09-3574 Jones v. Clark

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Civil Rights
Qualified immunity

Where officers arrested a meter reader, even though she had all the indicia of a meter reader performing her job, on suspicion of casing homes to commit burglary, the officers were properly denied qualified immunity.
“The fatal flaw in Officers Clark and Kaminski’s argument is that they cannot point to a single circumstance that could have led them to believe that Jones was engaged in criminal activity. See Brown v. Texas, 443 U.S. 47, 51-52 (1979). When we asked counsel for the defendants at oral argument what crime Jones might have committed, he responded that the officers ‘thought she was casing the place.’ The officers were thinking, he continued, that ‘crooks occasionally pose as utility workers to try and get into someone’s home.’ While that may be true, Officer Clark encountered Jones on the street dressed top to bottom in ComEd gear; she immediately confirmed that she was reading electrical meters; and Officer Clark relayed that information to his colleagues. Officer Kaminski promptly confirmed this fact with the very resident who had placed the 911 call. Jones also forthrightly showed Officer Clark multiple pieces of identification from her employer and explained why she had binoculars. None of this would lead any reasonable person to believe that criminal activity was afoot.”

Affirmed.

09-3574 Jones v. Clark

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Andersen, J., Wood, J.

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