Reasonable Suspicion (Part 2)

Let’s continue our talk about reasonable suspicion with a new scenario.

The question to be answered is this: What facts provide reasonable suspicion to detain the man in the gray sweatshirt?

Recall from our last discussion that reasonable suspicion can be based on many things and should be analyzed according to the totality of the circumstances. It is a low standard – lower than probable cause. Otherwise innocent or neutral facts can still contribute to the analysis.

Reasonable suspicion for a temporary investigatory detention is the same reasonable suspicion standard that permits the police to pat down a suspect, BUT just because an officer has RS for the detention, that does NOT mean he has RS to perform a pat down. (Note: A pat down is not a “search.” It is a special category. It does not allow officers to grab everything out of your pockets. It must be readily apparent to the officer that what he feels could be a weapon or obvious contraband of some sort).

The reasonable suspicion required for a pat down relates specifically to articulable facts that the suspect is armed/dangerous.

Context for this scenario:

In this situation, the police have received consecutive 911 calls. In the 1st call, the caller said they were present at a bus stop and observed a gun in the backseat of a car and heard 4 Hispanic individuals at the car discussing a plan to kill cops.

In the 2nd call from a different caller, the caller was at the same bus stop, saw multiple “Latinos” in a silver vehicle, and one of the suspects had tattoos on his neck and asked the caller what “set” (gang) he is in.

So back to the question: What facts provide reasonable suspicion to detain the man in the gray sweatshirt?

And another question: What other issues do you see, and how should they be resolved?

Bonus: What do you notice about the bodycam footage?