Opinion ID: 673526
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: did the investigatory detention escalate to an illegal arrest?

Text: 20 Once police officers make a stop based on reasonable suspicion, the scope of that stop must be reasonably related in scope to the circumstances which justified the interference in the first place. Terry, 392 U.S. at 20, 88 S.Ct. at 1879; United States v. King, 990 F.2d 1552, 1562 (10th Cir.1993). Since police officers should not be required to take unnecessary risks in performing their duties, they are 'authorized to take such steps as [are] reasonably necessary to protect their personal safety and to maintain the status quo during the course of [a Terry] stop.'  United States v. Perdue, 8 F.3d 1455, 1462 (10th Cir.1993) (quoting United States v. Hensley, 469 U.S. 221, 235, 105 S.Ct. 675, 683-84, 83 L.Ed.2d 604 (1985)). However, if police officers' actions exceed what is reasonably necessary under the totality of the circumstances, the stop may only be justified by probable cause or consent. Perdue, 8 F.3d at 1462. 21 The government has the burden of demonstrating that the seizure 'it seeks to justify on the basis of a reasonable suspicion was sufficiently limited in scope and duration to satisfy the conditions of an investigative seizure.'  Id. (quoting Florida v. Royer, 460 U.S. 491, 500, 103 S.Ct. 1319, 1326, 75 L.Ed.2d 229 (1983)). There is no bright-line rule to determine whether the scope of police conduct was reasonably related to the goals of the stop; rather our evaluation is guided by 'common sense and ordinary human experience.'  King, 990 F.2d at 1562 (quoting United States v. Montoya de Hernandez, 473 U.S. 531, 542, 105 S.Ct. 3304, 3311, 87 L.Ed.2d 381 (1985) (quoting United States v. Sharpe, 470 U.S. 675, 685, 105 S.Ct. 1568, 1575, 84 L.Ed.2d 605 (1985))). We must avoid unrealistic second-guessing of police officers' decisions in this regard and thus do not require them to use the least intrusive means in the course of a detention, only reasonable ones. King, 990 F.2d at 1562-63 (quoting Sharpe, 470 U.S. at 686, 105 S.Ct. at 1575)). The ultimate legal determination of reasonableness under the Fourth Amendment is subject to de novo review. Perdue, 8 F.3d at 1462. 22 The Supreme Court has long allowed de minimus intrusions on the liberty of a person detained by a Terry stop to advance officer safety, such as a frisk for weapons or a request to step out of the car during a traffic stop. Terry, 392 U.S. at 27, 88 S.Ct. at 1883; Pennsylvania v. Mimms, 434 U.S. 106, 111, 98 S.Ct. 330, 333, 54 L.Ed.2d 331 (1977) (per curiam). However, the use of force such as handcuffs and firearms is a far greater level of intrusion, and requires the government to demonstrate that the facts available to the officer would 'warrant a man of reasonable caution in the belief' that the action taken was appropriate. King, 990 F.2d at 1562 (quoting Terry, 392 U.S. at 21-22, 88 S.Ct. at 1880). 23 We have held in the past that the use of firearms, handcuffs, and other forceful techniques does not necessarily transform a Terry detention into a full custodial arrest--for which probable cause is required--when the circumstances reasonably warrant such measures. Perdue, 8 F.3d at 1463-64. Thus, in Perdue we found that officers acted reasonably when they ordered the occupants out of a car at gunpoint and forced them to lie on the ground when the police had information to suggest that the suspects might be armed, it was late at night in a remote area, and there were only two officers. 8 F.3d at 1463 (Although effectuating a Terry stop by pointing guns at a suspect may elevate a seizure to an arrest in most scenarios, it was not unreasonable under these circumstances ... [T]he officers had reason to be concerned for their safety....). In United States v. Merkley, 988 F.2d 1062, 1064 (10th Cir.1993), we concluded that officers' display of firearms and use of handcuffs was reasonable when they were informed that the suspect had threatened to kill someone and they observed the suspect violently pounding his fists in his truck. In United States v. Merritt, 695 F.2d 1263, 1273-74 (10th Cir.1982), cert. denied, 461 U.S. 916, 103 S.Ct. 1898, 77 L.Ed.2d 286 (1983), the police acted reasonably when they pointed a shotgun at the suspect when they had reason to believe that he was a murderer and heavily armed. However in King, we found that an officer acted unreasonably when she drew her gun and had other officers handcuff the defendant when she noticed that the defendant, who was only creating a traffic disturbance by honking his horn, lawfully had a weapon in the car. 990 F.2d at 1563. 24 In this case, the government does not try to elaborate why it believes the quantum of force used to secure Melendez, Perez, and Angel was reasonable. The officers did testify in the suppression hearing that they tried to separate the cars and the suspects in order to promote safety and that they restrained the suspects to make it safe. However, they gave no reasons why the circumstances of the stop reasonably necessitated the display of firearms and the use of handcuffs. 25 We note that this stop was based on suspicion of trafficking drugs. Drugs and guns and violence often go together, and thus this might be a factor tending to support an officer's claim of reasonableness. However, there was no evidence or testimony from the police that they had reason to believe these particular suspects had guns or were violent or that the circumstances of this particular encounter warranted the unusual intrusiveness of handcuffing the defendants during the Terry stop. In the absence of such evidence, the naked fact that drugs are suspected will not support a per se justification for use of guns and handcuffs in a Terry stop. Cf. United States v. Stewart, 867 F.2d 581, 585-86 (10th Cir.1989) (general observations about the conduct of drug dealers will not support exigent circumstances excusing police compliance with the knock-and-announce rule; police must articulate specific facts related to the premises to be searched or its occupants). 26 The government does not explain or offer evidence to support an explanation why the officers in this case needed to execute a felony stop when they outnumbered the defendants, executed the stop on an open highway during the day, had no tips or observations that the suspects were armed or violent, and the defendants had pulled their cars to a stop off the road and stepped out of their cars in full compliance with police orders. Based on this record, the government has not met its burden of showing that, under the totality of the circumstances, the intrusiveness of this seizure was reasonably necessary for officer safety. Because the police did not justify the stop, this case differs from cases like Perdue. 27 Because the specific nature of this stop was not justified under the Terry doctrine, we must treat it as an arrest, requiring probable cause. In fact, both officers testified that they viewed the encounter as an arrest. And, given that Perez was handcuffed and strapped into an officer's car, it is obvious that a reasonable person in Perez' condition would not have felt free to terminate the encounter and leave. 28 The government makes no effort to argue that it had probable cause to make an arrest at the time the officers initially stopped Perez and obtained his consent to search. Indeed, no such argument could be made on this record. Thus, we must conclude that Perez was illegally arrested. 29