No qualified immunity for Des Moines police officers sued in 2018 traffic stop, judge rules

An Urbandale motorist suing Des Moines police over a contentious 2018 traffic stop can proceed to trial, according to a federal judge who denied the officers' motions for summary judgment.

Domeco Fugenschuh sued the police department and officers Ryan Steinkamp and Brian Minnehan in 2020. The city argued in court the officers were entitled to immunity under federal law. In an order filed Saturday, Chief Magistrate Judge Helen Adams found there are legitimate disputes about whether the officers had legal cause to pull Fugenschuh over, and whether they acted appropriately during the ensuing stop, that must be decided by a jury.

Fugenschuh, who is Black, initially accused the officers of racial bias in his 13-count complaint. After years of litigation, the lawsuit has been whittled down to four claims: unreasonable search and seizure, excessive force, assault and battery, and First Amendment retaliation. Adams denied the officers immunity on all four counts, clearing the way for trial.

Video shows how police officers carried out arrest

As laid out in court filings, Minnehan and Steinkamp were on patrol July 6, 2018, when then-22-year-old Fugenschuh drove past them; the officers saw him sit up and stare at them as he passed. They said that as they followed him for several blocks, he made an obscene gesture at them, and they pulled him over after he allegedly cut off another driver while turning right at a stoplight.

According to the suit, the officers' patrol car and body cam video shows that on the roadside, the officers handcuffed Fugenschuh and pushed him over the hood of their car, at which point he began cursing at them and they told him he was going to jail. Steinkamp shoved Fugenschuh into the back seat of the car, striking his head, the suit says.

In a subsequent search of his car, the officers found marijuana fragments and what they believed to be a digital scale, later found to be a wireless phone charger.

The suit says Steinkamp afterward told Fugenschuh that "we don’t care about this petty crap. We don’t deal with that crap, but when you act the way you acted from the get-go. When we were sitting there and you looked us, like, real hard and start flipping us off ...”

Fugenschuh was charged with a turning violation, but prosecutors did not provide him the officers' video from the stop or enter it as evidence. He was convicted, but later obtained the video and challenged his conviction. A judge found that, while an oncoming car did apply its brakes after Fugenschuh turned, "there was no actual danger or near collision or immediate hazard" and found him not guilty.

Jury to decide whether officers' behavior was appropriate

In his subsequent lawsuit, Fugenschuh accused the two officers of manufacturing a false pretext to stop him in retaliation for him flipping them off, and of using unlawful force during the subsequent interaction.

Adams, in her ruling, found that a reasonable jury could find for either side on whether the officers had probable cause for the stop. On the excessive force and battery claims, Adams said a jury will need to decide whether Fugenschuh was in fact resisting the officers and whether the officers' use of force was reasonable under the circumstances.

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The judge likewise denied the officers immunity on the retaliation claim. While the actual arrest was legally justified based on the finding of marijuana debris in Fugenschuh's car, the jury will be allowed to decide whether the traffic stop and officers' behavior were motivated by Fugenschuh's rude but constitutionally protected speech.

Defendant's attorney: Video shows 'he didn't break the law'

Fugenschuh's attorney, Gina Messemer, connected his case to recent legislative proposals that would restrict criminal defendants' ability to subpoena evidence.

"This case illustrates how important it is for defendants to be able to obtain evidence," she said in an email. "Mr. Fugenschuh was convicted based on two officers’ testimony that he committed a crime — but once he got the body camera it became clear he didn’t break the law."

Fugenschuh's lawsuit isn't the only recent case accusing Minnehan and Steinkamp of misconduct. They were named in a lawsuit by Jared Clinton of Des Moines, which eventually resulted in a $95,000 settlement. In another lawsuit, DeJuan Haynes of West Des Moines accused the two of wrongfully handcuffing him and searching inside his clothing. That case was settled for $45,000. Both plaintiffs, like Fugenschuh, are black.

The city also paid $90,000 to the family of a man struck and killed by a driver fleeing from Minnehan in a 2016 chase.

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At the time of Fugenschuh's arrest, the two officers were assigned to a "special enforcement team" focused on locating illegal firearms, drugs, fugitives and gang members. Similar specialized units in other jurisdictions have drawn criticism, such as in Memphis, Tennessee, where members of the since-disbanded "Street Crimes Operations to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods" team, or SCORPIONS, have been charged in the brutal death of Tyre Nichols.

In the wake of Nichols' death, the U.S. Department of Justice issued new guidance to ensure "appropriateness, effectiveness and accountability" for such units.

Sgt. Paul Parizek, a Des Moines police spokesperson, said the department no longer operates its special enforcement team. Steinkamp and Minnehan currently are assigned to the investigations division. In a statement, City Manager Scott Sanders said Des Moines will continue to "vigorously defend" the case.

"While the City and (Police Chief Dana Wingert) have been dismissed out of the case and the court has not found any discriminatory ramifications, this ruling also acknowledged that there are too many factual issues that remain that must be considered by a fact finder so that summary judgment is unavailable," Sanders said.

William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com or 715-573-8166.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines police denied qualified immunity for 2018 traffic stop