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CA3: Running when officers pulled guns is not a seizure

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Defendant did not submit to a show of force of the officer pointing a gun at a group on a porch and telling them to put their hands up. Instead, he reached for his waistband and then ran inside. The defendant's failure to submit to the show of force was not a seizure. United States v. Waterman, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 13573 (3d Cir. June 24, 2009): Here, there was no application of physical force. The police drew their guns in a "show of authority." While this act definitely constituted a display of force, we conclude that it fell short of the physical force required under Hodari D. Similarly, there was no "submission" by Waterman. While the others on the porch raised their hands in compliance with the officers' directive, Waterman failed to do so...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on June 28, 2009 (boomark / email).