WINTERROWD v. NELSON
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today released an opinion in WINTERROWD v. NELSON, No. 04-35855, a civil rights appeal. The panel consisted of Alex Kozinski, Marsha S. Berzon and Richard C. Tallman, Circuit Judges.
KOZINSKI, Circuit Judge:
We consider a claim of qualified immunity for the use of force during an ordinary traffic stop. Facts Ralph Kermit Winterrowd 2d wasn’t weaving across the road when the Alaska State Troopers pulled him over. He wasn’t speeding. He didn’t even coast through a stop sign. He was pulled over because the troopers suspected his plates were invalid. As is typical in such circumstances, the troopers who pulled him over–Brad L. Nelson, John R. Cyr, Jorge A. Santiago, and Robert M. Baty–asked Winterrowd to produce his driver’s license and registration. Winterrowd was unable to produce valid registration. The troopers then ordered him out of his vehicle. Because they intended to speak with him inside a patrol car, they attempted to perform a routine pat-down for officer safety. As Winterrowd faced the police car, Nelson ordered him to put his hands behind his back. Nelson saw no signs of a weapon, and Winterrowd offered no physical threat to the officers. Instead, Winterrowd explained that he could not put his hands behind his back because he had a shoulder injury. According to Winterrowd, the officers responded by forcing. . .