Did they violate his rights or is this how it should be done ...

I don't think there is a place in the US that is sufficiently liberal to agree that physically reacting to an announced and realistic threat could give rise to a civil action.
Reminds me of the time when the high-visibility murder trial of a resident of Modesto (or someplace like that) was transferred to a court in San Mateo County (on the San Francisco Peninsula), in order to ensure a fair trial. At the time, I wondered if the people in his home town worried about the possibility of the jury going easy on him. If so, the jury proved that they didn't have anything to worry about.
 
I had a nighttime prisoner helo transport of 8 individuals that were going to a very nasty prison in Nassau, Bahamas.

The biggest one of the bunch was trying to break his flex cuffs and get loose.

The police escort just sat there. So I told the pilots what was going on while I loaded up the shotgun. Told them to expect a "bang".

Placed the barrel up to his face and shook my head. He became compliant immediately and I kept my position until we landed.

The other prisoners asked me if I would have done it as they got off the helo.

My reply was "yep".
 
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