Appellate court rules in favor of former Houston officer

ANCHORAGE — The Alaska appellate court has ruled in favor of a conviction issued by a Valley police department that has been closed for years, according to a court decision issued recently.

On New Year’s Eve 2010, Houston firefighters were overseeing the sale of fireworks about 10 p.m. A man was turned away from Gorilla Fireworks in Houston for lack of identification. Authorities later identified the man as Rusty Meyer.

Meyer drove his all-terrain vehicle across the Parks Highway to nearby TNT Fireworks, and Captain Christian Hartley called the police over concerns that Meyer’s ATV was creating a traffic obstacle.

Meyer was also refused service at TNT, and drove back to confront firefighters over it. Firefighters then used their radios to report a “verbal disturbance.”

Houston Police Officer Brandon Gray responded, and parked about 15 yards away from Meyer’s ATV. Gray said Meyer exhibited “watery, bloodshot eyes” and smelled of alcohol. A subsequent investigation revealed Meyer’s breath alcohol content was .116, according to the appellate court ruling. The legal limit for operation a motor vehicle is .08.

Meyer’s attorneys argued to suppress the evidence in court because Gray had “subjected him (Meyer) to an investigative stop without reasonable suspicion,” according to an appellate ruling written by court of appeals judge Douglas Kossler.

A jury eventually convicted Meyer of felony driving under the influence. Meyer sought to overturn that conviction, arguing that Gray’s actions constituted a violation of his Fourth Amendment rights guarding him against unreasonable search and seizure.

The appellate court judges ruled that Gray had not violated Meyer’s constitutional rights because Gray had not employed physical force or intimidation, according to Kossler’s opinion.

“Gray clearly conveyed his displeasure by confronting Meyer about his language, the officer did so without a direct show of police authority,” he wrote. “He did not, at that moment, seize Meyer for purposes of the Fourth Amendment.”

“We acknowledge that Officer Gray’s contact with Meyer soon ripened into a seizure. But by that time, the officer had developed reasonable suspicion that Meyer was under the influence,” Kossler continued.

This is the second time in recent months that the incident has made an appearance in a court case. A related incident involving then-Capt. Charley McAnally and some of Meyer’s family members resulted in a complaint against the department, which, combined with budget woes, led to the department’s closing. The incident was mentioned obliquely during a lawsuit in which McAnally alleged wrongful termination at the hands of the Houston City Council.

Gray now works for the Wasilla Police Department. The incident involving Meyer was his first case, he said.

Gray has tracked the case through the process, and said he was satisfied with the ruling.

“The court has to take in the totality of the circumstances and determine whether or not what I did was just, and obviously, they did,” he said.

Contact Brian O’Connor at 352-2269, brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com, or on Twitter @reporterbriano.