Judge finds traffic stop in Bryant was unconstitutional

From The Republic:

A federal judge has found that a traffic stop by a Bryant police officer was illegal but was not the cause of a passenger's death when he ran from the officer.

Officer Jeffery Plouch's decision to stop the car just to make sure its temporary tags were legal violated the U.S. Constitution's Fourth Amendment guarantee against unreasonable search and seizure, U.S. District Judge Price Marshall said in the ruling.

He said Plouch's 'hunch' that the tags could have been altered simply doesn't satisfy the reasonable-suspicion requirements of the Fourth Amendment.

'This vehicle had done nothing illegal. Arkansas law allows temporary tags on any vehicle, including an old Buick,' Marshal said in Friday's ruling.