Reason Magazine
•69% Informative
Des Moines police officers followed Domeco Fugenschuh , a 22-year-old black man, for several blocks.
They pulled him over for an invented traffic violation, roughed him up, searched his car, and arrested him for the alleged traffic infraction.
U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Helen C. Adams rejected that defense, ruling that a jury should hear the allegations.
The case illustrates the wide discretion that the Supreme Court has given police officers to harass motorists.
Fugenschuh was charged with possession of marijuana , but prosecutors dropped that charge in October 2018 .
He wanted to present video of the stop, which he said would show he was not guilty of that charge.
But after viewing the video, a judge concluded there was no actual danger or near collision or immediate hazard.
Fugenschuh 's complaint alleges Des Moines police officers "pretextually stop motorists on a regular basis" John Sutter : Police may stop a driver whenever they "have probable cause to believe that a traffic violation has occurred" He says the Supreme Court has approved custodial arrests for minor traffic offenses, even when they are not punishable by jail.
Sutter says police have a financial incentive to stop first and ask questions later.
VR Score
74
Informative language
75
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35
Article tone
informal
Language
English
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59
Offensive language
likely offensive
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not hateful
Attention-grabbing headline
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short-lived
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11
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7