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W.D. Ky.: Removing defendant from vehicle at gunpoint is a seizure

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Evidence supports the conclusion that there was at least reasonable suspicion for the stop and removal of defendant from vehicle at gunpoint, something clearly a seizure. United States v. Carver, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3375 (W.D. Ky. January 15, 2009): Sgt. Hill was never asked whether he had "placed Carver under arrest" at the time he removed him at gunpoint from the vehicle, handcuffed him, and removed him from the immediate vicinity of the vehicle. We think that such action quite clearly amounted to a Fourth Amendment seizure as, under the circumstances, a reasonable person would have believed he was not free to leave. Florida v. Royer, 460 U.S. 491, 103 S.Ct. 1319, 75 L.Ed.2d 229 (1983), quoting, U.S. v. Mendenhall, 446 U.S. 544, 100 S.Ct...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on January 23, 2009 (boomark / email).