S.D.Ill.: Officer’s intentional delay in ticketing process made stop violate Rodriguez

Officer’s intentionally delaying the ticket writing process until the drug dog was on its way was intentional delay without reasonable suspicion under Rodriguez. United States v. Rodriguez-Escalera, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 95848 (S.D. Ill. June 21, 2017):

Further, it is clear that Trooper Patterson intentionally prolonged the stop in order to allow the K-9 unit, which was unavailable at the beginning of the stop, time to arrive on the scene. Patterson testified that he was aware that the K-9 unit was unavailable when he initiated the stop. He monitored the unit’s movements and availability throughout the stop. The video shows that it took 281/2 minutes for Patterson to write and issue the warnings and citation. The video further shows that Patterson did not begin to write the citation until he received notification that the K-9 unit was free to join him and that he did not issue the tickets until he knew that the K-9 unit had arrived.

The Court does not find credible Patterson’s testimony that the delay in issuing the citation and warnings was due to a new warning issuance system and the fact that he was having trouble finding the statutes. The Court’s review of the video, which includes long stretches in which Trooper Patterson does not appear to be doing anything but sitting, leaves it with the firm impression Patterson’s lack of expediency was deliberate…he was stalling. Even if the Court were to accept Patterson’s explanation, in light of the totality of circumstances, the duration of the stop and, therefore, Rodriguez-Escalera’s detention and seizure was unreasonable and does not pass constitutional muster.

Additionally, Moran’s consent to the search of her vehicle was involuntary. A court making the determination as to whether a consent to search is voluntary must consider “the totality of the circumstances,” including “[the defendant’s] age, education, and intelligence; whether he was advised of his constitutional rights; how long he was detained prior to consent; whether he consented immediately or after police made several requests; whether the police used physical coercion; and whether he was in custody.” United States v. Ruiz, 785 F.3d 1134, 1146 (7th Cir. 2015).