Doornbos v. City of Chi., 16-1770
| Decision Date | 18 August 2017 |
| Docket Number | No. 16-1770,16-1770 |
| Citation | 868 F.3d 572 |
| Parties | Joseph DOORNBOS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CITY OF CHICAGO, et al., Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit |
Torreya L. Hamilton, Attorney, Hamilton Law Office, LLC, Thomas P. Needham, Attorney, Law Office of Thomas P. Needham, Chicago, IL, for Plaintiff–Appellant.
Justin A. Houppert, Attorney, City of Chicago Law Department, Chicago, IL, for Defendants–Appellees.
Before Bauer, Posner, and Hamilton, Circuit Judges.
Plaintiff Joseph Doornbos was leaving a Chicago train station when a plainclothes police officer confronted him, grabbed him, and with the help of two other plainclothes officers, forced him to the ground. Doornbos was acquitted in a criminal trial for resisting arrest. He then filed this suit against the three officers and the City of Chicago for excessive use of force and malicious prosecution. Doornbos contends that Officer Williamson failed to identify himself as an officer and then used excessive force to tackle and subdue him. Officer Williamson claims that he properly identified himself as a police officer and that Doornbos fled when Williamson attempted to stop and frisk him. The case went to trial, and the jury returned a verdict in favor of the officer-defendants. On appeal, Doornbos argues that the district court erred in two ways: by admitting evidence that he had marijuana in his pocket at the time of the incident, and by improperly instructing the jury about investigatory Terry stops.
We find that the district court did not abuse its discretion by admitting the marijuana evidence. Although the marijuana was unknown to the officers at the time they used force against Doornbos, it was evidence that arguably tended to corroborate their account of Doornbos's behavior.
The jury instructions on Terry stops, however, were inadequate. Over Doornbos's objection, the court instructed the jury only on investigatory stops but not frisks. Yet Officer Williamson's own testimony indicates that he was starting a frisk when he first approached Doornbos. His own testimony also makes clear that he did not have reasonable suspicion that Doornbos was armed and dangerous. Doornbos was entitled to have the jury know that the attempted frisk, which even the defense says produced the use of force, was unjustified. The court erred further during deliberations. The jury asked the judge whether plainclothes officers are required to identify themselves when they conduct a stop. The judge said no. We conclude that the answer is yes. In all but the most unusual circumstances, where identification would itself make the situation more dangerous, plainclothes officers must identify themselves when they initiate a stop. Because these errors were not harmless, we vacate the judgment for defendants and remand for a new trial.
On February 15, 2013, Doornbos took a local Chicago train to visit a friend's home.
At approximately 7:30 p.m., he got off the train at the Wilson Avenue stop in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago. As Doornbos left the station he was approached by Officer Williamson. The officer was dressed in jeans, a black hooded sweatshirt, a jacket, and a baseball cap. Here the accounts diverge.
According to Officer Williamson's trial testimony, he saw Doornbos holding a large can of beer that was partially covered by a brown bag. He did not see Doornbos drink the beer, nor could he tell if the can of beer was even open. Nonetheless, he decided to investigate further. Williamson testified that as Doornbos left through the turnstiles, he approached Doornbos, said "Chicago police officer," and lifted his shirt to display his belt, on which were clipped a badge, gun, and handcuff case.
As Officer Williamson drew near to Doornbos, he reached out with one hand to grab Doornbos's arm. Williamson testified that he reached out to frisk Doornbos for weapons. When asked in the trial why he thought Doornbos might be armed, Williamson said that it was a high-crime area, it was dark, Doornbos may have been breaking the law by drinking beer, and Doornbos was wearing a jacket with "deep pockets" in which he "could have hidden anything."
Officer Williamson testified that as he reached out to grab Doornbos, Doornbos pushed him away, dropped the beer, and tried to run. He grabbed Doornbos's jacket, and Doornbos dragged him approximately twenty feet. Williamson testified that Doornbos was screaming loudly for help and yelling that he was being robbed, but that Williamson was saying "stop, police." After Doornbos started to stumble, Williamson testified that they "basically fell to the ground together," or as he described it later, he "forcibly guide[d] him to the ground." Doornbos was still screaming for help, and two other officers came to help Officer Williamson, not Doornbos. The officers found in Doornbos's pocket a small amount of marijuana worth around five dollars. After Doornbos was restrained, Officer Williamson said he went back and inspected the beer can. He testified that it was unopened, and he did not collect it as evidence.
Doornbos provided a very different account. He testified that he was not carrying a beer can at all. After he walked through the turnstile, he said, a man suddenly grabbed him: In fact, four people who saw or heard the incident called 911 and reported that a man was being attacked or robbed outside the station.
Doornbos's testimony regarding whether and when Officer Williamson said "stop" or "police" was not entirely consistent. During trial Doornbos emphasized that he Doornbos initially testified at trial that he did not hear Williamson identify himself as an officer before being tackled. He later said that he heard "police" before being thrown to the ground, and then said that he did not hear "police." Doornbos also testified at trial that he might have heard "stop" after testifying that he actually did hear "stop." Doornbos testified that he was "not 100 percent sure" because the confrontation "happened very quickly."
Doornbos testified that he twisted his arm to get away from a man he thought was attacking him, but as he was turning he was "tackled and thrown to the ground." He said that he was able to move only three to four steps before the three men in civilian clothes threw him down. After the men handcuffed him, Doornbos realized they were police officers and stopped resisting. He sustained minor injuries from the confrontation. He also testified that he was disoriented and upset after the sudden tackle, that one officer mocked him for crying, and that another officer made fun of his "fag" clothing.
Doornbos was charged with resisting arrest and possession of cannabis. The cannabis charge was dismissed, and in June 2013 Doornbos went to trial on the charge for resisting arrest. Doornbos, Officer Williamson, and another officer at the scene testified at the trial. The court acquitted Doornbos, emphasizing that the officers provided inconsistent and "very unusual" accounts of the alleged beer can, which was never taken into evidence. The court also noted that the officers never told Doornbos he was under arrest or even asked to see the beer can:
The defendant is charged with resisting arrest. There's no testimony to indicate the defendant was ever told he was under arrest by any police officer. If the beer can was closed and sealed as the officers suggest, there would be absolutely no reason to arrest the defendant at all. And there is no testimony of the officer approaching the defendant saying let's see the beer can, or is that beer can open or closed. So there's not even a question posed to the defendant regarding the status of the beer if that's the reason why the defendant is being stopped and detained at all.
Finally, the court emphasized that the officers were in plain clothes rather than in uniform, and Doornbos did not appear to know they were police officers: "it absolutely makes sense that anybody at the [train station] at that particular location grabbed by somebody could well think that he is being manhandled or potentially robbed which is consistent with what the defendant is alleged to have said, I'm being robbed." The court noted that if there were "any doubt" about whether Doornbos knew the men were police officers, it was dispelled by Doornbos's shouts for help and the officer's response: "the officer puts the badge in [Doornbos's] face because it was abundantly clear to the officer that he wasn't aware that they were police officers."
After Doornbos was acquitted on the criminal charge, he filed this civil suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the City of Chicago and the three officers: Michael Williamson, Alan Yakes, and Robert Capiak. The complaint alleged excessive use of force and failure to intervene in violation of the Fourth Amendment and malicious prosecution under Illinois common law. The case was tried to a jury.
During the pretrial proceedings, Doornbos filed a motion in limine to bar evidence that he possessed marijuana at the time of the arrest. He argued that it was not relevant under Federal Rule of Evidence 402 and that it was unfairly prejudicial under Rule 403. The district court denied his motion. It concluded that Doornbos's possession of marijuana was relevant because it was evidence that could corroborate either side's version...
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