Specifically, Lozada claims that the Estate failed to renew its objec-
tion to the final version of the jury instructions on the last day of
trial. The Estate replies that it timely raised both objections and
that once the district court ruled, it did not need to reraise the ob-
jections again on the morning of closing arguments.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 51(c)(2) provides that an ob-
jection to jury instructions is timely if “a party objects at the op-
portunity provided under Rule 51(b)(2).” Federal Rule of Civil
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10 Opinion of the Court 22-11106
Procedure 51(b)(2) provides that the district court “must give the
parties an opportunity to object on the record and out of the jury’s
hearing before the instructions and arguments are delivered.” “We
interpret Rule 51 strictly, and require a party to object to a jury in-
struction or jury verdict form prior to jury deliberations in order to
preserve the issue on appeal.” Farley, 197 F.3d at 1329. “This re-
quirement ensures that a trial judge has an opportunity to correct
any error before a jury has begun its deliberations.” Id. “There are
two exceptions to this rule: ‘first, where a party has made its posi-
tion clear to the court previously and further objection would be
futile; and second, where it is necessary to correct a fundamental
error or prevent a miscarriage of justice.’” Parker v. Scrap Metal Pro-
cessors, Inc., 386 F.3d 993, 1018 (11th Cir. 2004) (quoting Farley, 197
F.3d at 1329 (internal quotation omitted)).
We hold that the Estate’s objections to the Graham instruc-
tion and the Baker Act instruction were timely because the Estate
timely objected under Rule 51(c)(2). The distinction between the
Estate’s and Deputy Lozada’s separate Graham instructions is evi-
dent from the parties’ proposed jury instructions. The Estate rec-
ommended adopting this Court’s pattern Graham instruction while
Deputy Lozada sought to introduce a variation of the Graham in-
struction and argued in support of that variation in both a memo-
randum and a trial brief. At the end of the first day of trial, the
parties discussed their dispute over the Graham factors with the dis-
trict court, and Dr. Teel clearly stated his objection to the modified
Graham factors. Then, after the defense rested its case in chief, the
district court held a charge conference and considered which
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22-11106 Opinion of the Court 11
Graham instruction to adopt. The district court explained that the
usual Graham instruction did not fit well because this case did not
involve a traditional arrest for a crime. After trial, the district court
issued a supplemental order explaining why its Graham instruction
varied from our pattern Graham instruction. The supplemental or-
der explained that the parties disputed the proper Graham instruc-
tion and never stated that the Estate’s objection to the variation was
untimely. Thus, the record shows that the Estate objected to the
Graham instruction at the time provided under Rule 51(b)(2) and
that the district court considered and resolved the issue in favor of
Deputy Lozada before the case was submitted to the jury.
The Estate also objected to the district court’s Baker Act in-
struction. At the charge conference, the Estate argued that the dis-
trict court’s Baker Act instruction failed to describe the complete
criteria that an officer must account for before subjecting a person
to involuntary examination. In particular, the Estate’s counsel ar-
gued before the district court “that what your Honor is putting into
that instruction is just a part of the involuntary examination stat-
ute, which . . . does not give a fulsome recitation of Florida law.”
This is the same argument that the Estate advances on appeal. We
thus reject Deputy Lozada’s waiver argument and now proceed to
the merits.
1. The Graham Instruction
We turn first to the Graham jury instruction. Under Graham
v. Connor, objectively unreasonable uses of force violate the Fourth
Amendment. See 490 U.S. at 397. “Determining whether the force
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used to effect a particular seizure is ‘reasonable’ under the Fourth
Amendment requires a careful balancing of ‘the nature and quality
of the intrusion on the individual’s Fourth Amendment interests’
against the countervailing governmental interests at stake.” Id. at
396 (quoting Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1, 8 (1985)). The test for
objective reasonableness “depends on the ‘facts and circumstances
of each particular case, including the severity of the crime at issue,
whether the suspect poses an immediate threat to the safety of the
officers or others, and whether he is actively resisting arrest or at-
tempting to evade arrest by flight.’” Helm v. Rainbow City, 989 F.3d
1265, 1273 (11th Cir. 2021) (quoting Graham, 490 U.S. at 396). We
have also highlighted other factors for consideration, including:
“the need for application of force, the relationship between the
need and amount of force used, and the extent of the injury in-
flicted by the arresting officer.” Id.
This Court’s Pattern Jury Instruction 5.4 illustrates how dis-
trict courts should generally instruct juries under the Graham test.
At the time of the trial, Pattern Instruction 5.4 stated, in relevant
part:
When making a lawful arrest, an officer has the right to
use reasonably necessary force to complete the arrest.
Whether a specific use of force is excessive or unrea-
sonable depends on factors such as the crime’s severity,
whether a suspect poses an immediate violent threat
to others, whether the suspect resists or flees, the need for
application of force, the relationship between the
need for force and the amount of force used, and the
extent of the injury inflicted.
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11th Cir. Civ. Pattern Jury Instr. 5.4 (emphases added). The Estate’s
proposed instruction mirrored this Court’s pattern instruction.
But Deputy Lozada proposed an instruction that deviated from the
pattern instruction:
When making a lawful detention, an officer has the
right to use reasonably necessary force to complete
the detention. Whether a specific use of force is ex-
cessive or unreasonable depends on factors such as
whether Susan Teel was incapable of making a ra-
tional decision under the circumstances that posed an
immediate threat of serious bodily harm to Lozada,
whether some degree of force was reasonably neces-
sary to avoid the immediate threat, the nature of the
injury inflicted and whether the force used was more
than reasonably necessary under the circumstances
known to Lozada.
Deputy Lozada’s memorandum on the proposed instruction ar-
gued that the pattern instruction was inadequate because it was de-
signed for cases involving uses of force when an officer makes a
criminal arrest. Here, Deputy Lozada was responding to a Baker
Act call, not making a criminal arrest. The district court agreed
that, in a case not involving a criminal arrest, this Court’s pattern
instruction would confuse the jury. But the district court declined
to adopt Deputy Lozada’s proposed instruction; instead, the district
court slightly modified Pattern Instruction 5.4. The district court’s
modified instruction stated:
When taking a person into custody pursuant to the Baker
Act or making an arrest, an officer has the right to use
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reasonably necessary force. Whether a specific use of
force is excessive or unreasonable depends on factors
such as the severity of the risk of harm, whether the
subject poses an immediate violent threat of force to
others or herself, the need for the application of force,
the relationship between the need for the force and
the amount of force used, and the extent of the injury
inflicted.
(Emphasis added to note alterations to the pattern instruction).
On appeal, the Estate challenges these alterations, arguing
that the district court committed reversible error by removing ref-
erences to “the crime’s severity” and “whether the suspect resists”
arrest. The Estate acknowledges that attempted suicide is not a
crime and that Deputy Lozada was not attempting to arrest Mrs.
Teel. But the Estate notes that in Teel I, we held that “‘because
Florida does not recognize attempted suicide as a crime,’” the first
Graham factor “weighs in favor of Dr. Teel.” Teel I, 826 F. App’x at
886 (quoting Mercado v. City of Orlando, 407 F.3d 1152, 1157 (11th
Cir. 2005)).
We conclude that the Estate’s challenge to the district
court’s Graham instruction fails for several reasons. First, the Gra-
ham factors are flexible—the touchstone of the Graham test is “rea-
sonableness,” which “requires” balancing of “the nature and qual-
ity of the intrusion on the individual’s Fourth Amendment inter-
ests against the countervailing governmental interests at stake.”
490 U.S. at 396 (quoting Garner, 471 U.S. at 8). Although Graham
enumerated factors that courts may consider, see id., the Supreme
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22-11106 Opinion of the Court 15
Court reaffirmed that “the test of reasonableness under the Fourth
Amendment is not capable of precise definition or mechanical ap-
plication.” Id. (alteration adopted) (quoting Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S.
520, 559 (1979)).
In Kingsley v. Hendrickson, 576 U.S. 389 (2015), the Supreme
Court recognized that pretrial detainees may advance claims of ex-
cessive force under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth
Amendment. In Kingsley, the Court relied on Graham to articulate
what constitutes a reasonable use of force. Id. at 397. Importantly
here, Kingsley modified the “severity of the crime” factor and rela-
beled it, “the severity of the security problem at issue.” Id. That
adjustment makes more sense in the context of a pretrial detention.
Further, the Supreme Court emphasized that the Graham factors
are not “exclusive”: “[w]e mention these factors only to illustrate
the types of objective circumstances potentially relevant to a deter-
mination of excessive force.” Id. (emphasis added).
The Sixth Circuit also recognized Graham’s flexibility in Es-
tate of Hill ex rel. Hill v. Miracle, 853 F.3d 306 (6th Cir. 2017). In Mir-
acle, a police officer tased an individual who was fighting paramed-
ics but in need of urgent medical attention. Id. at 310–11. Because
of the police officer’s use of force, the individual became subdued
and received the medical care that he needed. Id. at 311. The Sixth
Circuit held that the district court erred by applying the traditional
Graham factors and denying summary judgment to the officer. Id.
at 313 (“The key problem is that the district court tried to apply the
Graham factors to a completely different factual situation—a
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16 Opinion of the Court 22-11106
medical emergency—where there was no crime, no resisting of ar-
rest, and no direct threat to the law-enforcement officer.”). The
court recognized an alternative test 3 for medical emergencies,
which was better aimed “towards the ultimate goal of determining
‘whether the officers’ actions are objectively reasonable in light of
the facts and circumstances confronting them.’” Id. at 314 (quoting
Graham, 490 U.S. at 397). And in Helm v. Rainbow City, we recog-
nized that Estate of Hill articulates “a test to determine whether
force is objectively reasonable under Graham when an officer is re-
sponding to a medical emergency, rather than making an arrest.”
989 F.3d at 1273 (citing Est. of Hill, 853 F.3d at 313–14).
Here, the district court declined Deputy Lozada’s invitation
to adopt Estate of Hill’s test word-for-word. Instead, the district
3 The Sixth Circuit’s modified test provides:
Where a situation does not fit within the Graham test because
the person in question has not committed a crime, is not re-
sisting arrest, and is not directly threatening the officer, the
court should ask:
(1) Was the person experiencing a medical emergency that
rendered him incapable of making a rational decision under
circumstances that posed an immediate threat of serious harm
to himself or others?
(2) Was some degree of force reasonably necessary to amelio-
rate the immediate threat?
(3) Was the force used more than reasonably necessary under
the circumstances (i.e., was it excessive)?
Est. of Hill, 853 F.3d at 314.
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court cited Estate of Hill for the correct proposition that the Graham
test is flexible depending on the nature of the scenario that the of-
ficer encounters. The district court’s slight alterations to the pat-
tern instruction appropriately tailored the Graham instruction to
the scenario that Deputy Lozada encountered.
Second, we conclude that the district court had discretion to
adjust the language of the pattern instruction to ensure that it was
understandable for the jury. In Teel I, we reviewed the district
court’s resolution of this case at the summary-judgment stage. Teel
I, 826 F. App’x at 881. At the summary-judgment stage, the appli-
cation of the Graham test was a question of law. Scott v. Harris, 550
U.S. 372, 381 n.8 (2007). We concluded that there was a material
dispute of fact regarding whether Deputy Lozada employed exces-
sive force. Teel I, 826 F. App’x at 889. Following remand for a trial,
the jury was not bound to conclude—as a factual matter—that
Deputy Lozada’s use of force was excessive. Indeed, the entire
point of our prior holding was that a jury should decide whether
the force was excessive. See id.
Because the jury must understand how to apply the Graham
test, the district court modified the test’s language to make it un-
derstandable for laypeople based on the facts presented at trial.
This case involved a Baker Act call after an attempted suicide, not
a criminal arrest, and thus the district court determined that factors
relevant only to a criminal arrest would needlessly confuse the jury.
The district court therefore altered our pattern instruction’s lan-
guage about “the crime’s severity” and “whether the suspect resists
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18 Opinion of the Court 22-11106
or flees” arrest. Cf, 11th Cir. Civ. Pattern Jury Instr. 5.4. We con-
clude that the district court had “wide discretion” to modify the
instructions as long as the instructions “accurately reflect[ed] the
law.” Conroy, 375 F.3d at 1233. Here, the Graham instruction re-
quired jurors to consider “severity of the risk of harm,” “whether
the subject poses an immediate violent threat of force to others or
herself,” “the need for the application of force,” “the relationship
between the need for the force and the amount of force used,” and
“the extent of the injury inflicted.” The instruction also empha-
sized that the Graham test required the jury to consider what a “rea-
sonable and prudent law enforcement officer” would have done un-
der the same circumstances. Because the Graham instruction was
an appropriate summary of the law, we affirm as to this issue.
2. The Baker Act Instruction
We now turn to the Baker Act Instruction. At Deputy
Lozada’s request, the district court instructed the jury on the pro-
cess for an involuntary mental examination under Florida’s Baker
Act. The Baker Act instruction provided:
Florida’s Mental Health Act, frequently known as the
Baker Act, provides that people suffering from men-
tal health issues may be subject to an involuntary ex-
amination if they meet certain criteria. One of those
criteria is as follows: if “[t]here is a substantial likeli-
hood that without care or treatment the person will
cause bodily harm to himself or herself or others in
the near future, as evidenced by recent behavior.”
There are several means by which an involuntary
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22-11106 Opinion of the Court 19
examination may be initiated under the Baker Act, in-
cluding by action of law enforcement officers. The
Baker Act states that a law enforcement officer “shall
take a person who appears to meet the criteria for in-
voluntary examination into custody and deliver the
person or have him delivered to” a receiving facility.
Of the four criteria that the Baker Act lists for involuntary exami-
nation in Florida Statute § 394.463(1), this instruction informed the
jury about § 394.463(1)(b)(2) only. Although the instruction is clear
that it details only “one” of the criteria, it does not inform the jury
that some of the other criteria are necessary conditions preceding
involuntary examination. In full, § 394.463(1) of the Baker Act pro-
vides:
(1) Criteria.—A person may be taken to a receiving facility
for involuntary examination if there is reason to believe that
the person has a mental illness and because of his or her
mental illness:
(a) 1. The person has refused voluntary examination after
conscientious explanation and disclosure of the purpose of
the examination; or
2. The person is unable to determine for himself or herself
whether examination is necessary; and
(b) 1. Without care or treatment, the person is likely to suffer
from neglect or refuse to care for himself or herself; such
neglect or refusal poses a real and present threat of substan-
tial harm to his or her well-being; and it is not apparent that
such harm may be avoided through the help of willing fam-
ily members or friends or the provision of other services; or
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20 Opinion of the Court 22-11106
2. There is a substantial likelihood that without care or treat-
ment the person will cause serious bodily harm to himself
or herself or others in the near future, as evidenced by recent
behavior.
Fla. Stat. § 394.463(1) (eff. July 1, 2017, to March 8, 2018) (emphasis
added). The Estate objects to the district court’s instruction be-
cause it was an incomplete description of the criteria for involun-
tary examination.
We agree that the language of the Baker Act instruction con-
tained error. The text of the Baker Act provides that a person may
become subject to involuntary examination only if both §
394.463(1)(a) “and” § 394.463(1)(b) are satisfied. See id. The district
court, however, informed the jury of only one criterion for invol-
untary examination under § 394.463(1). And the district court did
not instruct the jury that before an officer subjects a person to in-
voluntary examination, the officer must determine that
§ 394.463(1)(b)(2) “and” one of the § 394.463(1)(a) criteria are ful-
filled.
Although the jury instruction was erroneous, we conclude
that this error is not reversible. We “will not disturb a jury’s verdict
unless the charge, taken as a whole, is erroneous and prejudicial.”
SEC v. Yun, 327 F.3d 1263, 1281 (11th Cir. 2003) (quoting Mosher v.
Speedstar Div. of AMCA Int’l Inc., 979 F.2d 823, 824 (11th Cir. 1992))
(emphasis added); accord Watkins v. City of Montgomery, 775 F.3d
1280, 1289–90 (11th Cir. 2014). The Estate argues that it desired a
complete recitation of the Baker Act because it wanted to highlight
that Deputy Lozada never provided Mrs. Teel with an opportunity
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22-11106 Opinion of the Court 21
to refuse voluntary examination under § 394.463(1)(a)(1). How-
ever, that criterion is not necessary to subject an individual to in-
voluntary examination. Because of the word “or” in §
394.463(1)(a), Deputy Lozada could have taken Mrs. Teel into cus-
tody without providing her an opportunity to refuse voluntary ex-
amination. An opportunity to refuse voluntary examination is thus
unnecessary if the subject “is unable to determine for himself or
herself whether examination is necessary.” Fla. Stat.
§ 394.463(1)(a)(2). Here, the jury was presented with evidence
showing that at the time of the incident, Mrs. Teel had just at-
tempted suicide, was inebriated, was holding a knife, and had told
Deputy Lozada to shoot her. We thus conclude that there was no
prejudice to the Estate because, even if the jury had a fulsome ex-
planation of the Baker Act, the jury would have readily concluded
based on the evidence shown at trial that Deputy Lozada had am-
ple justification to conclude that Mrs. Teel was “unable to deter-
mine for [] herself whether examination [wa]s necessary.” Id.
More importantly, the Baker Act instruction did not preju-
dice the Estate because the Baker Act instruction was not critical to
the issue before the jury. At bottom, the trial was about whether
Deputy Lozada used excessive force in violation of the Fourth
Amendment. The Graham test—not the Baker Act—is the touch-
stone for excessive force under the Fourth Amendment. See Gra-
ham, 490 U.S. 386. The Baker Act was relevant only insofar as it
provided the jury with background and the criteria Deputy Lozada
should have assessed in responding to a Baker Act call. Here the
jury found that Deputy Lozada’s use of deadly force was not
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22 Opinion of the Court 22-11106
excessive given that Mrs. Teel was holding a knife, advanced toward
him, and did not heed commands to stop. Thus, even though the
Baker Act instruction was incomplete and therefore contained a
misstatement, the misstatement did not prejudice the Estate such
that a new trial is warranted. See Caradigm, 964 F.3d at 1277 n.12.
Accordingly, we affirm as to this issue.
B. The “Rough Patch” Evidence
We now turn to the “rough patch” evidentiary issue raised
by the Estate. Both before and during trial, the district court ex-
cluded evidence and witness testimony about a “rough patch” that
Deputy Lozada experienced in 2016 to 2017. During this so called
“rough patch”, there were seven instances when Deputy Lozada
violated policies of the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office. These
violations ranged from a few traffic infractions to one instance
when a suspect sustained a concussion while Deputy Lozada ap-
prehended him at a gas station. And during a deposition, Deputy
Lozada testified that, in 2016 and 2017, he was “young” and “irre-
sponsible,” which contributed to his mistakes.
Before trial, Deputy Lozada submitted a motion in limine to
exclude evidence of other instances when he violated Sheriff’s Of-
fice policies, and the district court granted his motion. The district
court explained that the evidence was irrelevant and improper
character evidence under Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b)(1). The
district court also noted that because it granted summary judg-
ment as to Dr. Teel’s Monell claim, Deputy Lozada’s prior mishaps
were irrelevant to the trial of the excessive force claim.
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22-11106 Opinion of the Court 23
Later, at trial, the Estate began eliciting testimony about
Deputy Lozada’s so-called “rough patch.” Deputy Lozada ob-
jected, and the district court sustained the objection, noting its pre-
vious order on his motion in limine.
“[T]he ‘reasonableness’ inquiry in an excessive force case is
an objective one: the question is whether the officers’ actions are
‘objectively reasonable’ in light of the facts and circumstances con-
fronting them, without regard to their underlying intent or moti-
vation.” Graham, 490 U.S. at 397 (quoting Scott v. United States, 436
U.S. 128, 137–39 (1978)); see also Helm, 989 F.3d at 1273 (“Because
determining reasonableness is an objective test, we do not consider
an officer’s intent or motivation.”). Whether Deputy Lozada acted
unreasonably in prior instances not involving the use of deadly
force has little bearing on whether he used objectively reasonable
force when he shot Mrs. Teel, and we conclude that the district
court did not abuse its discretion.
The Estate argues that Deputy Lozada’s prior misconduct is
relevant because it goes to his “state of mind” when he shot Mrs.
Teel. The Estate relies on Kingsley, 576 U.S. at 395, for the proposi-
tion that an officer’s state of mind is relevant in an excessive force
case. But Kingsley explained that an officer’s intention is relevant
only in a limited sense. True, the use of force must be an inten-
tional act—in other words, Deputy Lozada must have intended to
shoot Mrs. Teel. See id. Nonetheless, whether the use of force is
reasonable is judged under an objective standard without regard to
Deputy Lozada’s “state of mind.” Id. Because Deputy Lozada does
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24 Opinion of the Court 22-11106
not dispute that he intentionally shot Mrs. Teel, his state of mind
was not an issue at trial. The only question was “whether to inter-
pret the defendant’s physical acts in the world as involving force
that was ‘excessive,’” which is an objective question. Id.
Additionally, we conclude that the district court did not
abuse its discretion in ruling that evidence of Deputy Lozada’s
“rough patch” constituted improper character evidence under Rule
404(b)(1). “Evidence of any other crime, wrong, or act is not ad-
missible to prove a person’s character in order to show that on a
particular occasion the person acted in accordance with the char-
acter.” Fed. R. Evid. 404(b)(1). Although evidence of other bad
acts is admissible if it goes to the defendant’s “intent,” Fed. R. Evid.
404(b)(2), such evidence is not probative here because Graham is
“objective” and does not allow us to “consider an officer’s intent or
motivation.” Helm, 989 F.3d at 1273 (citing Graham, 490 U.S. at 397).
We therefore affirm on this issue. 4
C. Summary Judgment on the Estate’s Monell Claim
4 For the first time on appeal, the Estate also argues that the “rough patch”
evidence was admissible under the curative admissibility doctrine. The Estate
argues that Deputy Lozada’s counsel opened the door to questioning about
Deputy Lozada’s prior mishaps by asking him about his training, experience,
and how he responded to the 911 call at the Teel residence. We decline to
address this argument. The Estate failed to raise this argument below and thus
waived the right to raise this argument on appeal “absent plain error.” United
States v. Culver, 598 F.3d 740, 749 n.5 (11th Cir. 2010) (quoting United States v.
Sentovich, 677 F.2d 834, 837 (11th Cir. 1982)). Indeed, the Estate neither ad-
dresses the waiver nor explains why the district court’s ruling was “plain er-
ror.”
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22-11106 Opinion of the Court 25
Lastly, we address the district court’s grant of summary
judgment in favor of the Sheriff on the Estate’s Monell claim. To
impose liability under Monell, the Estate must prove three ele-
ments: “(1) that [Mrs. Teel’s] constitutional rights were violated; (2)
that the [Sheriff’s Office] had a custom or policy that constituted
deliberate indifference to that constitutional right; and (3) that the
policy or custom caused the violation.” See McDowell, 392 F.3d at
1289. The district court found that the Estate failed to demonstrate
a genuine dispute of fact as to the second element.
At oral argument, however, the Estate conceded that if we
allow the jury’s verdict to stand, the Monell claim necessarily fails
under the first element. This concession is correct in light of con-
trolling precedent. “[N]either Monell . . . , nor any other of our
cases authorizes the award of damages against a municipal corpo-
ration based on the actions of one of its officers when in fact the
jury has concluded that the officer inflicted no constitutional
harm.” City of Los Angeles v. Heller, 475 U.S. 796, 799 (1986); see also
Garczynski v. Bradshaw, 573 F.3d 1158, 1170–71 (11th Cir. 2009)
(“Garczynski failed to show that any of the named individual police
officers deprived him of his constitutional rights by using excessive
or deadly force. Absent a constitutional violation, we need not ex-
plore whether PBSO’s policies regarding crisis intervention training
violated Garczynski’s constitutional rights.”); Rooney v. Watson, 101
F.3d 1378, 1381 (11th Cir. 1996) (“Since we have determined that
Deputy Watson’s conduct did not cause the Rooneys to suffer a
constitutional deprivation, we need not inquire into Volusia
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26 Opinion of the Court 22-11106
County’s policy and custom relating to patrol vehicle operation and
training.”).
To be clear, when the district court granted summary judg-
ment to the Sheriff after remand, it correctly refrained from grant-
ing judgment under the first element of Monell. At that time, we
had determined on appeal that there was a material dispute of fact
as to whether there was an underlying constitutional violation. See
Teel I, 826 F. App’x at 889. But now, the jury has spoken, finding
that Deputy Lozada did not violate the Fourth Amendment by
shooting Mrs. Teel. Because there is no underlying constitutional
violation, “[w]e may affirm the judgment below on any ground
supported by the record.” Statton, 959 F.3d at 1065. We thus affirm
the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the
Sheriff on the Estate’s Monell claim based on the first element of
Monell.
IV. CONCLUSION
For the reasons stated, we affirm the district court’s jury in-
structions, its exclusion of the “rough patch” evidence, and its
grant of summary judgment in favor of the Sheriff on the Estate’s
Monell claim.
AFFIRMED.