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CA9: Use of tire deflation devices in the desert to stop a fleeing vehicle was valid with RS and was not otherwise unreasonable

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Defendant's vehicle showing up in the desert in a place under surveillance by the Border Patrol, preceded by two ATVs as apparent scout vehicles, was subject to being stopped under the extended border search doctrine. The use of a trial deflation device to stop the vehicle that would not stop was not an arrest. United States v. Cota-Mora, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 15868 (9th Cir. July 20, 2009) (unpublished): The use of the tire deflation device did not render the attendant stop an "arrest" because the circumstances would not likely have caused a reasonable innocent person to believe that an indefinite custodial detention was inevitable, and because the application of force to the vehicle was justified. See id. Nor did the use of the device amount to excessive force: under the circumstances, any intrusion upon Cota's rights was outweighed by the government's interests in protecting its territorial integrity and interdicting the flow of illegal drugs without endangering the motoring public, and there was ample evidence in the district court that the deployment of the device was safe for all involved...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on July 22, 2009 (boomark / email).