Terry vs. Ohio
Just wanted to offer up a little education today.
Long ago, 1963 to be exact, far away in a land called Cleveland, Ohio there were two men standing on a street corner named Richard Chilton and John Terry. A detective by the name of Martin McFadden observed Terry and Chilton pace back and forth in front of a store. Each man would look inside and then they would confer with the other. They did this numerous times. Detective McFadden saw the behavior as suspicious and worried they might be 'casing' the place to later rob it. He began to follow the men. The two suspicious males met up with a third male (Katz).
McFadden decided to approach the men. He identified himself as a police officer and began to pat down the men. While during his pat down he found a gun on Mr. Terry's person. Detective McFadden also seized a revolver from Mr. Chilton's coat. Katz was unarmed and allowed to leave but the two armed men were charged with carrying concealed weapons.
In court, the two armed men accused the detective of the search not being warranted and tried to have the weapon charges thrown out. The officer was able to articulate that his suspicion was enough to search the men for weapons for his own safety. The two men were found guilty of carrying concealed weapons and were sentenced to jail.
And thus the Terry Stop was born.
A Terry Stop allows the police to briefly detain and question you on reasonable suspicion of criminal involvement and perform a limited search (frisk). Reasonable suspicion should be backed up with “specific and articulable facts” that show that a person is, has been, or is about to commit a crime. In some states the person being detained, is not required to answer while being detained. (see Stop and Identify Statue below)
Other information to know...
"Stop and Identify Statute" this statute allows officers to obtain identification of any person they reasonably suspect to be involved in a crime. Twenty-four out of 50 states have adopted this statute. In the case of Indiana, that statute is explicitly imposed and so is criminal penalty. According to IC 34-28-5-3, noncompliance is a Class C Misdemeanor.
"Plain View Doctrine" allows police to take and use as evidence any weapons or contraband that are in plain view during a lawful observation. Officer's do not have to have consent or a search warrant.
Long ago, 1963 to be exact, far away in a land called Cleveland, Ohio there were two men standing on a street corner named Richard Chilton and John Terry. A detective by the name of Martin McFadden observed Terry and Chilton pace back and forth in front of a store. Each man would look inside and then they would confer with the other. They did this numerous times. Detective McFadden saw the behavior as suspicious and worried they might be 'casing' the place to later rob it. He began to follow the men. The two suspicious males met up with a third male (Katz).
McFadden decided to approach the men. He identified himself as a police officer and began to pat down the men. While during his pat down he found a gun on Mr. Terry's person. Detective McFadden also seized a revolver from Mr. Chilton's coat. Katz was unarmed and allowed to leave but the two armed men were charged with carrying concealed weapons.
In court, the two armed men accused the detective of the search not being warranted and tried to have the weapon charges thrown out. The officer was able to articulate that his suspicion was enough to search the men for weapons for his own safety. The two men were found guilty of carrying concealed weapons and were sentenced to jail.
And thus the Terry Stop was born.
A Terry Stop allows the police to briefly detain and question you on reasonable suspicion of criminal involvement and perform a limited search (frisk). Reasonable suspicion should be backed up with “specific and articulable facts” that show that a person is, has been, or is about to commit a crime. In some states the person being detained, is not required to answer while being detained. (see Stop and Identify Statue below)
Other information to know...
"Stop and Identify Statute" this statute allows officers to obtain identification of any person they reasonably suspect to be involved in a crime. Twenty-four out of 50 states have adopted this statute. In the case of Indiana, that statute is explicitly imposed and so is criminal penalty. According to IC 34-28-5-3, noncompliance is a Class C Misdemeanor.
"Plain View Doctrine" allows police to take and use as evidence any weapons or contraband that are in plain view during a lawful observation. Officer's do not have to have consent or a search warrant.
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