Two patrol officers from a small police department (20 sworn officers) were on surveillance at a local office supply store. A confidential informant provided a tip to the officers that the store might be robbed shortly after closing time. Further informat
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Two patrol officers from a small police department (20 sworn officers) were on surveillance at a local office supply store. A confidential informant provided a tip to the officers that the store might be robbed shortly after closing time. Further information later revealed that the informant received the tip from an acquaintance of his, and that the acquaintance was a known drug addict and therefore, not a very credible source. However, several office supply stores had been robbed in a similar fashion in neighboring counties, so the officers decided to pursue the lead.
They were also working off of a sketchy description of two Asian men who might have been involved in the other robberies. This description came from a police department in one of the neighboring counties that had experienced one of the office supply store robberies. While surveying the office supply store, the dispatcher notified the officers that a citizen at a nearby strip mall heard what she thought was gunfire in the parking lot. Since the officers were close by, they headed over to the strip mall.
Upon their arrival, the witness told them that she “might have” heard gunfire and saw what appeared to be an Asian male walk into one of the stores while possibly carrying a gun in his back pocket. Shortly afterwards, an Asian man walked out of one of the stores and proceeded to the parking lot. The officers drew their weapons and ordered the man to get on the ground with his hands above his head. An Asian female got out of a car located close to the suspect and started yelling at the officers, wanting to know why her husband was on the ground.
Following procedures, one of the officers ordered the female back into the car, but she became hysterical and had to be restrained. Seeing what was happening to his wife, the suspect became agitated and tried to get up to help his wife. He was subdued and placed in handcuffs. He was then arrested for resisting arrest as well as other charges. Several days later, the police chief was notified by the city attorney that the man had filed suit for violation of his civil rights.