Court Opinion

ID: 9770041
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 15:23:57.112539+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:31:10.836638
License: Public Domain

THOMPSON, Circuit Judge,
(Dissenting in part).
I agree with my colleagues that a reasonable officer could have believed that Coach Marchand had in loco parentis authority to consent to the search of the players and that their equal protection claims must fail. My colleagues and I part company, however, on the issue of qualified immunity. Because I cannot subscribe to the majority’s determination that the officers were entitled to qualified immunity because they could reasonably have believed that Coach Marchand voluntarily consented to the search of his students, I respectfully dissent.
I.
The appellants, a team of young Hispanic soccer players from Central Falls, Rhode Island were subjected to shockingly disgraceful and humiliating conduct by the police and their fellow citizens alike while visiting another high school in Coventry, Rhode Island.5 After playing a tense game against Coventry’s team, the Central Falls players were surrounded by a mob seething with racial animosity and casting false accusations of theft. When the police arrived and observed the crowd’s obstruction of the bus, they parked their cruisers in front of and behind the Central Falls team’s bus, trapping them with their antagonists. Then, rather than take any action to meaningfully investigate any accusations or pacify the crowd, which continued to simmer menacingly, the officers questioned the Central Falls team and sought its coach’s permission to search their belongings.
My colleagues think that a reasonable officer would be unaware of the duress this state of affairs would inspire in the team’s coach. In my view, however, the officers’ request of Coach Marchand while he was surrounded by an angry mob and unable to depart with his players left little room for choice. He was subjected to coercion which, though subtler than a peremptory command and more courteous than the irate mob, could hardly be plainer. This coercion vitiated any consent he could give, rendering the subsequent search unlawful.
The basic factual scenario is not largely disputed by the parties and my colleagues and I recognize that all reasonable inferences drawn from the facts are to be construed in the plaintiffs’ favor.6 Maj. Op. at *405392. The officers invoked qualified immunity as a defense to their actions. My colleagues set out the relevant law, see Maj. Op. at 396-98, which I accept and reprise briefly.
II.
“Qualified immunity balances two important interests — the need to hold public officials accountable when they exercise power irresponsibly and the need to shield officials from harassment, distraction, and liability when they perform their duties reasonably.” Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S. 223, 129 S.Ct. 808, 815, 172 L.Ed.2d 565 (2009).
To defeat the immunity, the players must show that (1) the officers “violated [their] constitutionally protected right” and (2) “the particular right ... was clearly established at the time of the violation.” Raiche v. Pietroski 623 F.3d 30, 35 (1st Cir.2010). Further, “in applying the second prong, we must consider two subsidiary issues: (a) the clarity of the law in general at the time of the alleged violation; and (b) the clarity of the law as applied to the case” — simply put, we ask “whether a reasonable [officer] in the defendant’s shoes ‘would have understood that his conduct violated the [players’] constitutional rights.’ ” Id. at 35-36 (quoting Maldonado v. Fontanes, 568 F.3d 263, 269 (1st Cir.2009)). In undertaking this inquiry, we do not consider the defendants’ subjective beliefs concerning the unlawfulness of their conduct. See Philip v. Cronin, 537 F.3d 26, 34 (1st Cir.2008). Instead, this inquiry is based on an objective test — what a reasonable officer would have known. Id. Nonetheless, “[a] determination of objective reasonableness ‘will often require examination of the information possessed’ by the defendant officials.” Kelley v. La-Force, 288 F.3d 1, 7 (1st Cir.2002) (quoting Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635, 641, 107 S.Ct. 3034, 97 L.Ed.2d 523 (1987)).
In granting qualified immunity to the officers, my colleagues analyzed only the second prong of the test, as permitted by Pearson. Maj. Op. at 396-97. Because I would deny qualified immunity, however, I must address both aspects of the analysis.
A.
The first prong of the qualified immunity test asks whether a violation of constitutional rights actually occurred. Raiche, 623 F.3d at 35. It has long been recognized that the Fourth Amendment bars all warrantless searches “subject only to a few specifically established ... exceptions” such as the presence of probable cause, exigent circumstances, or valid consent. See Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 357, 357 n. 19, 358 n. 22, 88 S.Ct. 507, 19 L.Ed.2d 576 (1967). Accordingly, absent such an exception to the warrant requirement the officers’ search of the Central Falls players was improper and a clear violation of the players’ constitutional right to be free from warrantless searches.
The officers rely only upon Coach Marchand’s consent to validate their search. Of course, the consent must have been voluntarily given. Bumper v. North Carolina, 391 U.S. 543, 548, 88 S.Ct. 1788, 20 L.Ed.2d 797 (1968). That is, it must not have been the product of “duress or coercion,” Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 248, 93 S.Ct. 2041, 36 L.Ed.2d 854 (1973), or intimidation, Moran v. Burbine, 475 U.S. 412, 421, 106 S.Ct. 1135, 89 L.Ed.2d 410 (1986), either express or implied. See United States v. Vanvliet, 542 *406F.3d 259, 264-65 (1st Cir.2008). Because, as discussed below, I believe that a reasonable officer would have known that Coach Marchand’s consent to the search of his players was coerced, the first prong of the qualified immunity test is easily satisfied: there was an actual violation in the form of an unconstitutional search.
B.
The second prong of the qualified immunity inquiry asks whether it was clear, both legally and factually, that the officers’ search was non-consensual. Raiche, 623 F.3d at 35. My colleagues and I agree that it is clearly established under the Fourth Amendment that voluntary consent is required to validate a suspicionless, warrantless search and that “all officers of reasonable competence would have known that coercion vitiates consent to a search under the Fourth Amendment.” Maj. Op. at 398. We also agree that the presence of coercion is determined by an open-ended test that considers “ ‘all the surrounding circumstances,’ including ‘subtly coercive police questions’ and ‘the possibly vulnerable subjective state of the person who consents.’ ” Maj. Op. at 399 (quoting Schneckloth, 412 U.S. at 229, 93 S.Ct. 2041). Where we disagree is whether the facts of this particular case, applied to that law, clearly make out a violation of the players’ Fourth Amendment rights. Ultimately, my colleagues “cannot say that all officers of reasonable competence,” confronted with the facts of this case, “would have concluded that Coach Marchand’s consent to the search was invalid.” Maj. Op. at 402. On the contrary, I believe that the players’ rights were violated, and that a reasonable officer would have concluded that the search was unconstitutional.
1.
In analyzing the second prong of the qualified immunity test we must ask whether a reasonable officer in the defendants’ position would have known that Coach Marchand felt coerced into consenting to the search. The central question, then, is how the reasonable officer would have assessed the voluntariness of Marchand’s consent.
As we have explained, “[vjoluntariness is a question of fact that turns on [a] comprehensive assessment of the totality of the circumstances attending the interaction between [the individual] and the searching officers.” Vanvliet, 542 F.3d at 264. Threats, intimidation, and coercion are all factors to consider in analyzing the totality of the circumstances, but they are not the only ones. See, e.g., United States v. Pérez-Montañez, 202 F.3d 434, 438 (1st Cir.2000). Indeed, in considering the totality of the circumstances, no single coercive element will usually suffice to end the analysis. See Maj. Op. at 400 (citing W. LaFave, Search and Seizure § 8.2(b), at 62 (4th ed.2004)). Instead, we must look to the circumstances surrounding Marchand’s consent and determine whether they establish that a reasonable officer could have concluded that he gave it voluntarily. See United States v. Twomey, 884 F.2d 46, 51 (1st Cir.1989) (explaining that we must look to “all the circumstances surrounding the securing of the consent” when determining the voluntariness thereof).
Moreover, the determination of an individual’s voluntariness in consenting to a search is a subjective, fact-intensive endeavor that “turns not on whether a ‘reasonable’ person in the [individual’s] position would have felt compelled to consent to a police officer’s request to search, but, rather, on whether the [individual] [him]self actually felt compelled to consent.” *407United States v. Hall, 969 F.2d 1102, 1106 (D.C.Cir.1992); accord Schneckloth, 412 U.S. at 226, 93 S.Ct. 2041; Twomey, 884 F.2d at 51. Consent is coerced when an individual's “will ha[s] been overborne and his capacity for self-determination critically impaired” to the point that he does not face an “essentially free and unconstrained choice.” United States v. Watson, 423 U.S. 411, 424, 96 S.Ct. 820, 46 L.Ed.2d 598 (1976)(internal quotation marks omitted).
Throughout this inquiry, we must recall that on summary judgment, when assessing the factual circumstances in which an individual consented to a search and the possible assumptions a reasonable officer might have made about the corresponding voluntariness, “we are required to draw every reasonable inference in favor of the nonmoving party” — here the Central Falls players. Dennis v. Osram Sylvania, Inc., 549 F.3d 851, 858 (1st Cir.2008); see also Vera v. McHugh, 622 F.3d 17, 27 n. 11 (1st Cir.2010) (recalling “our duty to take the facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party on summary judgment”). This is a tough case, but in my view the balance tips against qualified immunity.
2.
Having set out the relevant law, I turn now to the factual analysis.
The majority justifies its determination that Marchand’s consent was valid in large part based on United States v. Drayton, 536 U.S. 194, 122 S.Ct. 2105, 153 L.Ed.2d 242 (2002). In Drayton, three police officers boarded a bus as part of a routine drug and weapons interdiction. One officer was at the front of the bus, facing the rear, and another officer was at the rear of the bus, facing forward. The third officer walked down the bus aisle from the back to the front, stopping to speak with passengers along the way. Neither the aisle nor the front exit was ever blocked. Passengers who declined to speak with the officer or who chose to exit the bus were allowed to do so. As the officer approached Drayton’s seat, he showed his badge and stated that his purpose on the bus was to look for drugs and guns. The officer asked if Drayton and his companion, Brown, had any bags. They answered affirmatively, so the officer asked for permission to search the bags. Brown agreed and no contraband was found. The officer then asked if he could conduct a patdown of Brown. He agreed and was arrested after the patdown revealed contraband. The same is true of Drayton. A further search revealed that both individuals had cocaine taped between their shorts. Dray-ton and Brown were charged with federal drug crimes and moved to suppress the cocaine on the ground that their consent to the patdown search was invalid. The Supreme Court held that the defendants’ consent was not a product of coercion because, among other reasons, there had been “no threat, no command, [and] not even an authoritative tone of voice.” Id. at 204, 122 S.Ct. 2105.
Relying on Drayton, my colleagues place great stock in the politeness with which the officers interacted with Coach Marchand and the students.7 Without a doubt, had the officers commanded Marchand to submit, or acted in a threatening, domineering, boorish, or otherwise inappropriate way, this case would be easier. But the fact that the officers were polite, particularly given all else that was occurring at the highly charged scene, does not establish that Marchand was not coerced. *408The Supreme Court has explained that subtle and polite coercion is just as objectionable as more obvious browbeating. Schneckloth, 412 U.S. at 228, 93 S.Ct. 2041.
Furthermore, we have admonished courts to “go beyond appearances and inquire whether the consent was a voluntary, intentional and understood waiver of a known right, or, on the contrary, was the product of deceit, duress and coercion, actual or implicit.” United States v. Berkowitz, 429 F.2d 921, 925 (1st Cir.l970)(internal quotation marks omitted). The “beyond appearances” inquiry is particularly important here: though the police may have been polite and refrained from issuing commands in an authoritative tone of voice, they nonetheless blocked the bus in, leaving the players no way out, essentially “appeas[ing] the masses” who were “crying for [the players’] heads.” Maj. Op. at 393 (internal quotation marks omitted); see also infra at 396-98. Ultimately, the officers’ demeanor can be but one factor in our analysis, and certainly “not the only one.” Florida v. Bostick, 501 U.S. 429, 437, 111 S.Ct. 2382, 115 L.Ed.2d 389 (1991).
Similarly, although the majority is correct that the officers’ failure to notify Marchand that he could refuse to consent is not dispositive, Maj. Op. at 400, it is yet one more factor of the many in this narrative that, taken together, militate against qualified immunity in this case. See Schneckloth, 412 U.S. at 227, 93 S.Ct. 2041 (“[T]he failure of the police to advise the accused of his rights [is] certainly [a] factor[ ] to be evaluated in assessing the ‘voluntariness’ of [his] [consent]....”); see also Drayton, 536 U.S. at 202, 122 S.Ct. 2105 (quoting Bostick, 501 U.S. at 432, 111 S.Ct. 2382)(explaining that one factor “partieularly worth noting” when considering whether consent to search was coerced was that the officer had advised the passenger of his right to refuse to consent).
Like the issue of politeness and failure to warn an individual of his right to refuse consent, police custody is yet another factor worthy of consideration. Watson, 423 U.S. at 424, 96 S.Ct. 820. True, “custody alone has never been enough in itself to demonstrate ... coerced ... consent to search,” 423 U.S. at 424, 96 S.Ct. 820, but we have previously observed that “sensitivity to the heightened possibility of coercion is appropriate when a[n] [individual’s] consent is obtained during custody,” United States v. Barnett, 989 F.2d 546, 555 (1st Cir.1993).
There is no question that Marchand was in police custody at the time he consented to the search.8 The officers parked their cruisers in front of and behind the players’ bus, preventing them from leaving. This alone distinguishes our case from Drayton, which involved “no blocking of exits.” 536 U.S. at 204, 122 S.Ct. 2105. In Drayton, even though there was an officer at the front of the bus, “he said nothing to suggest that people could not exit and ... left the aisle clear.” Id. at 205, 122 S.Ct. 2105. This is significantly different from the facts of the present case where the players’ bus was completely boxed in by patrol cars. Surely, no reasonable officer could have believed that the plaintiffs felt free to leave.
Of course, it may be true that the officers trapped the players with the crowd before they were aware of the nature of the controversy and of the danger, fear, and concomitant coercion they would cause by doing so. See Maj. Op. at 402. But *409this is beside the point: at the time the officers sought Marchand’s permission to search the players a reasonable officer would certainly have been aware, at that crucial moment, that the positioning of their cruisers left the players with no way out. Cf. Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 21-22, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968) (explaining in analogous context that in evaluating the reasonableness of a search or seizure, courts look to the state of the facts “at the moment of the seizure or the search”). Regardless, Marchand’s fearful inquiry of the officers in response to their request for consent (“[w]hat [is the crowd] going to do to us?”) should have made apparent the fear elicited in him by being blocked in with the crowd.
The majority states that “[t]he officers could have reasonably thought that they made clear [to Coach Marchand] that they would prevent the crowd from harming [his] players....” Maj. Op. at 401. This conclusion is incredible-particularly in light of the fact that the officers never responded to Marchand’s initial inquiry regarding the crowd’s behavior. In addition, there were only four officers on the scene, yet they were responsible for controlling an angry, boisterous, irrational crowd of approximately fifty to sixty people. With a mere six to ten feet buffer between the hostile crowd and the players, I cannot fathom how any reasonable officer would think that the defendants made clear to Coach Marchand that he and his players would go unharmed. The majority points out that “the officers did not convey to Coach Marchand that they would not move their cruisers until he agreed to a search” and that the officers “were [not] ... asked to move the cruisers.” Maj. Op. at 402. That may very well be the case, but so too is the converse — the officers never offered nor took any action to move their cruisers on their own before soliciting Coach Marchand’s permission.
Nevertheless, Marchand’s fearful inquiry shows that he felt threatened and intimidated by the crowd. That Marchand did not translate his fear and intimidation of the crowd into a particularized request— for example, by asking the officers to move their cruisers or asking if there were any other options other than consenting to a search of his players — does not eliminate this factor from consideration. As the Supreme Court has explained, “the crucial test is whether, taking into account all of the circumstances surrounding the encounter, the police conduct would have communicated to a reasonable person that he was not at liberty to ignore the police presence and go about his business.” Bostick, 501 U.S. at 437, 111 S.Ct. 2382 (emphasis added)(internal quotation marks omitted). Any officer should have recognized that Coach Marchand did not feel at liberty to leave.
The majority acknowledges that “the players’ evidence depicts a difficult situation in which Coach Marchand faced a genuine choice between imperfect solutions,” Maj. Op. at 401, but nonetheless decides that “these circumstances do not establish ... that Coach Marchand’s will had been overborne or that his capacity for self-determination was critically impaired.” Id. at 401. To support this conclusion the majority notes that Coach Marchand testified at his deposition that he “ ‘debated’ telling the officers to get a search warrant, but rejected that option,” after weighing his alternatives, Maj. Op. at 401, and ultimately “concluded that his role as coach was to ensure first and foremost that [his] players got home safely” Id. But Coach Marchand’s thought process, and the actions he “debated” taking, are completely irrelevant. Marchand’s testimony was given after the fact and was not communicated to any officer at the scene of the incident. The hypothetical reasonable officer *410cannot read minds; therefore, in analyzing whether such an officer would have known that Coach Marchand’s consent was coerced, it is simply common sense that only facts actually communicated to or observed by the officer are relevant.
My colleagues are apparently of two minds on this issue: though they initially rely on Marchand’s uncorroborated description of his internal thought process in an effort to negate the coercion he suffered, they later recognize that his subjective, unexpressed thoughts and feelings are irrelevant when dismissing Marchand’s testimony that he felt coerced into consenting. See Maj. Op. at 402 (“It is not enough that Coach Marchand described his consent to the search as coerced; ... [wjhile a jury might find that Coach Marchand subjectively believed his consent was coerced that is not the issue here; we must look to the view of the reasonable officer.”). As I have previously discussed, Marchand’s objective manifestations of coercion were amply supported by evidence available to the officers. In analyzing the coercive atmosphere under which Marchand gave his consent, I would consider only those facts available to a reasonable officer at the time of the search.
If more were needed, and I doubt that there is, the officers exacerbated the situation by “ma[king] little to no effort to quell or disperse the crowd, even as [it] verbally assailed the players[,] shouting racist epithets and accusations of theft.” Lopera v. Town of Coventry, 652 F.Supp.2d 203, 210 (D.R.I.2009). With the possibly violent assembly looming, the officers questioned Marchand. Taking the crowd’s word over Marchand’s, they elected to pursue a search of the Central Falls students before adequately calming the mob or even ascertaining what, if anything, had actually been stolen.
My colleagues, in further reliance on Drayton, note that there was no testimony that the request to search was made in “an authoritative tone of voice.” Maj. Op. at 401 (internal quotation marks omitted). But tone of voice cannot be dispositive of the coercion inquiry. A1 Capone said you can get more with a kind word and a gun than with just a kind word; a mob can be just as “convincing” as a gun.
The officers knew that Marchand felt threatened by the crowd. They knew he had already capitulated to the intense coercion and intimidation exerted by the mob, delaying his team’s departure for about a half-hour to engage in a search that he knew beforehand would be futile in order to satisfy the crowd’s demands. Still, the officers did practically nothing to assuage that fear or mitigate the coercion, and indeed kept the players’ bus trapped with the crowd for more than ten minutes before capitalizing on Marchand’s weakened state to elicit consent for a duplicative search. Without a doubt, such behavior is contrary to the general recognition that police officers have a duty to protect the public and public safety. See, e.g., Bordanaro v. McLeod, 871 F.2d 1151, 1164 (1st Cir.l989)(referencing district court’s assertion in excessive force case that “the primary duty of the police departments and policemen is to protect and preserve life and property and the public peace ”)(emphasis added).
It is inappropriate to create an artificial dichotomy between the coercion applied by the officers and that applied by the crowd they failed to adequately control, and then to omit the latter from consideration. To do so subverts the totality-of-the-circumstances analysis that is required of us. Even the majority recognizes this. In rejecting the officers’ argument that coercion, in the context of Fourth Amendment analysis, must “ ‘emanat[e] from the police *411officers themselves rather than any subjective or outside influence,’ ” the majority noted that clearly established law requires consideration of “all the surrounding circumstances.” Maj. Op. at 398-99 (citing Schneckloth, 412 U.S. at 227, 93 S.Ct. 2041, and concluding that Colorado v. Connelly 479 U.S. 157, 107 S.Ct. 515, 93 L.Ed.2d 473 (1986), which held that “coercive police activity is a necessary predicate to the finding that a confession is not ‘voluntary’ within the meaning of the Due Process Clause,” id. at 167, 107 S.Ct. 515, does not extend to Fourth Amendment consent cases).
A reasonable officer in the defendants’ position would have known that Marchand, who expressed fear of the crowd, was under a significant amount of duress. This duress was caused both by the raucous mob hurling menacing accusations, threats, and racial epithets and the officers themselves, who blocked Marchand’s team in with the crowd, failed to take adequate measures to calm or disperse it, and immediately took its side against Marchand upon arriving, despite lacking any reasoned basis for doing so. Given the officers’ exchange with Marchand, they knew or at least should have objectively known, that he felt constrained by their failure to disperse the crowd or allow the bus to leave and that he feared the racial animus in the crowd aimed at his players. On these facts, a reasonable officer would have known that Marchand believed he had no option for getting his students home safely but to consent to their demand for a search. Moreover, a reasonable officer would conclude that Marchand’s responsibility for the safety of his charges and his increasing tardiness in getting them home would make him particularly vulnerable to this type of coercion.
III.
I am gravely concerned that our case law is treading terribly close to creating “an impenetrable defense for government officials” and a “significant risk that qualified immunity will always attach.” Savard v. Rhode Island, 338 F.3d 23, 41 (1st Cir.2003)(equally divided en banc court)(opinion of Bownes, J.). The Fourth Amendment is one of our most precious constitutional rights. We should not so comfortably defer to the judgment of government officials at the cost of eviscerating such a fundamental right of our citizens — a right this nation has declared deserves the highest protection. Indeed, our task in undertaking a qualified immunity inquiry requires the contrary. It is after all “an attempt to balance competing values: not only the importance of a damages remedy to protect the rights of citizens, but also ‘the need to protect officials who are required to exercise their discretion and the related public interest in encouraging the vigorous exercise of official authority.’” Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 807, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982)(quoting Butz v. Economou, 438 U.S. 478, 504-06, 98 S.Ct. 2894, 57 L.Ed.2d 895 (1978)) (citation omitted).
With these concerns in mind and taking, as I must, every inference available in the record in favor of the plaintiffs, I cannot say that a reasonable officer in the defendants’ position could have concluded that Marchand voluntarily consented to the search. The Central Falls team’s rights were violated; the violation was clear; and a reasonable officer should have recognized it. I would vacate the district court’s entry of summary judgment and remand for resolution of the factual disputes upon which the officers’ claim of qualified immunity turns.
ORDER OF COURT
May 20, 2011.
Pursuant to First Circuit Internal Operating Procedure X(C), the petition for re*412hearing en banc has also been treated as a petition for rehearing before the original panel. The petition for rehearing having been denied by the panel of judges who decided the case, and the petition for rehearing en banc having been submitted to the active judges of this court and a majority of the judges not having voted that the case be heard en banc, it is ordered that the petition for rehearing and petition for rehearing en banc be denied.
TORRUELLA, Circuit Judge, dissenting without comment.

. The record reflects that the Central Falls players were bi-lingual.

. In their brief, the defendant officers note that if the case were to go to trial they would dispute both the number of spectators alleged *405to be watching the exchange as well as the plaintiffs' reference to the spectators as a "mob.”

. Though I would hardly describe the decision to conduct an invasive search of the players in front of a hostile, jeering, photo-taking crowd as "polite,” the players do not appear to challenge this characterization.

. There is no need to determine whether Marchand was in legal custody. By "custody” I refer only to the factual scenario by which the bus was blocked in by police cruisers, effectively blocking any means of exit for the plaintiffs.