Tapley v. Chambers

In 2011, Bloomington Officers, surveilling for loud-music violations, saw Tapley drive by and decided to make a stop. Tapley turned into a parking lot. Officer Stanfield followed. Tapley went into a store, then returned to his truck. Stanfield testified that he heard Tapley’s music emanating from the truck as Tapley was preparing to drive away and that he had difficulty following because Tapley was driving “at a very high rate of speed.” When Tapley saw Stanfield’s unmarked cruiser behind him, he turned his music down. Stanfield stopped Tapley, explaining that the stop was for loud music. They also discussed Tapley’s excessive speed. Other officers arrived and told Tapley to get out of the truck. The parties dispute what happened next. Tapley claims he was threatened with a taser; the officers claim that Tapley refused to exit the truck. The officers arrested Tapley for obstruction of justice and resisting arrest and searched Tapley and the truck. Tapley was acquitted of obstruction charges. After an earlier suit was dismissed, Tapley reasserted a claim of illegal seizure that he had previously voluntarily dismissed. The Seventh Circuit declined to review the earlier case for lack of an adequate record and affirmed the dismissal of the 2015 case, finding probable cause for the arrest. View "Tapley v. Chambers" on Justia Law