NCJ Number
172525
Journal
Crime to Court: Police Officer's Handbook (November 1997) Pages: 1-14
Date Published
1997
Length
14 pages
Annotation
In 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court held in the landmark case of Anderson v. Creighton that a police officer could escape civil liability for certain official acts later determined to be unlawful, if the police officer showed to the satisfaction of the court that any reasonable and competent police officer could have thought his or her acts were lawful.
Abstract
The Anderson decision of qualified immunity is applied in the context of a Jamaican who was converting cocaine into cocaine base in Williamsburg, Virginia, and using this location as a base of operation to distribute illegal drugs from his automobile. Relying on information provided by an informant, police officers stopped the man, arrested him, and seized a quantity of cocaine. Police officers subsequently obtained a search warrant for the man's apartment because information indicated additional quantities of drugs were there. Upon arrival to execute the warrant, a second suspect was found in the apartment. Further investigation, however, failed to provide evidence of the second suspect's guilt. This individual sued one of the police officers. The court ruled the arrest was not supported by probable cause and the mere presence of the second suspect at the apartment was not sufficient to arrest him. Nonetheless, given the facts of the case, the author concludes the police officer was entitled to qualified immunity. Factors the court looks at in deciding whether a police officer is entitled to qualified immunity are noted.