The court of appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part a judgment. The court held that the reasonableness of a police officer’s alleged fear of being attacked by a suspect armed only with broccoli and a tomato was an issue of fact that had to be tried to a jury.
At approximately 10:22 a.m. on a February morning in 2007, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Richard Wells executed a traffic stop due to the driver’s failure to wear a seatbelt. The driver, 46-year-old African-American probation officer Mark Young, was driving his truck to the gym, wearing workout clothes and enjoying a snack of broccoli and tomato. He readily admitted having forgotten to fasten his seat belt. He handed Wells his driver’s license and proof of insurance, but was not immediately able to find his registration. He continued looking for it as Wells walked back to his motorcycle to write Young a citation.
