Published on: Friday, February 5, 2021

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on Thursday ruled that police officers who arrested a Black man after he refused to identify himself violated his Fourth Amendment rights (article available here). But they have qualified immunity because they relied on a county ordinance that made it a crime to refuse to provide an ID to officers, the court held.

The Court of Appeals upheld dismissal of George Wingate III’s claims against the officers based on enforcement of the ID ordinance. But it found for him on another claim—that one of the officers wrongly told him that he was not free to leave until he provided the ID, which turned the police encounter into an investigatory stop that violated the Fourth Amendment.

The incident happened in April 2017 in Stafford County, Virginia, after Wingate pulled his car over at around 2 a.m. because his check engine light was on. A former mechanic, Wingate thought that he might be able to fix the problem. He pulled out a bag of tools from his trunk and looked under the hood. Then he got back into his car and tried to diagnose the problem using an automotive code reader.

An officer pulled up and asked Wingate to disclose his identity. “Have I committed a crime?” Wingate asked. The officer said he had not. Wingate asked, “Am I free to go?” The officer replied he was not, at the moment, free to go. “Am I being detained?” Wingate asked. The officer said he wasn’t. “Am I free to go?” Wingate asked. The officer said he was not, and he wouldn’t be free to go until Wingate provided an ID. The officer said he became suspicious because Wingate was dressed in dark clothing, and got out of his car when officer arrived.

The case is George Wingate v. Scott Fulford, 19-1700 (4th Cir. Feb. 4, 2021).