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POLICE OFFICER WAS JUSTIFIED IN FOLLOWING DEFENDANT’S CAR AFTER OBSERVING A TRAFFIC VIOLATION, DIRECTING THE OCCUPANTS OF THE CAR TO RETURN TO THE CAR AFTER IT PULLED INTO A RESIDENTIAL DRIVEWAY, AND DETAINING THE DEFENDANT AND CONDUCTING A SEARCH ON THE PROPERTY AFTER THE HOMEOWNER SAID HE DID NOT KNOW THE OCCUPANTS OF THE CAR (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department determined the police officer acted properly in following the defendant’s car after observing a traffic violation, directing the occupants of the car to return to car after it pulled into a residential driveway, detaining the defendant when the homeowner said he did not know the defendant and the others, and arresting the defendant after a weapon was found after a search behind the house:

The officer observed a traffic infraction when the vehicle ran a stop sign …  and was accordingly justified in approaching the vehicle after he had caught up to it … . Defendant suggests that the traffic infraction was a pretext for making the approach, but that contention is unpreserved for our review … . As a result, although one might reasonably question why the officer, upon seeing a traffic violation of sufficient gravity to cause him to make a U-turn and follow the vehicle, did not put on his siren or emergency lights, and then approached the vehicle with more apparent interest in the passengers than the driver, the record was not developed on the possibility of an ulterior motive for the officer’s actions. It follows that the record affords no basis for defendant’s speculation as to the officer’s motivations. We are, in any event, bound by controlling precedent that those speculative motivations would not render an otherwise proper approach invalid … .

The officer had discretion to “control the scene in a way that maximize[d]” safety as the approach unfolded, could have directed defendant to exit the vehicle had he been in it and, in  … view of the heightened safety concerns stemming from defendant’s refusal to return to the vehicle and brief disappearance behind the house, was free to direct that defendant sit on the hood of the vehicle upon his return … . Shortly thereafter, the officer learned that the homeowner did not know anyone in the vehicle despite their claims and had watched defendant throw something away behind the house. The foregoing created a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity by defendant that warranted his detention, after which the handgun was recovered and afforded probable cause for his arrest … . People v Price, 2020 NY Slip Op 04430, Third Dept 8-6-20

 

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