The case arose when Sergeant Joshua Moser and other Fairfax County detectives pursued Jeffery Payne in unmarked vehicles after a planned controlled drug buy fell through. Acting on an informant's tip that Payne was dealing drugs, officers arranged to meet him in a shopping complex parking lot. When Payne grew suspicious and began to leave, the officers chased him in four unmarked vehicles, including a black Ford F-150 pickup truck.
As Payne approached a stop sign, Moser directed officers to "effect [Payne's] arrest." Detective Taormina then initiated a tactical vehicle intercept, maneuvering the F-150 in front of Payne's car. Detective Stepp subsequently rammed Payne's car from behind using a precision immobilization technique, causing it to spin out of control. Seconds after the car stopped, Moser shot Payne through the back window, hitting him in the left arm. Officers later determined Payne was unarmed.
Judge Berner, writing for the panel, criticized the use of vehicle intercepts without proper police identification. "Cases upholding law enforcement's use of TVI and PIT maneuvers usually involve a high-speed pursuit with significant danger to the public," Berner wrote. "Not so here. Payne was, by all accounts, driving slowly out of a shopping complex."
The court held that multiple factual disputes precluded summary judgment, including when police lights were activated, how many times officers rammed Payne's car, and whether Payne made threatening movements. While acknowledging that officers reasonably believed Payne might be armed, the court emphasized that "simply being armed is not grounds for law enforcement to employ deadly force, unless that person makes some sort of furtive or other threatening movement with the weapon."
The Fourth Circuit vacated U.S. District Judge Michael Stefan Nachmanoff's summary judgment ruling and remanded the case. Payne's wound later became infected, requiring surgery.