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CA1: Putting defendant in a patrol car during a traffic stop did not necessarily implicate Terry

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Putting defendant in the back of a police car during a traffic stop did not elevate the stop to a Terry stop. United States v. Dunbar, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 1639 (1st Cir. January 16, 2009) [T]he fact that Dunbar "was placed in the back of a police cruiser does not elevate the detention beyond a Terry stop." Flowers v. Fiore, 359 F.3d 24, 30 (1st Cir. 2004). Though Dunbar was stopped based on a traffic violation, not on suspicion of some larger crime, we see no basis for concluding that the officer could not place Dunbar in his cruiser while he prepared the traffic citation. See Ruidiaz, 529 F.3d at 32 (holding that "[w]hen a Terry stop is effected in connection with a traffic violation and an officer's concern for his own safety is implicated, it is within the officer's authority to order a passenger out of the car as a security measure" and that "an officer may issue such an order as a matter of course; he does not need to have an independent fear for his safety" (emphasis in original) (citation omitted)).continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on February 01, 2009 (boomark / email).