Court Opinion

ID: 9499166
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 17:39:27.91895+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:59:19.230589
License: Public Domain

DAVID D. DOWD, JR., Senior District Judge,
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
It is well-established that there is a Fourth Amendment right to be free from *788the use of excessive force and a police officer engaging in excessive force is not protected by qualified immunity. Adams v. Metiva, 31 F.3d 375, 387 (6th Cir.1994). Even if excessive force occurs in the context of a legitimate seizure, such as a Terry stop, the same legal principle applies. See, e.g., Monday v. Oullette, 118 F.3d 1099, 1104 (6th Cir.1997) (“even when an officer has probable cause to seize an individual, the officer must employ a reasonable amount of force when effecting the seizure”). “Excessive force” is a standalone claim to be examined independently of any claim relating to the stop/detention. In this case, there are factual disputes as to whether, as James Smoak claims, he was wrestled to the ground by the troopers (resulting in physical injury) when he reacted to the shooting of his dog. Therefore, with respect to Section II D of the Opinion, I concur in Judge Gilman’s affir-mance of the district court’s denial of qualified immunity to Andrews and Bush on this claim.
It is equally well-established that citizens have a right “to be secure in their persons ... against unreasonable ... seizures[J” U.S. Const, amend. IV. Although the law recognizes circumstances under which “police officers are permitted to conduct a limited type of seizure — the ‘investigatory stop’ — in the absence of probable cause[]” (Maj. Op. at 778), any such seizure must be “sufficiently limited in scope and duration to satisfy the conditions of an investigative seizure.” Florida v. Royer, 460 U.S. 491, 500, 103 S.Ct. 1319, 75 L.Ed.2d 229 (1983) (emphasis added); see also Bennett v. City of Eastpointe, 410 F.3d 810, 836 (6th Cir.2005) (“The ‘scope of the intrusion permitted--in the course of a Terry stop ‘will vary ... with the particular facts and circumstances of each case,’ but in all cases the ‘detention must be temporary and last no longer than is necessary’ and ‘the investigative methods employed should be the least intrusive means reasonably available to verify or dispel the officer’s suspicion in a short period of time.’ ”) (quoting Royer).
Based on this articulation of the law, I must dissent with respect to the reasoning and the result of Section II C of the Majority Opinion. The majority concludes that, although the “troopers had a reasonable suspicion sufficient to conduct a Terry stop[,]” (Maj. Op. at 780) “the seizure of the Smoaks violated their Fourth Amendment rights because it became an arrest without probable cause.” (Maj. Op. at 783). Even so, the majority ultimately concludes that this “was not so clear to the THP troopers on the scene as to deny them qualified immunity on this basis.” (Maj. Op. at 782).
I agree completely that the troopers made a legitimate Terry stop. I disagree as to what events are included in this legitimate stop. I have viewed the audio/video recording made by the device attached to the trooper’s vehicle. Although the first several minutes of the stop, during which the Smoaks were ordered out of their car and handcuffed and their dog was killed, may be unfortunate in hindsight, I cannot agree with the majority that what happened between 17:18 (when the Smoak’s car was pulled over) and 27:35 (when one of the troopers finally learned from dispatch that there actually were no reported robberies), constituted an “arrest without probable cause.” (Maj. Op. at 782). Even though I might have preferred that the troopers act somewhat differently, I conclude that their actions during that approximate 10-minute time frame comported with the law.
Where I would draw the line is at 27:35, the time when the troopers learned they had no further reason to hold the Smoaks and yet failed to immediately remove their handcuffs and release them. At that moment, what had been a legitimate investí-*789gative stop turned into an arrest without probable cause. Since it cannot factually be determined from the record which of the troopers was involved in these events, that should be a fact call for a jury. It matters not one iota that the duration of this illegal seizure was only about nine minutes. This has to be actionable behavior and there is no question in my mind that there is no qualified immunity with respect to this narrow portion of the events on the videotape.
Therefore, although I agree with the majority’s conclusion that there was an arrest without probable cause, I would find that the unlawful arrest occurred at approximately 27:35 and lasted until approximately 36:48. Furthermore, I would not grant qualified immunity as to the events within this narrow window of time because every reasonable officer would know that, as soon as lack of probable cause was verified, the detention should have stopped immediately.
I concur in the background statement set forth in Section I. I concur in the statement of the law set forth in Sections II A and B. I concur only in the result reached in Sections II D and E. I concur in part and dissent in part as to Section II C. To the extent Section III conflicts with my conclusion, I do not join Section III.