Bassford v. Newby

Gabriel Bassford, proceeding pro se, sued police officers for arresting him simply for filming the police as they conducted an investigation at a gas station. The district court concluded that the officer arrested Mr. Bassford in retaliation for him exercising his First Amendment right to film the police. The MacArthur Justice stepped in to help Mr. Bassford defend the district court’s denial of qualified immunity on appeal.

In 2021, Gabriel Bassford saw City of Mesa, Arizona, police officers conducting an investigation at a Circle K gas station and decided to video record the police. Mr. Bassford did not interrupt the police or interfere with the investigation. One of the officers investigating at the station was City of Mesa police Officer Kyler Newby. When Newby saw Mr. Bassford filming, he told the gas station security guard that Mr. Bassford was a “First Amendment Auditor.” Newby arrested Mr. Bassford for criminal trespass. Newby never asked Mr. Bassford to leave or whether he knew he was trespassing.

Mr. Bassford, proceeding pro se, filed suit against Newby for, among other things, First Amendment retaliatory arrest. The district court denied Newby qualified immunity on this claim, holding that a jury could find that he lacked probable cause to arrest Mr. Bassford and exhibited retaliatory animus to Mr. Bassford filming him – an activity protected by the First Amendment. Newby filed an interlocutory appeal challenging this decision.

The MacArthur Justice Center represents Mr. Bassford on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. We want to ensure that police officers are not able to use the doctrine of qualified immunity when they abuse their discretion and violate citizen’s constitutional rights.