UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA SOUTH BEND DIVISION

RAYMOND EARL CROSS,

Plaintiff,

v. CAUSE NO.: 3:25-CV-345-TLS-JEM

KEYSHAWN WILLIAMS, MICHAEL EVERRETT, and SLUGGO,

Defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER Raymond Earl Cross, a prisoner without a lawyer, filed a complaint alleging he was subjected to excessive force at the Indiana State Prison. ECF No. 1. “A document filed pro se is to be liberally construed, and a pro se complaint, however inartfully pleaded, must be held to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers.” Erickson v. Pardus,

(2007) (quotation marks and citations omitted). Nevertheless, under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A, the Court must review the merits of a prisoner complaint and dismiss it if the action is frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from such relief. Cross alleges Keyshawn Williams, Michael Everrett, and Sluggo sprayed and beat him while he was restrained on January 16, 2025, in the breakfast area of the Indiana State Prison. The “core requirement” for an excessive force claim is that the defendant “used force not in a good-faith effort to maintain or restore discipline, but maliciously and sadistically to cause harm.” Hendrickson v. Cooper,

(7th Cir. 2009) (cleaned up). It is possible these officers used force in a good-faith effort to maintain or restore discipline, but as alleged, this allegation states a claim. For these reasons, the Court: (1) GRANTS Raymond Earl Cross leave to proceed against Keyshawn Williams, Michael Everrett, and Sluggo in their individual capacities for compensatory and punitive damages for using excessive force against him on January 16, 2025, in violation of the Eighth Amendment;

(2) DISMISSES all other claims; (3) DIRECTS the Clerk of Court, under

(d), to request Waiver of Service from (and if necessary, the United States Marshals Service to use any lawful means to locate and serve process on) Keyshawn Williams, Michael Everrett, and Sluggo at the Indiana Department of Correction, with a copy of this order and the complaint [ECF No. 1]; (4) ORDERS the Indiana Department of Correction to provide the full name, date of birth, and last known home address of any defendant who does not waive service if it has such information; and

(5) ORDERS, under 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(g)(2), Keyshawn Williams, Michael Everrett, and Sluggo to respond, as provided for in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and N.D. Ind. L.R. 10-1(b), only to the claims for which the Plaintiff has been granted leave to proceed in this screening order. SO ORDERED on May 6, 2025.

s/ Theresa L. Springmann JUDGE THERESA L. SPRINGMANN UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT