lift her leg to remove the restraint, but she began kicking him.

Hendrix said he tried to stop her from kicking him by placing her on the ground, but she began spitting in his face.

"Out of reaction I struck inmate Hayes with a closed fist to the facial area multiple times," he wrote in a report of the incident. "Inmate Hayes continued to spit on me and kick me in the face, so I deployed my [pepper] spray in a short burst on inmate Hayes facial area."

Hayes filed a lawsuit the next year alleging Hendrix used unnecessary force while jail personnel watched and then reported the facts of the incident inaccurately.

"The force Hendrix and Martin used against plaintiff amounted to unlawful force that carried a high risk of causingwas unlawfully terminated
for protesting his employer's illegal billing scheme. After a
jury rendered a verdict for plaintiff, defendant employer
moved for judgment as a matter of law or, in the
alternative, a new trial. The district court denied both
motions. Paolella v. Browning-Ferris, Inc., 973 F. Supp. 508,
510 (E.D. Pa. 1997). We will affirm.

I.

In October 1989, Michael Paolella began working as a
sales supervisor for Browning-Ferris, Inc. in its office in
King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. In February 1990, Paolella
was promoted to sales supervisor and transferred to BFI's
Wilmington, Delaware division. His responsibilities included
servicing existing commercial waste disposal accounts and
obtaining new business for BFI. Paolella soon developed
and instituted a marketing plan which resulted in
increased profits for the Delaware division. At the start of
the next fiscal year, October 1, 1990, Paolella was promoted
to sales manager.

BFI's customer relationships