Garcia v. City of New Hope

984 F.3d 655

Reuben J. GARCIA, Plaintiff - Appellant

v.CITY OF NEW HOPE; Officer Anthony Gust, all in their individual and official capacities; Officer Kaitlyn Baker, all in their individual and official capacities; Officer Nadine Jacobs, all in their individual and official capacities; Officer Adam Johnson, all in their individual and official capacities, Defendants - Appellees

No. 19-1836

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Submitted: May 13, 2020

Filed: January 5, 2021

Counsel who presented argument on behalf of the appellant was Zorislav Romanovich Leyderman, of Minneapolis, MN. The following attorney(s) appeared on the appellant brief; Zorislav Romanovich Leyderman, of Minneapolis, MN.

Counsel who presented argument on behalf of the appellee was Stephanie A. Angolkar, of Bloomington, MN. The following attorney(s) appeared on the appellee brief; Jason Michael Hiveley, of Bloomington, MN., Stephanie A. Angolkar, of Bloomington, MN., Francine Marie Kuplic, of Bloomington, MN.

Before SMITH, Chief Judge, MELLOY and SHEPHERD, Circuit Judges.

SMITH, Chief Judge.

Officer Kaitlyn Baker conducted a traffic stop of Reuben J. Garcia's vehicle after he extended his middle finger at her as he drove past her. Officers Anthony Gust, Nadine Jacobs, and Adam Johnson later arrived at the stop to assist Officer Baker. Garcia refused to provide his license, and the officers handcuffed and detained him for a short period of time. Officer Baker then issued Garcia a citation and allowed him to leave.

Garcia later sued the officers and the City of New Hope ("City") under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, claiming violations of his First and Fourth Amendment rights. The district court granted summary judgment to the officers and the City, finding that the officers were entitled to qualified immunity because Officer Baker had probable cause to conduct a traffic stop of Garcia's vehicle, the officers did not use excessive force during the stop, and Officer Baker did not retaliate against Garcia for exercising his First Amendment rights. Garcia appeals. We affirm in part and reverse in part.

I. Background

On February 1, 2016, Officer Baker was on school patrol at Sonnesyn Elementary in New Hope, Minnesota. That morning, Garcia drove by the school and saw Officer Baker motion for him to stop his vehicle. He stopped. Officer Baker shouted for him to slow down, but Garcia responded that he was going the speed limit. Garcia then drove away. Officer Baker did not issue Garcia a citation.

Later, in the afternoon, Garcia again saw Officer Baker at the school. This time, he extended his hand out of his car window and raised his middle finger at Officer Baker as he drove past her. In response to Garcia's action, Officer Baker decided to follow Garcia in her squad car. She activated her video camera. As she followed him, the camera recorded her stating the "driver drove by flipping [her] off .... arguing about speed when the children were out during the school crossing." Ex. 3 at 00:30–00:44, Garcia v. City of New Hope , No. 0:17-cv-03574-NEB-ECW (D. Minn. Nov. 19, 2018), ECF No. 51-2(3). Officer Baker called for back up and activated her emergency lights to pull over Garcia's vehicle.

Officer Baker approached Garcia on his passenger side window. Using his phone, Garcia began to video the traffic stop and then asked Officer Baker why she pulled him over. She replied, "You drove by and you flicked me off and I'm curious as to why you did that." Id. at 01:07–01:11. Garcia asked if his actions were illegal, and Officer Baker replied that there was a woman with her children at the school patrol and that his actions constituted disorderly conduct.

Officer Baker then asked for Garcia's license and insurance twice, but he ignored her requests. Instead, he demanded that she call her supervisor because she was violating his First Amendment rights. Officer Baker asked Garcia for his license several more times. He replied that he would give her the license but repeatedly asked her if she was going to shoot him. Garcia then again asked for Officer Baker's supervisor, and Officer Baker asked for his license. He refused to comply and, instead, asked for her name and badge number. Officer Baker responded that her information would be on the citation.

Officers Gust and Jacobs arrived on the scene while Officer Baker was still standing at Garcia's passenger window. She then told him to get out his "g*d d**n D.L." Id. at 02:15–02:18. Officer Gust approached the vehicle as Officer Baker continued to ask for Garcia's license. Garcia still did not provide his license and yelled that he was "protected by the First Amendment!" Ex. 2 at 01:20–01:23, Garcia v. City of New Hope , No. 0:17-cv-03574-NEB-ECW (D. Minn. Nov. 19, 2018), ECF No. 51-2(2). Officer Baker walked around the vehicle to Garcia, yelling for Garcia to get out of his vehicle. She opened the driver's side door and demanded that Garcia get out of the vehicle. Officer Baker then grabbed Garcia as he stepped out of the vehicle, placed him against his vehicle, and handcuffed him. Officer Baker threw Garcia's wallet on the ground. Officer Gust helped Officer Baker hold Garcia against the vehicle. Officer Johnson also arrived during this time, but he did not assist in handcuffing Garcia.

The officers asked Garcia several times whether he had any weapons, but he invoked his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. The officers escorted Garcia to Officer Baker's squad car. At the squad car, Garcia admitted that he had a box cutter, so Officer Gust patted him down. Officer Baker told Garcia that he was "being detained ... right now for disorderly conduct." Ex. 3 at 03:36–03:41. Officer Gust placed Garcia in Officer Baker's squad car. After detaining Garcia, Officer Baker then recounted the events with Garcia to the officers:

This morning, him and I got in a little—he stopped when I told him to slow down going through the crosswalk, the kids are on the school patrol. He said, "I'm only going 25." Well, it's 20. Drove by this afternoon and flicked me off. The kids are out, there's a mom there with a kid waiting at the corner .... He flicked me off, I got in my car .... Videotaping the whole time. "Don't shoot me, don't shoot me." He wants a supervisor.

Id. at 04:16–04:40.

Officer Baker also told the arriving officers that Garcia would not give her his license and "that's why he's taking a timeout for right now." Id. at 05:02–05:05. Officer Johnson related that once he saw Garcia's license plate, he realized that Garcia had raised his middle finger at him before. After talking to the other officers, Officer Baker retrieved Garcia's wallet from the ground and returned to her squad car. While in the car with Garcia, Officer Baker explained that he was being detained for disorderly conduct and for not providing her his license. Officer Baker held Garcia in the car for around seven minutes, and during that time, he continued to talk to her about how the officers were dangerous and unprofessional. Officer Baker issued Garcia a citation. Officer Gust then took Garcia out of the squad car and removed his handcuffs. As Garcia left, he yelled "f**k you" at the officers. Id. at 12:56–12:58. He then drove away in his vehicle.

Garcia's citation listed charges for disorderly conduct and a license plate violation.¹ Officer Baker later explained that she had never pulled someone over for giving her the middle finger. But, she explained that she pulled Garcia over because his behavior began to escalate after their first encounter. As to the license plate violation, Officer Baker noted in her incident report: "During the traffic stop, I observed the license plate having a plastic cover over the entire plate and a red plate frame obstructing the view of the month and year stickers." Ex. 1 at 38, Garcia v. City of New Hope , No. 0:17-cv-03574-NEB-ECW (D. Minn. Nov. 19, 2018), ECF No. 51-1. She later clarified that she noticed the license plate during the crosswalk encounter and mentioned the violation in the wrong portion of her incident report. Officer Baker also stated that she did not inform Garcia of the license plate violation because she could not have a conversation with him. Garcia denies that he had a cover or frame over his license plate.

To defend against the charges, Garcia obtained counsel. His counsel advised him that he would go to jail if he did not take a driving course and write a letter of apology. Garcia apologized in writing and took the driving course. He also entered into an "Agreement to Suspend Prosecution" ("Agreement") on April 7, 2016, pursuant to Minnesota Rule of Criminal Procedure 27.05. His charges were officially dismissed on April 7, 2017. Also on April 7, 2016, Garcia filed a complaint with the New Hope Police Department. After review, Chief of Police Tim Fournier concluded that the complaint was not sustained because the traffic stop was justified.

Garcia then filed suit in Minnesota state court against Officers Baker, Johnson, Gust, Jacobs, and the City (collectively "the defendants"). He alleged that they violated his Fourth Amendment rights and committed battery by injuring his hand when they handcuffed him. In addition, he sued Officer Baker and the City for retaliating against him for exercising his First Amendment rights and for assault and malicious prosecution. The defendants removed the case to federal court and filed a motion for summary judgment, asserting that the officers were entitled to qualified immunity on the Fourth and First Amendment claims and entitled to official immunity on the state-law claims.

The district court first considered Garcia's Fourth Amendment claim that the officers unlawfully seized him during the traffic stop. It addressed the two possible justifications offered by Officer Baker for stopping Garcia's vehicle: disorderly conduct and the license plate violation. As to the disorderly conduct, the district court explained that because Officer Baker and Garcia had conflicting accounts...