Marcus Torry v. City of Chicago
932 F.3d 579
7th Cir.2019Background
- In Sept. 2014 a drive-by shooting occurred near Manley High School; dispatches described suspects as three Black males in a grey car (reports variously said newer-model Nissan, Nissan SUV, or grey Trailblazer).
- Later that day Sgt. Robert King (a school sergeant) and two other officers stopped a grey Ford Fusion with three Black male occupants after it passed the school; Torry recorded the encounter on his cell phone.
- Torry was removed to a squad car for about eight minutes, officers searched/patted down the other occupants, then returned Torry’s documents and released the men; plaintiffs later sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
- By the time of litigation none of the officers recalled the stop; defendants relied on a police Event Query Report and King’s affidavit (and Torry’s video) to show reasonable suspicion.
- District court granted summary judgment for defendants; the Seventh Circuit affirmed, holding the officers could rely on the report and affidavit, collective-knowledge doctrine applied, and qualified immunity barred liability.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether officers may rely on post hoc indirect evidence when they lack memory of the stop | King’s lack of memory is effectively concession of unlawfulness; indirect evidence cannot substitute for contemporaneous recollection | Officers can use other admissible evidence (police report, video, affidavit) to prove what they knew at the time | Court: admissible evidence may be considered; lack of memory alone is not conceding liability |
| Admissibility of King’s affidavit (sham-affidavit doctrine) | Affidavit contradicts prior discovery statements and should be excluded as a sham | Affidavit explains new documentary evidence and does not contradict prior testimony that King lacked memory | Court: affidavit not a sham and properly considered |
| Admissibility of police report (hearsay/business-records) | Report is hearsay and inadmissible | Report is either offered to show its effect on officers (not hearsay) or is admissible under the business-records exception | Court: report admissible (not hearsay for effect; alternatively business-records exception applies); collective knowledge imputes dispatch info to King |
| Fourth Amendment / qualified immunity: Was the Terry stop unreasonable or clearly established as unlawful? | Stop unreasonable because the vehicle model differed, shooting was hours earlier and half-mile away, so no reasonable suspicion; scope became de facto arrest | Plaintiffs matched key descriptors (three Black males, grey car, near place/time), officers acted on dispatches plus behavior (multiple passes); even if close, law not clearly established | Court: Even if facts are debatable, no clearly established law shows stop was unlawful; qualified immunity applies |
Key Cases Cited
- Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968) (authorizes brief investigatory stops on reasonable suspicion)
- Navarette v. California, 572 U.S. 393 (2014) (reasonable-suspicion standard is lower than probable cause)
- Ornelas v. United States, 517 U.S. 690 (1996) (reasonable-suspicion inquiry judged holistically and based on the sum of information known to officers)
- District of Columbia v. Wesby, 138 S. Ct. 577 (2018) (qualified-immunity clear‑law standard: unlawfulness must be "beyond debate")
- Gentry v. Sevier, 597 F.3d 838 (7th Cir. 2010) (dispatch describing suspicious conduct without detail insufficient for reasonable suspicion)
- United States v. Packer, 15 F.3d 654 (7th Cir. 1994) (stop based on bare report of suspicious vehicle lacked particularized suspicion)
- United States v. Lenoir, 318 F.3d 725 (7th Cir. 2003) (matching dispatch description near in time/place can support reasonable suspicion)
- United States v. Tilmon, 19 F.3d 1221 (7th Cir. 1994) (imperfect time/distance match does not necessarily negate reasonable suspicion)
- United States v. Bullock, 632 F.3d 1004 (7th Cir. 2011) (temporary detention in squad car does not automatically convert a Terry stop into an arrest)
- Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635 (1987) (qualified immunity framework)