Opinion ID: 2677985
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Fourth Amendment Unlawful Arrest

Text: Peterson first argues that Kopp violated his Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable seizures by arresting him without probable cause. The parties agree that Peterson was seized, and under arrest, at the moment Kopp pulled Peterson off the bicycle lockers. A police officer may, consistent with the Fourth Amendment, arrest someone without a warrant if the officer has probable cause to believe the person has committed a crime. Baribeau v. City of Minneapolis, 596 F.3d 465, 474 (8th Cir. 2010) (citing Atwater v. City of Lago Vista, 532 U.S. 318, 354 (2001)). Probable cause exists “when the totality of the circumstances at the time of the arrest are sufficient to lead a reasonable person to believe that the defendant has committed or is committing an offense.” Ulrich v. Pope Cnty., 715 F.3d 1054, 1059 (8th Cir. 2013) (quotation omitted). To receive qualified immunity, however, a police officer need only have “arguable probable cause” to make the arrest. Bernini v. City of St. Paul, 665 F.3d 997, 1003 (8th Cir. 2012). “Arguable probable cause exists even where an officer mistakenly arrests a suspect believing it is based in probable cause if the mistake is objectively reasonable.” Ulrich, 715 F.3d at 1059 (quotation omitted). Minnesota’s criminal trespass statute reads: “A person is guilty of a misdemeanor if a person intentionally . . . trespasses on the premises of another and, without claim of right, refuses to depart from the premises on demand of the lawful possessor.” Minn. Stat. § 609.605, subd. 1(b)(3). The Minnesota Court of Appeals has explained that a refusal to depart is a necessary element of Minnesota’s trespass statute. State v. Zimmer, 478 N.W.2d 764, 768 (Minn. Ct. App. 1991) (finding that as a matter of law an individual could not be guilty of trespass when he immediately left the building and went to his car upon being asked to leave). Under this statute, a refusal to depart does not have to be verbal or protracted. See State v. Quinnell, 151 N.W.2d 598, 602 (Minn. Ct. App. 1967) (upholding trespass conviction when a police officer told a man to leave, but the man “said nothing in reply,” and -5- walked back and forth for three minutes); see also Merriam–Webster Online Dictionary, available at http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/refusal (last visited May 30, 2014) (defining “refusal” as “an act of saying or showing that you will not do, give, or accept something” (emphasis added)). Peterson contends that Kopp lacked probable cause to arrest him for trespass because Peterson never refused to depart the bus stop. Rather, any delay in leaving the bus stop was due to disassembling his hookah and asking for Kopp’s badge number. No officer, Peterson argues, could reasonably view those actions as a refusal to depart, especially when Peterson stated that he was leaving. Nevertheless, we find that Kopp had at least arguable probable cause for the arrest based on Peterson’s nonverbal conduct. Kopp asked Peterson and the others to leave the bus stop. Yet Peterson remained seated on the bicycle lockers until Kopp ultimately pulled him down. He never made a move to stand up, even during the time Kopp spent talking with one of the other men. Peterson states that he was disassembling his hookah, a process that takes about a minute. Nothing in the record suggests that Kopp knew how long this process should take; in his deposition Kopp explained he did not know hookahs could be disassembled until Peterson began doing so. Peterson also admits he stopped the disassembly process to take out his cell phone. Peterson states that Kopp “should have known that Mr. Peterson was not playing with his phone but was simply using his phone to make a memo or record Officer Kopp’s badge number.” However, this discounts the other surrounding circumstances: Peterson never moved to get off the lockers, remained seated during Kopp’s conversation with the other individual, was still manipulating his hookah after the conversation ended, and then stopped disassembling it and pulled out a phone. Even if Kopp lacked probable cause, it was objectively reasonable for Kopp to interpret Peterson’s actions as a refusal to leave the bus stop. Peterson further contends that qualified immunity was inappropriate because Peterson’s request for Kopp’s badge number is protected speech and “cannot be used -6- as a basis for probable cause to arrest” Peterson. See City of Hous. v. Hill, 482 U.S. 451, 461 (1987) (“[T]he First Amendment protects a significant amount of verbal criticism and challenge directed at police officers.”). Kopp claims he arrested Peterson for refusing to leave the bus stop, not for criticizing him or asking for his badge number. Even if Kopp had an alternative motive for arresting Peterson, Kopp’s “‘subjective reason for making the arrest need not be the criminal offense as to which the known facts provide probable cause.’” Galarnyk v. Fraser, 687 F.3d 1070, 1075–76 (8th Cir. 2012) (quoting Devenpeck v. Alford, 543 U.S. 146, 153 (2004)). In other words, Kopp’s alleged motive for the arrest cannot vitiate an otherwise lawful arrest. See Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806, 813 (1996) (“Subjective intentions play no role in ordinary, probable-cause Fourth Amendment analysis.”); see also Foster v. Metro. Airports Comm’n, 914 F.2d 1076, 1080 (8th Cir. 1990) (finding probable cause to arrest man for trespassing, despite officer also mistakenly thinking he could arrest him for verbally abusing the officer, because the protected speech was not the only basis justifying the arrest). As discussed above, it was objectively reasonable for Kopp to believe Peterson was refusing to leave the bus stop, even before he asked for Kopp’s badge number. Consequently, we find Kopp had arguable probable cause to arrest Peterson and is entitled to qualified immunity from Peterson’s unlawful arrest claim.