NEW YORK, NY – A federal judge has dismissed a civil rights lawsuit filed by convicted felon Timmy Wallace, who accused New York City and several police officers of false arrest and malicious prosecution following a 2015 traffic stop that led to a weapons conviction.
Wallace filed the lawsuit in 2022 under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, claiming officers had no probable cause to arrest him after pulling him over for a defective taillight. But U.S. District Judge George B. Daniels, adopting a report from Magistrate Judge Jennifer E. Willis, ruled that Wallace’s claims could not stand, granting the defendants’ motion for judgment on the pleadings and dismissing the case in its entirety.
The case dates back to May 25, 2015, when NYPD officers discovered that Wallace’s vehicle lacked a required VIN label on the driver’s side door. The missing label, a violation of New York Penal Law § 170.70, led police to suspect the vehicle was stolen. During an inventory search of the impounded car, officers found a gun concealed under the hood.
While state prosecutors dropped the VIN charge, Wallace was indicted federally for being a felon in possession of a firearm under the Armed Career Criminal Act. He was later convicted and sentenced to fifteen years in prison, a decision the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld in 2019.
Wallace’s subsequent civil lawsuit alleged the arrest and prosecution violated his constitutional rights. However, the court determined that the officers had lawful grounds for the arrest and that Wallace’s federal conviction barred his claims of false arrest and malicious prosecution.
Court affirms officers’ actions lawful
Judge Daniels noted that the officers’ discovery of the missing VIN tag justified the arrest and that the later discovery of a firearm under the hood strengthened probable cause. Wallace’s federal conviction, the court said, further precluded any civil recovery.
- Wallace’s 2015 traffic stop led to discovery of missing VIN and firearm
- Federal judge dismisses his civil rights suit against NYPD officers
- Wallace remains imprisoned on a 15-year federal gun conviction