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OK to Pat Down Suspected Burglar

By Shari Allison

U.S. v. Luginbyhl, 2009 WL 1014853 (4/16/09) (unpub'd) - The officer had a reasonable suspicion the defendant was armed and needed to be patted down because: (1) the defendant was a suspected burglar and burglars often are armed and (2) the officer reasonably misunderstood the dispatcher to indicate the defendant was going to get a gun [it was actually the caller who said she might get a gun]. Judge Hartz concurred in the result but refused to join in the entire opinion because he did not agree with the reliance on the officer's misunderstanding.

Full post as published by Tenth Circuit Blog on April 28, 2009 (boomark / email).