Police Officer’s Observations Filtered Through His Experience Justified Stop and Frisk

The Second Department, over a dissent, determined that the street stop of the defendant was justified by reasonable suspicion. Here the officer said he made eye contact with the defendant, saw an outline of a rectangular object under defendant’s clothes and the defendant’s movements were consistent with adjusting a weapon under the waistband. The majority held that was enough, because the officer could rely on his experience to interpret the defendant’s movements. The dissent argued that making eye contact, seeing the outline of a rectangular object, and the defendant’s adjusting his waistband was not enough to justify the stop:

“In determining whether an individual’s actions rise to the level of reasonable suspicion, police officers are permitted to interpret the behavior in light of their training and experience” … . Here, in contrast to the opinion of our dissenting colleague, the factual circumstances described by Mourad, coupled with the officer’s experience and training, were sufficient to permit him to request information from the defendant … . The decision to make inquiry of the defendant did not stem from mere “whim or caprice,” but was objectively based upon observation of the defendant’s actions as filtered through the officer’s experience … . Officer Mourad specifically testified that he believed the shape of the concealed object which he observed under the defendant’s clothing was the outline of a gun … . Mourad explained that the defendant moved in a way that he recognized, from experience, as typical of attempts to adjust a firearm kept in a waistband …, and further testified that the defendant began to increase his pace after the officers exited their vehicle and announced their presence … . Accordingly, there was reasonable suspicion to stop and frisk the defendant … . People v Fletcher, 2015 NY Slip Op 06366, 2nd Dept 7-29-15