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Collective Knowledge of Police Sufficient to Support Reasonable Suspicion for Terry Stop

By Candace Hom, Melinda Ghilardi, Nancy Rimmer, Sarah Gannett, Renee Pietropaolo and Tieffa Harper

In United States v. Whitfield, No. 09-3031 (3d Cir., filed December 6, 2010, published January 6, 2011), four Camden police officers in three marked police vehicles were patrolling an area of the city known for violence and drug activity involving crack cocaine. As the caravan approached a particularly active street corner, the officers in the lead car observed two individuals in conversation, later identified as Defendants Whitfield and Langston. Upon receipt of this notice regarding the defendants, the officer in the second car, Officer Redd, observed the defendants engage in a hand-to-hand exchange and quickly exit the area. Officer Redd notified his fellow officers that they should ?check out? the two men. However, Officer Redd did not inform his colleagues that he had observed a hand-to-hand exchange between the defendants...continue to full post

Full post as published by Third Circuit Blog on January 13, 2011 (boomark / email).