4 Times More Often Than White, Balt. In affirming the lower court's summary judgment in favor of plaintiffs and the denial of qualified immunity, the Court comprehensively reviewed the familiar standard for determining when an investigatory stop ripens into an arrest, requiring probable cause. The Court recognized that the identical police action can be arrest under some circumstances and not in others. Although it is often stated that there is no bright-line rule to determine when an investigatory stop becomes an arrest, it is explicitly clear that an arrest occurs once a suspect has been transported to a police station. Courts endeavor to balance the safety of law enforcement officers against the constitutional right to be free from unlawful search and seizure.
Some physical jeopardy is inherent in the job of a law enforcement officer.
The Court found that not only was the detention of the Plaintiffs an arrest without probable cause, it also found that qualified immunity did not apply. The law was also clearly established that if the Terry-stop suspects are cooperative and the officers do not have specific information that they are armed or specific information linking them to a recent or inchoate dangerous crime, the use of such aggressive and highly intrusive tactics is not warranted, at least when, as here, there are no other extraordinary circumstances involved.