US District Court in Connecticutt: Gun Permit not Valid Cause for Arrest and Search

On 12 November, 2018, at about 8:34 pm, Basel Soukaneh was driving in Waterbury, Connecticut. He was not familiar with the area, and was attempting to find a house he was considering purchasing. The GPS on his cellphone had frozen. The cell phone was on a holder on the dash, so he pulled over to adjust it. Shortly after he pulled over, with the engine running, an officer knocked on his window and demanded his license.  The interior lights on the vehicle were turned on.

According to the complaint, Soukaneh rolled down his window and said "Hi" the the officer. The officer yelled "Your drivers license!". Soukaneh then took the drivers license and his pistol permit from the visor of his vehicle and gave them to the officer, while telling the officer he had a pistol in the car. 

The officer opened the door, grabbed Soukaneh, and attempted to force him from the vehicle. Soukaneh had his seat belt on, but was pulled half out of the car before he was able to turn off the ignition and release the seat belt. 

Soukaneh suffers from two herniated discs, so this action caused significant pain. 

The officer handcuffed Soukaneh and placed him in the back of the police car, in an awkward and painful position. The officer searched Soukaneh's pokets and took $320 and a flash drive, which contained pictures of his deceased father.

The officer or other officers (other officers had arrived) then searched Soukaneh's car passenger compartment and trunk. The incident is claimed to have lasted longer than 30 minutes. Eventually Soukaneh was given a traffic citation and released.

Basel Soukaneh filed suit for violation of Constitutional rights under color of law in United States District Court, District of Connecticut on 25 July, 2019.  

Officer David Andrzejewski responded, though his attorney, that he was covered by qualified immunity because the plaintiff was in possession of a pistol, which made him objectively dangerous. The officer claimed qualified immunity applied simply because the pistol was there.

On 6 August, 2021, The United States District Court, District of Connecticut found possession of a firearms permit and a firearm was not probable cause for arrest and search of a vehicle, and was not sufficient cause for a Terry stop detention and search.

From courtlistener.com:

On this record, no reasonable officer could conclude that Plaintiff posed a meaningful threat of being “armed and dangerous” simply because he disclosed that he had a pistol and a license to possess it.Knowles, 525 U.S. at 118 (emphasis added). Any contrary holding would make it practically impossible for the lawful owner of a firearm to maintain a Fourth Amendment right to privacy in his or her automobile. See supra 9-10. The Court therefore denies summary judgment on the search of the vehicle and declines to immunize the office.

A consistent body of law is building. Mere possession of arms is not a justification to stop and/or search a person.  The courts have been clear. When a legal activity is commonly practiced in a community, mere exercise of the legal activity is not justification to stop, or arrest, or search people who are exercising that activity.

While it may not be germane to the case, it is amusing to note the brief put forward in defense of Officer Andrzejewski misspelled the plaintiff's name.

Soukaneh, was misspelled as Soukarieh. It is unusual to see misspelled words or names in federal court cases. 

The finding that Officer David Andrzejewski does not have qualified immunity in this case means a settlement is likely. 

Because the case can go forward, discovery can be required. Evidence such as body camera video, radio logs, telephone logs and officer time sheets are likely to be demanded from the department. These things could establish a clear, undisputed, time line for the stop, arrest, and search.

Several other officers may be implicated. 

In such situations, Police departments are often willing to settle for a few hundred thousand dollars of taxpayer money rather than submit to discovery.

©2021 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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