Unreasonable Force in “Terry Stop” Gives Rise to Officer Liability
0February 9, 2013 by Tom Roberts, Esq.
Civil rights · Jury verdict · Richmond Circuit Court
Unreasonable Force in “Terry Stop” Gives Rise to Officer Liability
Civil rights attorneys Tom Roberts and Andrew Bodoh represented Richmond Police Officer Wesley Moore.
Case results depend upon a variety of factors unique to each case. Case results do not guarantee or predict a similar result in any future case undertaken by the lawyer.
Jury verdict
$250,000
For battery by a junior patrol officer
Verdict date
Jan. 30, 2013
Richmond Circuit Court, Case No. CL10-5385-6
Counsel for plaintiff
The verdict
On January 30, 2013, a Richmond jury awarded $250,000 to Richmond police officer Wesley Moore against a junior patrol officer for battery arising from an August 10, 2010 stop in South Richmond. He was represented by civil rights attorneys Tom Roberts and Andrew Bodoh.
The stop
At the traffic stop, Wesley Moore asked the junior patrol officer to explain to him the reason that he had been pulled over. Officer Moore challenged each of the explanations offered. Officer Moore did not identify himself as an officer on paid administrative leave related to the justified discharge of his weapon as a SWAT sniper.
He was ordered out of his van by the patrolman. Officer Moore testified that the patrolman then forcefully shoved him against the side of his van and then jumped on his back. Officer Moore leaned over under the weight of the patrolman, which, combined with the patrolman’s momentum, resulted in the patrol officer landing on his back.
The video from the dash camera in the patrol officer’s car was not available due to alleged equipment malfunctions.
The law: a “Terry stop” does not license excessive force
The court rejected Officer Moore’s contention that the stop was not legitimate. However, Officer Moore contended that even under a “Terry stop” the officer would not be authorized or justified to use excessive force upon him or to jump on his back.
Under Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968), the court ruled that the Fourth Amendment prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures is not violated when a police officer stops a suspect on the street and frisks him without probable cause to arrest, if the police officer has a reasonable articulable suspicion that the person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime and has a reasonable belief that the person “may be armed and presently dangerous.”
The harm
Officer Moore testified that following this incident he was upset, embarrassed and suffered chest pains, and that not a day passed without thinking about this incident. Richmond Police Officer Moore is a member of SWAT, a K-9 officer, and an instructor for the Richmond Police Academy.
“I’ve waited a long time for a jury to set the record straight.”
— Officer Wesley Moore
See also Cromartie v. Billings.
Injured by excessive force?
Talk with a Virginia civil rights attorney about your case.
Thomas H. Roberts & Associates, P.C. · 105 South 1st Street, Richmond, VA 23219 · T (804) 783-2000 · F (804) 783-2105 · tom.roberts@robertslaw.org · andrew.bodoh@robertslaw.org
Case results depend upon a variety of factors unique to each case. Case results do not guarantee or predict a similar result in any future case undertaken by the lawyer.
Category Assault & Battery, Civil Rights, Excessive Force, Fourth Amendment, Personal Injury Law | Tags: excessive force, police liability, terry stop
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