Bagley v. Boyte

Decision Date16 August 1996
Docket NumberNo. 94-2526,94-2526
Citation94 F.3d 641
PartiesNOTICE: Fourth Circuit Local Rule 36(c) states that citation of unpublished dispositions is disfavored except for establishing res judicata, estoppel, or the law of the case and requires service of copies of cited unpublished dispositions of the Fourth Circuit. John W. BAGLEY, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Robert W. BOYTE, solely in his personal capacity; Robert Byrd, solely in his personal capacity, Defendants-Appellees.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit

ARGUED: Ernest Eugene Yarborough, YARBOROUGH & CARTER, P.C., Winnsboro, South Carolina, for Appellant. Michael Stephen Pauley, LIDE, MONTGOMERY, POTTS & MEDLOCK, P.C., Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellees. ON BRIEF: Vinton D. Lide, LIDE, MONTGOMERY, POTTS & MEDLOCK, P.C., Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellees.

Before RUSSELL, WILLIAMS, and MICHAEL, Circuit Judges.

OPINION

PER CURIAM:

John W. Bagley brought a § 1983 action against two police officers, Robert W. Boyte and Robert Byrd, alleging that they had violated his rights under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments by making an unreasonable show of force during an investigatory stop and by retaining his firearms for an unreasonable period of time. Bagley appeals the district court's granting of a directed verdict in favor of the police officers. We affirm.

I.

On December 7, 1993, Deputy Melinda Martin received a call from the manager of the Winnfield West Apartments, an apartment complex that had a history of drug trafficking. The manager expressed concern about a man carrying a briefcase and wearing a handgun in a shoulder holster. The manager provided Deputy Martin with a description of the man's automobile and the car's license plate number. By the time Deputy Martin arrived at the apartment complex to investigate, neither the man nor the vehicle were in sight. Deputy Martin broadcast this information over the police radio and then proceeded to a previously-assigned duty.

Later that same day, Deputy Robert Boyte and two other deputies, responded to a second call from the manager of the apartment complex. The officers observed the car with the license number that the apartment manager had provided, and they radioed a request for the registration and status of the car. The search revealed that the automobile was being operated without insurance coverage, in violation of South Carolina law. Deputy Boyte decided to conduct an investigatory stop.

Earlier that morning, Bagley met Kevin Talbert and Tito Burke, two friends of his, at his residence at Winnfield West Apartments.

When Bagley exited his apartment, he carried a case containing two pistols that he had recently purchased. He placed the case in the trunk of Talbert's car, and he departed with his friends to go to a field to test fire the pistols. Talbert drove, Bagley sat in the passenger's seat, and Burke sat in the back. After they finished shooting, Bagley placed the two pistols in the glove compartment of the car, and they returned to the apartment complex around noon. There, some friends of theirs pulled alongside their car, and they all talked from inside their cars. After making plans, Talbert drove out of the apartment complex. Soon after leaving the apartment complex, the car was stopped by the police.

Because the police had evidence that the passengers in the car had weapons, they conducted a felony stop. Two police cars arrived at the scene. Deputy Boyte jumped out of one patrol car and pointed a gun at Bagley. Bagley put his hands up. Another officer ordered Talbert out of the car and placed him in handcuffs. Then, the deputies ordered Bagley to cross over to the passenger's side and exit the vehicle. Once he did, Bagley was ordered to kneel on the gravel pavement, and he was placed in handcuffs. Deputy Boyte took Bagley to his police car. He pulled down Bagley's jacket, revealing an empty shoulder holster. Deputy Boyte then ordered him into the back seat of his car. From there, Bagley watched the police take Tito Burke into custody. The whole incident occurred in broad daylight on a busy street. Many bystanders watched the spectacle.

Eventually, the officers determined that Bagley, Talbert, and Burke were not engaged in criminal activity. Talbert, however, was arrested for driving an uninsured vehicle. Talbert consented to a search of the vehicle, and the officers found the two pistols in the glove compartment. Bagley explained that he owned the pistols, but he was not carrying any written proof of ownership. The deputies impounded the vehicle and took possession of the guns. Deputy Boyte explained that Bagley could claim the guns at the sheriff's office after producing proof of ownership.

Later that day or on the following day, Bagley went to the sheriff's office to reclaim his pistols. He talked with Captain Byrd, who refused to release the weapons until he determined that Bagley was not a convicted felon. Officer Byrd asked Bagley to return on Satur day, December 11. In the meantime, Officer Byrd ran a search and discovered that Bagley was not a convicted felon. When Bagley returned to the sheriff's office on December 11, he could not enter the building because it was closed for the weekend. Bagley was unaware that he could have reclaimed his pistols if he had gone around back to the operational portion of the sheriff's department. Instead, he returned to the administrative office on Monday, December 13, presented proof of ownership, and retrieved his weapons.

On March 10, 1994, Bagley filed this § 1983 action against Deputy Boyte and Captain Byrd, claiming that they had violated his Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. After discovery, the case came before the district court for trial on November 1, 1994. At the conclusion of Bagley's case, the defendants moved for a directed verdict. After an extensive hearing on the motion, the district court granted the motion and dismissed the case. Bagley now appeals.

II.

We review de novo the grant of a motion for a directed verdict. Gairola v. Virginia Dep't of Gen. Servs., 753 F.2d 1281, 1285 (4th Cir.1985). In considering a motion for a directed verdict, the district court must construe the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Garraghty v. Jordan, 830 F.2d 1295, 1302 (4th Cir.1987). The district court must direct a verdict if, without weighing the evidence or considering the credibility of the witnesses, it finds that a reasonable jury could reach but one conclusion. Gairola, 753 F.2d at 1285.

A.

We first consider Bagley's claim that the police officers made an excessive show of force during their stop of Talbert's vehicle.

A claim that law enforcement officers have used excessive force in the course of an arrest, investigatory stop, or other seizure of a free person is analyzed under the Fourth Amendment standard of reasonableness. Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 395 (1989). As the Supreme Court has explained: The "reasonableness" of a particular use of force must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, rather than with the 20/20 vision of hindsight.... Not every push or shove, even if it may later seem unnecessary in the peace of a judge's chambers, ... violates the Fourth Amendment. The calculus of reasonableness must embody allowance for the fact that police officers are often forced to make split-second judgments--in circumstances that are tense, uncertain, and rapidly evolving--about the amount of force that is necessary in a particular situation. Id. at 396-97 (internal quotes omitted).

The police had a right to conduct an investigatory stop of Talbert's vehicle because they knew that Talbert was operating an uninsured vehicle, a crime under South Carolina law. See United States v. Cortez, 449 U.S. 411, 417 (1981) ("An investigatory stop must be justified by some objective manifestation that the person stopped is, or is about to be, engaged in criminal activity."). We have long recognized that "the right to make an arrest or investigatory stop necessarily carries with it the right to use some degree of physical coercion or threat thereof to effect it." Graham, 490 U.S. at 396. As a general rule, officers conducting an investigatory stop are authorized to take such steps as are reasonable necessary to protect their personal safety and to maintain the status quo during the course of the stop. United States v. Leshuk, 65 F.3d 1105, 1109 (4th Cir.1995) (citing United States v. Hensley, 469 U.S. 221, 235 (1985)).

From the apartment manager's tips, the deputies had reason to believe that one of the passengers of the vehicle...

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    ... ... afoot” to execute a brief “investigatory ... detention”); Bagley v. Boyte , 94 F.3d 641 ... (table), 1996 WL 465845, at *3 (4th Cir. 1996) (“As a ... general rule, officers conducting an investigatory ... ...

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