It should have been obvious to Seattle police they were jumping to conclusions when they pulled a Black man over at gunpoint four years ago on the false claim he was driving a stolen vehicle. After all, Anthony Sims was driving a car with the license place number BEX1947 – and the license plate numbers that were reported as “near hits” of stolen vehicles were BEX1997 and BEX1974 – similar but different. Anthony Sims was awarded a $319,000 settlement over a 2020 traffic stop where he was falsely accused by Seattle police of driving a stolen vehicle and threatened at gunpoint. (Photo: Police dash camera) “Your plate comes back as a stolen vehicle,” said Seattle Police Lt. Robert Brown told Sims through the public address system in his patrol car, according to video footage from the dash camera in his patrol car. “I need you step out and talk to us, OK.” Once out of the car, Brown ordered Sims to turn around and lift his shirt to show he had no gun in his waistband before ordering him to walk backwards to be frisked. Sims complied with the orders but was visibly upset, telling Brown he owned the vehicle as a total of eight cops pulled up to the scene. The additional seven officers surrounded Sims’ car and exited their cruisers with weapons drawn. According to reports, “some apparently pointing their guns at Sims while others displayed theirs in the less-threatening “sul” position — held close to the chest but pointed downward.” “I have no doubt that is probably your vehicle and this just may be a misunderstanding of plates,” acknowledged Brown. Even after a dispatcher confirmed the license plate on Sim’s car was valid and not reported stolen, Seattle police insisted on searching his trunk before allowing him to leave.  Last month, the city of Seattle agreed to pay Sims a $319,000 settlement after a federal court determined police violated his rights by pointing their guns at him and by searching his trunk without reasonable suspicion he had committed a crime. Below is an excerpt from the initial judicial opinion from U.S. District Court Judge Tana Lin published in December 2023 denying qualified immunity to the police officers which allowed Sims’ lawsuit to proceed. Lin’s use of the word “mistake” is in reference to the decision by police to pull a car over with a clearly different license plate number than the ones reported stolen. Construing the facts in the light most favorable to Plaintiff, there is no question that without the mistake — and thus left with only reasonable suspicion that some traffic infractions were committed — Defendants would not have a basis to display a firearm in the manner that they did. No reasonable officer would believe they were permitted to point a firearm at a person who is suspected only of traffic infractions and who was otherwise admittedly compliant and not behaving in a threatening manner such that the use of a firearm would be appropriate.  Construing the facts in the light most favorable to Defendants, the Court finds that Defendant Officers’ opening of the locked trunk was unlawful. Even if Defendant Brown made a true and reasonable mistake about Plaintiff’s vehicle, Defendants have not established that an exception to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement is applicable. Further, all of Defendants’ authorities are inapposite and distinguishable. The cops appealed Lin’s decision but the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed her opinion, denying qualified immunity over the pointing of their guns when Sims showed no signs of aggression and for the unlawful search of his car because they had no reasonable suspicion he had committed a crime – which is what led to the settlement. “At the time of the stop, it was clearly established that ‘pointing guns at persons who are compliant and present no danger is a constitutional violation,’” the appellate decision states. “Finally, we agree with the district court that the prohibition on the trunk search was clearly established under any version of the facts.” The Traffic Stop On May 17, 2020, Sims was working as a delivery driver, making a pickup from a 7-Eleven store at about 5:07 a.m. in his 2008 Ford Fusion which he had purchased in January 2020 when he was pulled over by Lt. Brown over the “near hits” of his license plate number. Sims stepped out of the car but was ordered back inside before he was ordered to step out again and walk backwards towards the cops who had their guns drawn. “He has a gun pointed at me,” stated an agitated Sims. One officer pointing a gun towards Sims insisted that, “my gun is not pointed at you” – when it clearly pointed in his direction and would have been considered a threat had the situation been reversed. “We don’t know the situation and it might be a stolen vehicle,” Brown told Sims after Sims insisted he owned the car. “I don’t believe my car is reported stolen … that’s impossible. But Brown should have known it was not a stolen vehicle from the get-go, according to the Judge Lin’s decision in December. “The information accessible to Defendant Brown, and subsequently relayed to and relied on by the other responding officers, was reliable on its face and in fact accurate: the MDT (mobile data terminal) results showed that license plates BEX1997 and BEX 1974—and not Plaintiff’s license plate, BEX1947 — were associated with stolen vehicles.” Four months later, the appellate court issued its opinion, stating the following: “At the time of the stop, it was clearly established that under these circumstances, multiple officers surrounding a vehicle with weapons drawn and issuing commands at gunpoint exceeded the scope of a proper investigative stop.” Sims’ attorney, Nathaniel Flack, told The Seattle Times that “these results underscore the importance of the basic constitutional right to go about life without arbitrary intrusion or racial targeting by police.” ‘I Don’t Believe My Car Is … Stolen’: Seattle Cops Who Surrounded Black Delivery Driver’s Car with Guns Drawn Despite Evidence They Stopped the Wrong Vehicle Will Cost City $319,000