Eighth Circuit Denies Cops Immunity Over Traffic Stop Because He Flipped Them Off

Des Moines, Iowa driver passes a police car and extends his middle finger for a stately eleven blocks as they tail him. At which point the officers arrest him (ostensibly for cutting off another car) and engage in the sort of manhandling you'd expect of cops who'd been on the receiving end of an eleven-block bird. First and Fourth Amendment litigation ensues. Eighth Circuit: And at the summary-judgment stage, we agree with the district court that the officers aren't entitled to qualified immunity. Might be they had absolutely no basis for the stop. (Some longform local journalism on the incident can be enjoyed here.)