CA11: The officer received easily verifiable information that the tattoo on the suspect didn’t match the tattoos of the perpetrator; the arrest was without PC

Before the arrest the officer received easily verifiable exculpatory information from a witness, that the citizen’s single tattoo did not match the multiple tattoos visible on the perpetrator in the crime scene photograph that the officer showed the witness. Despite receiving this information, the officer failed to look at or inquire about the tattoo before arresting the citizen, and under the totality of the circumstances, the officer lacked arguable probable cause to arrest him. In arresting the citizen without probable cause, the officer violated clearly established law and thus was not entitled to qualified immunity. Cozzi v. City of Birmingham, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 16471 (11th Cir. June 19, 2018).