The case stems from a 2018 incident in Waterbury, Connecticut, where Basel Soukaneh had stopped his car with the engine running on the side of a street. Officer Nicholas Andrzejewski approached the vehicle, knocked on the driver’s side window, and loudly demanded to see Soukaneh’s driver’s license. Soukaneh complied, providing both his license and a valid firearms permit. He informed the officer that he lawfully possessed a handgun, which was in the driver’s side door compartment. According to court documents, Andrzejewski then “violently dragged [Soukaneh] out of the car,” pushed him to the ground, screamed at him, handcuffed him, and searched him. After finding no other weapons or illegal items, the officer shoved Soukaneh into the back of his police cruiser, leaving him “bent over and partially on the floor of the vehicle.” Soukaneh remained “in that position, facing down and unable to see, until another police officer arrived several minutes later and helped him sit up.” Once Soukaneh was seated, he observed Andrzejewski searching his entire vehicle, including the trunk. Despite finding nothing illegal, the officer kept Soukaneh handcuffed and detained for another half hour, during which time at least seven additional police officers arrived on the scene. While Soukaneh was detained, Andrzejewski ran a check on the firearm permit, confirming that it was indeed valid. Soukaneh subsequently filed a lawsuit, claiming that the officer violated his Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure, and sought compensatory and punitive damages. In defense, Andrzejewski argued that the search was justified, citing reasonable suspicion and probable cause. He also claimed entitlement to qualified immunity, asserting that if any of Soukaneh’s rights were violated, they were not “clearly established.” Soukaneh’s attorneys countered, arguing that no reasonable police officer could believe a valid firearms permit was meaningless unless confirmed by the issuing authority. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals sided with a lower court, ruling that Andrzejewski “did not have the requisite probable cause to justify Soukaneh’s detention simply because he was notified of the presence of a gun and presented with the accompanying permit.” The court also held that the desire to confirm the permit’s legitimacy did not provide probable cause for the handcuffed detention. “To find otherwise would consign those validly carrying firearms pursuant to a license to automatic detention because it would effectively presume that gun permits are invalid until proven valid, or that lawfully owned guns are per se contraband until proven otherwise,” the court added. “Such a finding would effectively render armed individuals’ Fourth Amendment rights meaningless when they are lawfully carrying firearms.”A federal court has ruled that a Connecticut police officer is not entitled to qualified immunity after handcuffing, detaining, and conducting a warrantless search of a man’s car because the man lawfully possessed a firearm.
