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VI: Abruptly walking away from a police officer in a high crime area is not reasonable suspicion

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Abruptly walking away from a police officer in a high crime area is not reasonable suspicion. Defendant's stop was invalid. People v. Archibald, 2008 V.I. LEXIS 13 (Super. Ct. September 11, 2008).* Armed uniformed officers were at the door for a knock-and-talk, and they talked to the defendant in Spanish in a nonthreatening manner. He read and signed a consent form that said he had a right to refuse consent, so the consent is valid on the totality. United States v. Valencia-Reuvelta, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91288 (W.D. Wash. October 23, 2008).* Defendant had standing to challenge the stop of the vehicle he was in because it was a stop of him as well. However, he had no standing to contest the search of the vehicle in which he was a mere passenger and had no intrest in the vehicle or the trailer...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on November 15, 2008 (boomark / email).