United States v. Monya Townsend

MURGUIA, Circuit Judge,

dissenting:

I respectfully dissent. In my view, the dispatch call in this case was far more reliable than an anonymous tip. Upon their arrival at the scene, the officers saw the security guards point to a suspect and a vehicle, both of which matched the description relayed by the dispatch call. This action by the security guards indicated that the call had likely come from hotel staff and was, therefore, more reliable than a tip where the record is completely silent as to the tip’s source. See Florida v. J.L., 529 U.S. 266, 275, 120 S.Ct. 1375, 146 L.Ed.2d 254 (Kennedy, J., concurring) (“[A] tip might be anonymous in some sense yet have certain other features, either supporting reliability or narrowing the likely class of informants, so that the tip does provide the lawful basis for some police action.”).

*627In addition, the call had warned of possible dangerous conduct and the officers observed the suspect in an agitated state. The suspects also refused to comply with the officers’ repeated commands to show their hands before the vehicle started rolling forward. In light of the officers’ training, experience, and familiarity with past instances of violence at that same location, I believe their conduct was reasonable. Because I would affirm the district court’s denial of the motion to suppress, I respectfully dissent.