Possible character defamation case (by Police Sergeant.)

[busch07]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Illinois


This is a fairly long story, but I've got some questions regarding whether or not I would have a case against the Police Sergeant involved in it. This happened Tuesday, July 28th at 8:24 AM about 300 feet from my new home which was purchased one week before.


Pulling out of the driveway to my new townhome on the morning in question while on my way to work, I was pulled over (justifiably) by an officer for not having a front license plate on my car. I had the license plate inside my car, but had never mounted it because there is no place to do so on my car and no one had ever given me trouble about it. The officer proceeded to tell me that he was basically just pulling me over because I was "a new face in the neighborhood" (Most people in the neighborhood are black and I'm white.. he all but said it, lol.) and he hadn't seen me before. He was checking my info and told me he was just gonna let me go, a Sergeant pulled up behind him. The Sergeant walked up to my car and looked in the rear window.



Upon looking in the rear window, the officer saw my toolbag (for work.. I'm in IT) and a realtor's lock. The kind that's basically a combination lock with room to store a key. He screamed something at the other officer and the officer asked why I had it. I had already explained to him that I had just bought a new home (he had asked about why my address was different on my driver's license) and I said that at my closing, the realtor never asked for the lock and I forgot about it in my car. He said OK, but then the Sergeant ordered me out of the car.

As soon as I stepped out, he started screaming at me from about 2 feet away. He yelled, "Where did you get that lock!? You aren't cooperating with us! Are those your tools for breaking into houses in the backseat!?"

I tried to tell him the same thing I told the subordinate officer, but he immediately screamed "Don't talk over me!?" (I was only trying to answer his question.) He kept screaming like a drill Sergeant for a minute accusing me of crimes that hadn't even been reported, and I said, "officer, why are you yelling at me? This is borderline harassment."

Of course he didn't like hearing that, but I know my rights and was prepared for anything he tried. His demeanor told me he obviously wasn't the brightest star on the police force in my new town. He started accusing me some more about breaking into forclosed homes and such and I began to put my hands in my pockets, as having a guy yelling at me full force from 2 feet away was making me a bit nervous. He screamed "Get your hands out of yoru pockets!" and I complied. However, a moment later I started to put them in again out of nervous habit from this guy yelling at me for no good reason and he yelled, "You put your hands in your pockets again and I'm gonna lock you up!" So I said back, rather promptly and a little loudly, "That's ridiculous, you put cuffs on me for this and I'll sue you and this town so fast..." obviously, this didn't make him happy, but even the subordinate officer had a look on his face that questioned the reactions this Sergeant was having to a stop that at most called for a ticket that was a smaller fine than a parking ticket.

The Sergeant then said, "Did you know that lock is illegal? You need a realtor's license.. I could arrest you right now just for having it!" I was dumbfounded and said, "How could that be illegal? It's just a padlock with a compartment... you can buy one at Home Depot." He left to his car a moment and the other officer could tell I was a bit upset at being treated like some thug and told me, "He'll probably just let you off with a verbal warning.. don't worry about it..." and I could tell he was embarassed by this guy. He then said that "Provincetown Drive" where I just moved, was a high crime area and blah blah blah.. even though none of the violent crimes, rape, or anything else that would be deemed really serious from the last few years occurred there. It seemed to me that they were probably just a little racist, though the subordinate officer was very nice. He did, however, go along with the story that owning the lock was a misdemeanor. (For the record, it absolutely is not illegal; I called a lockbox manufacturer, retailer, and took the lock in question to a Lieutenant on the police force to ask about its legality.) I think he was just trying to back up his superior officer.

The Sergeant then made his way back to us and continued to accuse me of crimes that were not reported... I pointed to my shirt and said, "look, the logo on my shirt matches the one on my toolbag." He yelled, "I can get a shirt like that at goodwill with a toolbag that matches it! How come you haven't updated your address? You can't even prove you live at (my address.)!"

I replied, "My home is 300 feet away. I can go get the title/deed and settlement statement if you like." He then said something about "I don't care about that... " and trailed off. (Why accuse me of lying, then?) He then said, "what kind of work do you do?" and I told him, "IT." He then accused me of lying because he didn't think IT workers would need tools. I told him I cut cables quite often and have an assortment of tools that I use almost daily." He then said, "well can I look in your bag?" (obviously trying to get me to let him into my car.) I said, "I can retrieve the bag and let you search it if you like, but you absolutely cannot go in my car beyond a basic terry search, which I believe limits you to the front immediate area and possibly my glovebox, I can't remember exactly.." He didn't like this either and said, "do I have to get the dogs out here?" I told him he could go ahead and waste both our times but I didn't even have a spare tire in the trunk at the moment.

He then started frisking me in the middle of a busy street and telling me how I should "leave the street-lawyering" at home and that he can frisk me just for being in a high crime area... etc etc.. (nevermind that I didn't object to that, I was simply commenting on how far his search could go.) He laughed and tried to intimidate me out of my rights, but I just held fast and pissed him off.

Finally, he says, "I want the numbers of your boss and second in command, NOW!" I don't believe you work at (where I work). So I give him two numbers and explain he probably will get the secretary. He then yells at me about how "I could make up numbers and give them to you, too!" So I said, "if you want, dial any number that begins with xxx-yyyy-80xx and you'll get someone at my company... but if you don't believe me, don't ask." He then proceeded to call my work, which I was now 30+ minutes late for because of this craziness. They were flabbergasted when he implied I was being looked at for B&E charges.

He then came back and yelled at the officer "You write this guy a ticket and get him out of here before I arrest him!"




Everyone at work knows I'm a really nice guy and laughed at this, but I feel he was angry that I stood up for my rights to him and he thought he was going to try and get me in trouble at work by calling my boss, etc. (My boss immediately recommended I file a complaint, which I did that night.) The truth is, however, that this was extremely upsetting to me and left me a bit shaken that I would be treated in this way. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. If I hadn't had a job, would I have been arrested? Who does this guy think he is, making up laws about locks that don't even exist to try and scare me.. (btw, I offered them the lock at this time, but they wouldn't take it... remember, I couldn't prove that the lock was illegal yet.. but why would they not confiscate it if it was actually illegal, anyway?) furthermore, what if I was going to a bar to get liquored up at 8:30 AM on a Tuesday? The fact is, it was none of Sergeant Jerkface's damned business!

What I'm wondering is whether or not I have some sort of defamation of character case against this guy for actually calling my work over a routine traffic stop that wasn't even his. As I said, I've already made a complaint, but I've yet to hear back from them on it. All I want is an apology, but sans one, I want to make this guy a liability to have on the force. If he's there, I'd love to make them pay for it... (or just give me my apology.)

Sorry for the long rant, but I wanted to be as detailed as I could at the moment!


edit: BTW, I got our version of "employee of the month" three days later, LOL!

 

[tranquility]

While, in theory, you could sue, you wouldn't win much of anything (That's assuming you would win.) and it would cost tens of thousands of dollars to prosecute.

 

[busch07]

Can you sue a municipality in small claims court? Would that even be considered suing a municipality? I didn't think it would be tens of thousands of dollars and had assumed that it would be an instance where they would probably settle, but all I really want is to know that he got reprimanded in some (any) way. He called my boss, I called his, you know? lol.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[outonbail]

What were your actual damages?

Who thinks any less of you because of this officers conduct?

 

[CdwJava]

I do not think you can get damages for defamation or for any form of suffering in small claims court. At this point, I'd say you have grounds for a personnel complaint, but I cannot imagine you have any grounds for a civil suit for defamation unless you can show how you were damaged.

- Carl

 

[tranquility]

Again, all the above is assuming you would win. While a case could be made, in theory, this was a defamation, there may be privileges and immunities and facts which take it all away.

Sueing the government for a tort is a big old darn deal and should be reserved for the truly motivated or for those really hurt.

 

[quincy]

If there have been break-ins of foreclosed homes in your area, the Sergeant may have been investigating them. Foreclosed homes are often a target of copper thieves.

The call to your employer was to verify your identity, because you were not recognized as a resident of that neighborhood, your license did not match your reported address, you had a license plate inside your car, you had the type of lock used to secure foreclosed homes in your car, and you had tools on the backseat. With all of this, combined with possible reported break-ins in the neighborhood, the Sergeant may have had good reason to be suspicious.

In checking out your story, if the Sergeant told your employer you were being questioned about a B&E, that would be the truth and not defamatory. If the officer told your employer you were suspected of breaking and entering, that could be the truth or might be substantially true and not defamatory. BUT, even if what the officer said to your employer implied you were involved in the breaking and entering of homes, a police officer generally has immunity from any defamation prosecution when statements are made during and/or concerning a police investigation. Qualified immunity is generally sufficient to protect an officer from defamation prosecution during the exercise of his official duties.

You could read Harris v News-Sun, 646 NE 2d 8 (Ill App 1995), for an Illinois case involving defamatory statements made by an officer, and his immunity when making them during an investigation.

Had any private individual called your employer, falsely implying you were guilty of breaking and entering, there could be presumed injury and an actionable case of defamation. This, however, is not your situation.

The Sergeant's qualified immunity CAN be forfeited, by the way, if it can be proved that the Sergeant acted with "actual malice" when he spoke with your employer. However, actual malice can RARELY be demonstrated. You would need to prove, with clear and convincing evidence that, without justification or excuse, the Sergeant consciously and intentionally tried to cause you reputational injury by making defamatory statements about you that he knew were false. I do not see from what you have posted here that you come anywhere close to being able to show that.

I agree with Carl that filing a complaint may be the limit of what you can do, although you can always check with an attorney to go over all of the facts.

 

[busch07]

Thank you for the incredibly detailed answer, Quincy. While I will not be filing any suit, I do still feel that calling the workplace was uncalled for in any way, shape, or form, due to the fact that I offered to show the Sergeant the deed to my house and was told "he didn't care about that."

I also believe that there should be some form of punishment for officers who go around making up laws and trying to get people to believe they exist. However, in the end, standing up for my rights still worked, as the officer never did attempt to go inside my car. At least the fourth amendment still applies some of the time... thanks for all the replies!

 

[quincy]

Well, there IS punishment for officers who go around making up laws in an attempt to support their illegal actions. It is just not, generally, punishment through defamation suits.

And, if the media gets ahold of information about an incident involving such illegal actions by a police officer, the resulting publicity and public chastisement over the incident can be worse than any legal actions taken against the officer. . . . . .

. . . . . or the officer could be invited to the White House for a beer.

 

[davew128]

And, if the media gets ahold of information about an incident involving such illegal actions by a Harvard professor, the resulting publicity and public chastisement over the incident can be worse than any legal actions taken against the professor. . . . . .

. . . . . or the professor could be invited to the White House for a beer.

Fixed it for you.

 

[quincy]

Hmmmm. While I have always appreciated good editing, davew, I think you might have taken just a few too many liberties with my words in this case. . . . .

. . . . . nothing that a couple of Coors won't fix, however.