Also known as: pat-down search · pat down search · patdown searches · frisk · Terry frisk
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A limited search of a person's outer clothing for weapons. Officers may conduct the search during an investigative stop when they reasonably suspect the person is armed and dangerous.
Officer Ramirez stops a car for a broken taillight and sees passenger Pierre Poulin repeatedly reaching toward his waistband. Ramirez orders Poulin out and pats down the waistband area, finding a handgun. The frisk is upheld because the reaching supplied reasonable suspicion that Poulin was armed.
An anonymous caller tells police that Patrick Phan is standing on a corner wearing a red jacket. Officers approach and frisk Phan without further observation. The patdown yields no weapon and the evidence is suppressed because the tip supplied no predictive facts showing reliability.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Detective Lopez sees Perry Pratt pacing in front of a closed store, repeatedly looking inside, and conferring with another man. Lopez stops Pratt and pats down his jacket, recovering a revolver. The frisk is valid because the observed conduct created reasonable suspicion that Pratt was armed.
After stopping Piper Patel for speeding, Trooper Hayes sees a knife sheath on the floorboard and orders Patel out. Hayes reaches into the passenger compartment and pats the area under the seat, locating a firearm. The limited search is upheld to protect officer safety during the roadside encounter.
Deputy Ruiz stops Pablo Perez on reasonable suspicion of trespass and asks for identification. Perez refuses and Ruiz pats down the jacket pocket, finding a concealed knife. The patdown is permissible because the refusal and surrounding circumstances support suspicion that Perez is armed.
Officers executing a warrant at a tavern pat down every customer present, including Peter Park, and seize a small pistol from his pocket. The evidence is suppressed because mere presence at the location does not supply individualized reasonable suspicion that Park is armed.
Reasonable suspicion that the person is armed and dangerous, supported by specific and articulable facts, permits a limited frisk for weapons during a lawful stop.
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Yes. During a lawful traffic stop, officers may frisk a passenger if they have reasonable suspicion that the passenger is armed and dangerous.
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No. An anonymous tip that merely describes appearance and location, without predictive details showing reliability, does not create reasonable suspicion for a stop or frisk.
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Yes, when they have specific information that a weapon is hidden in a particular location such as a waistband, officers may reach directly into clothing to retrieve it.
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No. Mere presence at premises subject to a search warrant does not supply individualized reasonable suspicion that a person is armed and dangerous.
…around, patted down his outer clothing, and felt a pistol in his coat pocket. He removed the gun and arrested Terry. A similar frisk of Chilton revealed another revolver. Katz, the third man, was unarmed. The trial court rejected the Fourth Amendment claim, finding that the officer had reasonable cause to believe that…