Photo Credit: UNC GAZETTE/IVY DAWNED

But that’s exactly what has happened. The woman Fire Lt. Gordon Shatley pulled over on his way back from a call was Dorothy Hoogland Verkerk, a professor at the University of North Carolina and former town council member who is arguing use of the fire truck and siren – which are not authorized for law enforcement actions – gave the color of government to what might otherwise have been a lawful citizen’s arrest. And although a lower court upheld Verkerk’s arrest, an appellate court remanded the case with instructions to consider whether it was an illegal search and seizure.

The incident occurred in May, 2011, and led to Verkerk’s arrest and eventual conviction by an Orange County District Court judge for driving while intoxicated. Verkerk, who teaches art history at UNC-Chapel Hill, claimed in her appeal that Shatley violated her rights under the Fourth Amendment when he used the lights and sirens on the fire truck he was driving to pull her over. When she sped away, he called police who later caught and charged her.

Lower court Judge Elaine Bushfan denied Verkerk’s motion claiming that Shatley had conducted a citizen’s arrest, but suspended her sentence and ordered the professor to spend 30 days in jail plus 18 months’ probation, pay a $1,000 fine, and perform 72 hours of community service.

That’s when Verkerk filed with the court of appeals and the three-member panel ordered Bushfan to consider anew the legality of Shatley stopping the driver. In particular, the appellate judges said it must be determined whether or not Shatley acted as a private citizen or as a governmental officer; if Shatley did act as a government officer, whether he followed Fourth Amendment criteria and had reasonable suspicion that a crime was being committed; and finally if the stop was unconstitutional, if that tainted evidence and the subsequent police traffic stop.

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