E.D.Pa.: The officer responding to a bank robbery call finding two men matching the description near the bank was reasonable in stopping and handcuffing them

“Accordingly, we find that based on Dougherty’s experience and familiarity with the area, and the totality of the circumstances known to him as he responded to a dispatch describing two African American males at least one of whom was armed, he had reasonable suspicion to stop and conduct a pat-down search of two African American men walking on a road just behind the victim bank a few minutes after the robbery, one wearing short sleeves, neither wearing hooded sweatshirts or scarves or hats, on a cold and wet December day. As to the Defendants’ argument that Dougherty used unreasonable force in ordering officers to handcuff both men during the stop, we find that the fact that Dougherty was alone and responding to a call describing an armed robbery at a nearby bank minutes earlier in broad daylight supports his testimony that he reasonably believed the men could be armed. Thus, he had a reasonable basis for ordering them to be handcuffed during the stop and search in a residential neighborhood. We find this was a limited use of force to protect himself and the public as he and the other officers searched the suspects for weapons.” United States v. Scott, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 188575 (E.D. Pa. Oct. 30, 2019).*