Police Use of Force to Discern Whether Car Parked Illegally Upheld

A circuit court found that aggressive tactics, such as ripping out and cuffing occupants from a car, does not violate the Fourth Amendment in minor traffic violations

 

United States v. Johnson, 2016 BL 156346, 7th Cir., No. 15-1366, 5/17/16.

    After aggressively pulling out occupants of a car and cuffing them to see whether the car was parked illegally, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals of the Seventh Circuit found the police did not act unreasonably.  In the opinion, the court said, “Officers don't need to negate every possible defense before investigating a reasonable suspicion that a traffic offense is being committed.” While the court recognized the aggressive tactics of the officers, they emphasized that excessive force by an officer or racial profiling is better corrected through a civil suit, not a Fourth Amendment claim.

               

   Notably, in the dissenting opinion, one judge criticized that extending the existing pretext for traffic stops to parking infractions should not be allowed. He further noted, that “driving while black” being used for such minor infractions will give police the go-ahead to seize minorities with the hope that it will lead to bigger and better things. 

http://www.bloomberglaw.com/public/document/United_States_v_Johnson_No_151366_2016_BL_156346_7th_Cir_May_17_2