THE TRAFFIC STOP OF A BICYCLIST IS A SEIZURE REQUIRING REASONABLE SUSPICION OF CRIMINAL ACTIVITY OR PROBABLE CAUSE DEFENDANT HAS VIOLATED THE RULES OF THE ROAD (VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC LAW, NYC ADMINISTRATIVE CODE, ETC.); HERE THE STATEMENTS MADE BY THE DEFENDANT AND THE GUN SEIZED FROM HIM AFTER THE STOP SHOULD HAVE BEEN SUPPRESSED (CT APP).

The Court of Appeals, reversing the Appellate Division, in a full-fledged opinion by Judge Rivera, over a three-judge dissent, determined a traffic-stop of a bicyclist is a seizure and requires reasonable suspicion of criminal activity or probable cause defendant violated the rules of the road (Vehicle and Traffic Law, NYC Administrative Law, etc.). Here the defendant was riding in the middle of the road such that cars avoided him, was holding something in his waistband, and had only one had on the handlebars. He was not charged with any violations of the rules of the road. When stopped the defendant admitted he had a gun which was seized. Defendant’s statements and the gun should have been suppressed:

“Like all seizures, the officer’s action[s]” during a traffic stop “must be justified at its inception” … . Here, the officers’ actions were unjustified from the beginning because, as the prosecution concedes, the police possessed neither probable cause of a VTL violation nor reasonable suspicion of criminality … . Although the officer vaguely commented during the suppression hearing that defendant was riding “in a somewhat reckless manner,” he did not testify that he suspected a VTL violation—let alone that he had probable cause of one Instead, the officer testified that the primary motivation for the stop was that defendant was “holding an object in his waistband,” but admitted that he did not know what the “object” was, except that it was “bulky.” This observation of course fell well short of establishing reasonable suspicion of criminality … . Indeed, at no point before the stop did the officers suspect defendant was carrying contraband and, in fact, they were “caught . . . off guard” after the stop, when defendant admitted that he was carrying a gun. * * *

From the dissent:

A police officer observed defendant Lance Rodriguez riding a bicycle while clutching a bulky object at his waistband. The officer asked defendant to stop and, upon doing so, defendant admitted that he was carrying a gun. Today, the majority abandons this Court’s long-settled precedent, overturns a gun conviction stemming from reasonable police action, and creates a new rule that transforms any stop of a bicycle from a facts and circumstances inquiry into a per se seizure. People v Rodriguez, 2023 NY Slip Op 05972, CtApp 11-21-23

Practice Point: The traffic stop of a bicyclist is a “seizure” requiring reasonable suspicion of criminal activity or probable cause to believe the bicyclist has violated the rules of the road.