Opinion ID: 1463049
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: First segment

Text: As for the first segment, this presents a somewhat closer question, because, as the majority states, Begin was only in charge of the situation for a mere two minutes. Nonetheless, the majority decides that the facts-and-circumstances analysis under Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 396, 109 S.Ct. 1865, 104 L.Ed.2d 443 (1989), compels the conclusion that Begin's use of force was unreasonable and violated the Fourth Amendment. Majority opinion at 401-02, 399. Ultimately, though, the majority determines that Begin is entitled to qualified immunity. Qualified immunity does not protect Officer Begin for this first segment. There is no evidence that Begin deliberately violated the law, but his actions are an instance of plain incompetence. See Humphrey, 482 F.3d at 847 (qualified immunity protects all but the plainly incompetent or those who knowingly violate the law). True, courts must give deference to the split-second, tough calls that police men and women have to make. But this is not a close case, Officer Begin had no reason to believe that the suspects announced in the BOLO would be armed or a flight risk. This is why Smoak and Humphrey are distinguishable. Those cases involved situations where the stopping officers were confronting suspects they initially thought might be armed. Smoak, 460 F.3d at 780; Humphrey, 482 F.3d at 848-849. And although Begin did not know what crime the BOLO targets were suspected of, we should not let a stopping officer's lack of knowledge of the crime give room for the officer to employ such an intrusive, threatening show of deadly force. Rather, the burden should be on the officers to indicate during dispatch that there may be reason to exercise caution or additional force, as was the case in Smoak and Humphrey. The majority seems to argue that an officer has to do something worse than what Begin did in order to lose the protection of qualified immunity. Majority opinion at 401-02. For instance, the defendants in Pray v. City of Sandusky, 49 F.3d 1154, 1159 (6th Cir.1995), who were not protected by qualified immunity, behaved even worse than Begin. But that does not mean that this court should decide that Begin gets qualified immunity. Nor does Smoak purport to outline the lower threshold of constitutional violation required for the court to withdraw the shield of qualified immunity. For the majority's point to be supported, it would need cases arising out of conduct much more egregious than Begin's where the defendants nevertheless received qualified immunity. It is understandable that plaintiffs' noncompliance with Begin's first two orders may have given him pause, especially since Begin was the lone officer at the scene. JA 525-26. But, as the district court observed, Officer Begin recognized the plaintiffs' disbelief and surprise when he ordered them to stop while their behavior was manifestly innocuous. Id.; see also District court opinion at 7, JA 35. There is no indication in the record that the nature of plaintiffs' protestations were defiant, aggressive, or showed the potential for physical confrontation. Furthermore, it was not necessary to draw a weapon to demonstrate command of the situation. Begin had other means to avoid escalating the scene, means that did not require a show of force. The majority notes that Begin himself was not conducting the investigation, that Begin was merely under orders to stop and hold Dorsey and Clark until an officer who was familiar with the investigation of the car theft could arrive. Majority opinion at 9 n. 6. True, Begin may not have had the authority to release the plaintiffs. And Begin himself may not have needed to elicit answers to confirm or dispel suspicion, as is the norm for a Terry stop, because he was simply holding plaintiffs in reliance on the BOLO. But some simple questions or a cursory inspection of plaintiffs' clipboards, voter registration materials, as well as their six other colleagues' corresponding effects, would have put a reasonable officer on notice that Begin's level of force was unnecessary. In other words, the majority. rightly reasons that Begin didn't need to assess the situation as to whether there was enough reasonable suspicion for the Terry stop. But such an assessment would still be reasonable to discern the appropriate level of force to employ. Begin's choice was unreasonable and unconstitutional. Therefore, I would affirm the district court's ruling that Begin is not shielded by qualified immunity as to Dorsey and Clark's excessive force claim.