BOISE BENCH, Idaho — What started as an ordinary stop at a Boise car wash ended in an arrest – and a lawsuit that forced the city to take a closer look at its loitering law.
A Boise man’s late-night stop at Dirty Harry’s Snake River Car Wash off Ustick and Mitchell turned into a constitutional case. According to court documents, Luke Schuchardt pulled into one of the self-serve bays just after midnight to count his change before washing his car, when officers drove in with bright lights on, shouted commands, and ordered him to the ground for “loitering.”
WATCH: Boise pays $200K after loitering arrest – legal expert weighs in on citizens’ rights.
A judge later ruled in favor of Schuchardt’s complaint, which argued the city’s loitering ordinance gave police officers “virtually unlimited discretion” to decide who was violating it. Now, the City of Boise has agreed to pay $200,000 to settle the lawsuit and says it plans to repeal the ordinance altogether.
Former Idaho Attorney General David Leroy said the settlement shows the city recognized problems with both the ordinance and how it was enforced.
“Well, this is an admission that the city, in two regards, did not handle this particular legal matter correctly because the statute that prohibited loitering talked about loitering. ….the statute that talked about prohibiting loitering was so broadly written that loitering and wandering simply were terms that the judge said did not give a reasonable citizen enough notice about what prohibited conduct was,” Leroy said.
In a statement, Schuchardt’s attorneys said he “appreciates the city’s willingness to acknowledge that its loitering ordinance is unconstitutional” and is “grateful that the city is taking steps to ensure the unlawful ordinance is repealed.”
Leroy said the case underscores the importance of clear laws and knowing your rights.
“Well, the due process provisions of the Constitution in the 14th Amendment give everybody the right to reasonable procedures if they're going to be processed against by a municipality or state government,” Leroy said.
He added that citizens should remain calm and cooperative if they believe their rights are being violated.
“You will not win a battle with a police officer in the field. Polite cooperation may indeed alleviate the officer's suspicion and cause the problem to go away for both of you. But if you believe your rights are violated, be polite, be cooperative, assert those rights, and hire a lawyer quite quickly, probably not explaining yourself overly to the police officer until you talk to your lawyer,” Leroy said.
The City of Boise says it will take up its loitering policies in a future City Council meeting.
