Matthew Locke sued Hubbard County Sheriff Cory Aukes, Chief Deputy Scott Parks and Hubbard County after the sheriff and his deputy used pain compliance techniques on Locke in an attempt to remove him from a protest. According to Locke’s suit, the techniques amounted to an excessive use of force.

The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals decided 2-1 to reverse the decision of U.S. District Judge Wilhelmina Wright, who dismissed the case on the grounds that pain compliance techniques are not prohibited by any existing case law.

The appeals court deemed the techniques excessive and reversed the district court’s ruling, returning the case to the district court, where it will now go into discovery.