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IN: Ordered out of a car at pointpoint and made to lie on the ground was a seizure

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Being ordered out of the car at gun point was a seizure. “Again, Reinhart gave no indication that he was armed or dangerous. Nevertheless, with the laser sight of Deputy Coney’s gun prominently fixed on him, Reinhart was ordered first to kneel with his hands behind his head for a period and then lie face down on the ground for an additional period of time while waiting for the second police officer to arrive. Reinhart was then handcuffed before he was searched twice. We believe that a reasonable person in Reinhart's position would not have believed himself to be free to leave but instead would have considered his freedom of movement to have been restrained to the degree associated with a formal arrest. ... [¶] While we are mindful of the significant danger faced by police officers during traffic stops, we must balance the interests of officer safety with the privacy interests protected by the Fourth Amendment in requiring law enforcement to use the least intrusive means necessary to investigate a traffic stop...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on July 11, 2010 (boomark / email).