Facts
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Around 5:00 P.M. in June 2022, Mario Rosales was driving his Mustang, which had New Mexico license plates. He changed lanes, approached a red light at an intersection, activated the Mustang’s left turn signal, and stopped at the light. An Alexandria Police Department vehicle stopped behind the Mustang and, after the light changed and the Mustang turned left, pulled it over.
Officer Samuel Terrell approached the Mustang and told Rosales to step out, and he did. Rosales handed over his driver’s license and car registration and began pulling up his insurance information on his phone. When Officer Jim Lewis approached the passenger side of the Mustang, Rosales calmly told Officer Terrell that he was “getting agitated” and asked why he was pulled over. Officer Terrell said he would “tell [Rosales] in a second.” Officer Lewis stated that he saw ammunition in the open glove box. He then asked the passenger, Gracie Lasyone, for her identification, which she provided. Officer Lewis asked whether there were any weapons in the car, and she shook her head.
Officer Lewis then approached Rosales—who was standing with Officer Terrell in front of the police car—and asked if he had a gun in the car. Rosales said he had a gun in a bag in the back seat of the Mustang. He denied having a gun on his person. Officer Terrell told Rosales to put his phone on the hood of the police car and his hands on the bumper, and he did. While Officer Terrell frisked Rosales, Officer Lewis asked if he could get the gun from the Mustang. Rosales denied him permission. Officer Lewis then instructed Lasyone to “leave everything” in the Mustang and step out of the vehicle. He asked if she had any guns “on [her,]” and after she said “no,” he directed her to wait in front of the police car. He said, “Hey, 32:104 and 32:352 uh, for the uh, P[robable] C[ause]” to Officer Terrell and then walked back to the Mustang and peered inside, while Officer Terrell put Rosales’s phone and registration documents in the police car.
Officer Lewis gave Rosales Miranda warnings. He asked how long Rosales had been in Louisiana; Rosales said that “he had been there off and on; was originally from Roswell, New Mexico; was trying to establish residency in Louisiana; worked at Atlas Home Service; and was trying to buy a home.” Rosales denied ever having been arrested. At Officer Lewis’s request, Rosales emptied his pockets, revealing only a wallet and keys. When Officer Lewis asked whether he could “check,” Rosales said he had already been “checked,” but Officer Terrell said he “only patted [Rosales] down” and did not “check” or “search” him, Officer Lewis again asked if he could “check” and whether Rosales “ha[d] something” he was “not supposed to.” Rosales responded he did not have anything on him, and he would “feel a lot safer if [Lasyone] had her phone and she was able to record while [Officer Lewis] check[ed] [him].” When told that the officers were recording on their body cameras, Rosales said he did not “trust” body camera footage. Lasyone requested and was denied permission to get her phone from the Mustang while the officers watched. Ultimately, Officer Lewis did not “check” or pat down Rosales. Officer Lewis continued questioning Rosales in front of the police vehicle while Officer Terrell took Lasyone to the side.
Officer Lewis again asked if Rosales had anything in his car that he “shouldn’t have” or whether he had ever been arrested, and Rosales answered “no.” He denied having any of the various drugs Officer Lewis asked him about. Rosales said he sometimes stayed at Lasyone’s sister’s house in Louisiana, and sometimes in Roswell, New Mexico; Lasyone was his girlfriend; they were coming from work; and they had stopped at the bank and were heading to pick up a car part. Officer Lewis told Rosales he was “detained on a traffic stop” before telling Officer Terrell to “switch places with him.” Meanwhile, Officer Terrell gave Lasyone Miranda warnings and questioned her. He asked if there was “anything illegal” in the Mustang, and she said, “[n]ot to [her] knowledge.” In response to continued questioning, Lasyone stated she was from Louisiana and had been dating Rosales for a year; Rosales was from Roswell but came back and forth to Louisiana every few months; and she had never been arrested or done drugs. Lasyone then asked why she was being questioned, and Officer Terrell responded that he was “curious.” Lasyone asked if he “pull[s] people over because [he is] curious,” and he responded that he pulled them over because Rosales “failed to signal.” After answering a question about where Rosales worked, Lasyone asked if she could get her phone, and Officer Terrell declined, again assuring her he was recording on his body camera. Officer Terrell then switched places with Officer Lewis.
As Officer Terrell approached, Rosales asked about his phone, and Officer Terrell said it was in the police vehicle. Officer Terrell told Rosales he had been stopped for “[f]ailure to signal.” When asked where he lived, Rosales said he was staying in Louisiana and was trying to move there. Officer Terrell retrieved Rosales’s phone, put it on the hood of the police car, and told Rosales not to touch it. When Rosales asked if he could record, Officer Terrell maintained that the officers’ body cameras were recording and said to “hold tight,” as Rosales was being “legally detained.”
Simultaneously, Officer Lewis began questioning Lasyone. She responded that she had never been arrested; she and Rosales were coming from work and had stopped at the bank; there was nothing in Rosales’s car that he should not have; she had never done any of the drugs Officer Lewis asked about; and she had never been in any trouble. He said he “believe[d]” her and went to peer inside the Mustang again. Lasyone again asked for her phone while Rosales asked if they could leave. “Officer Lewis answered no to both questions.” He also explained that Lasyone was asked to exit the Mustang because there was a firearm inside.
The officers returned to their vehicle while Rosales and Lasyone remained standing in front of it. Criminal history checks were “negative.” After several minutes, they cited Rosales for failure to signal under La. Rev. Stat. § 32:104, failure to register a vehicle under La. Rev. Stat. § 47:501, and a vehicle registration violation. About twenty-one minutes had elapsed from the time the officers stopped the Mustang. All citations were ultimately dismissed. The district court denied qualified immunity for the officers. The 5th affirmed.
Analysis
A. Reasonable suspicion for stop
Here, the central question is whether the complaint, coupled with the video evidence, plausibly alleges that Officers lacked reasonable suspicion of a traffic violation—that Rosales failed to use his left turn signal to indicate a lane change and a left turn at least one hundred feet before turning. The video shows Officers pull behind the Mustang as it approached an intersection, and the left turn signal was already activated as the Mustang’s lights come into view. It is not clear from the video when Rosales activated the signal—i.e., whether it was activated at least one hundred feet before the turn. But we view the video in the light most favorable to Rosales, which supports the inference that the left turn signal was activated in accordance with Louisiana law.
B. Detention must be temporary and last no longer than is necessary to effectuate the purpose of the stop
Here, Rosales asserts that Officers unlawfully prolonged the stop when they (1) ordered computer checks (2) separated them to question about “drugs and other unrelated topics”; and (3) frisked Rosales and searched his pockets. Our precedent allows computer checks. See Lopez-Moreno. It also allows the questioning, even to the extent it concerned drugs and other illegal items, because it was an appropriate attempt to dispel any reasonable suspicion. See Smith, after Rosales admitted there was firearm in the vehicle and gave vague answers regarding his residency.
That leaves only the claim that Officers unlawfully prolonged the traffic stop by searching Rosales. As discussed, he plausibly alleged those searches were unlawful under the Fourth Amendment. As a result, prolonging the traffic stop to conduct them was also unlawful because they were unrelated to the traffic stop’s purpose and unsupported by reasonable suspicion of additional criminal activity.
C. Frisk
Officer Terrell asserts that he had reasonable suspicion that Rosales was armed and dangerous, giving rise to a lawful frisk, because Rosales (1) stated he was agitated, (2) did not disclose the weapon in the Mustang until asked, and (3) was wearing baggy clothing.
Here, Rosales plausibly alleged that the traffic stop was not lawful, so Officer Terrell could not constitutionally proceed to frisk Rosales or pat him down. Rosales also sufficiently pleaded that he lacked reasonable suspicion. He frisked Rosales during daytime, in a non-dangerous area. Rosales admitted he had a gun in the vehicle, but an officer cannot search or seize a person simply because he is keeping or bearing a firearm. Nor does “baggy” clothing alone justify a pat-down. The only remaining factor Officer Terrell identifies is Rosales’s statement that he was “agitated” after observing Officer Lewis approach the passenger side of the Mustang. But viewed in a light most favorable to Rosales, this statement at best suggests “nervousness,” which does not necessarily carry readily discernible connection to criminal activity.
Because these facts do not support a reasonable suspicion—either in isolation or under the totality of the circumstances—that Rosales was armed and dangerous, he has plausibly alleged Officer Terrell frisked him unlawfully.
D. Search
We need not address whether Rosales’s consent was “voluntary” because, even if it was, that consent was not an independent act of free will. As explained, Appellees have plausibly alleged the traffic stop was unlawful at its inception—giving rise to an “illegal detention.”
As with Officer Terrell, Rosales plausibly alleged Officer Lewis could not constitutionally proceed to frisk or pat him down because the traffic stop itself was unlawful. That aside, Officer Lewis searched Rosales’ pockets after he observed Officer Terrell conduct a pat-down that revealed no weapons. Officer Lewis’s continued exploration of Rosales’s pockets exceeded the bounds of the strictly circumscribed search for weapons allowed under Terry because it was unrelated to the sole justification of the search under Terry -the protection of the police officer and others nearby. Rosales plausibly alleged a Fourth Amendment violation.
https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/unpub/25/25-30650.0.pdf