Fifth Circuit Rules in Favor of Linklaters and ACLU Justice Lab Client, Sending St. Tammany Parish Police Misconduct Case to Trial

In a significant victory for police accountability, Linklaters and the ACLU of Louisiana have defeated an appeal by St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Deputy Alexander Thomas to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Fifth Circuit’s decision upheld a lower court ruling in favor of Bruce Washington—a 54-year-old Black man and St. Tammany Parish resident who was illegally frisked by Deputy Thomas during an unnecessary traffic stop—and allows the case to proceed to trial.

On March 13, 2021, Mr. Washington was pulled over and told by an officer, Deputy Alexander Thomas, that he had failed to use a turn signal, which Mr. Washington denied. Thomas threatened Mr. Washington and his passenger, Gregory Lane, saying that he was going to make the traffic stop “go a different way than it has to be,” and instructed both men to step out of the vehicle. Mr. Washington and Mr. Lane were subjected to a pat-down search under coercion, verbally accosted, and then ticketed for making an improper turn and failing to use a turn signal.

Ruling in favor of Washington, the lower court remarked that “Thomas’ testimony suggests that Thomas did not believe he had the authority to search Washington without consent. . . .  Because Washington has pointed to specific facts, supported by competent evidence, that show genuine issues of material fact as to whether Thomas engaged in conduct that violated the clearly established law of frisks, summary judgment must be denied.” 

In his appeal, Deputy Thomas “[did] not argue that no constitutional violation occurred.” Rather, he asked the Fifth Circuit to ignore Mr. Washington’s declaration that he did not consent to the search, and to act as jury in determining that the video evidence showed that the frisk was constitutional. The Fifth Circuit dismissed the appeal, holding that “[b]ecause Thomas challenges the genuineness of the factual disputes forming the basis of the district court’s denial of summary judgment,” it lacks jurisdiction to consider the appeal. The Fifth Circuit has thus reaffirmed that where genuine issues of fact exist as to whether police have reasonable suspicion to perform a frisk, qualified immunity will not shield police from having to answer for their actions in front of a jury.

“Despite what the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office has repeatedly argued, a black man driving at night and calmly asking questions of police during a traffic stop does not create reasonable suspicion that he is armed and dangerous, and therefore subject to search without his consent,” said Linklaters Senior Associate, Elizabeth Raulston. “The arguments of the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office in this case only perpetuate the racist stereotype that black men are inherently dangerous - and we’re pleased that these arguments have failed at every stage of this litigation.”

“This is a huge win for Mr. Washington and all Louisianans,” said Nora Ahmed, ACLU of Louisiana legal director. “Such daily unconstitutional indignities by police cause irreparable harm to local communities and promote dangerous, racist stereotypes. The ACLU of Louisiana’s Justice Lab aims to curb these indignities, which disproportionately target the Black community, by holding police accountable. Instead of trying to justify unconstitutional frisks, the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office should immediately cease engaging in the practice of targeting people of color for frivolous traffic violations and using them as a pretext to conduct invasive and unconstitutional searches aimed at entrapping law-abiding citizens. Mr. Washington looks forward to seeing Deputy Thomas at trial.”

The Fifth Circuit’s decision is the latest victory for ACLU of Louisiana’s Justice Lab program, which has filed more than 50 cases throughout the state against law enforcement agencies since launching in 2020. For more information, visit aclujusticelab.org.