Also known as: stop and frisk · stop-and-frisk · Terry stop and frisk · Terry stop · Terry frisk · reasonable suspicion stop
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A brief investigative detention of a person based on reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, accompanied when appropriate by a limited pat-down of outer clothing for weapons to protect officer safety.
An anonymous caller tells police that Sophia Singh will leave her apartment at 10 p.m., walk two blocks to a corner, and hand a package to a waiting driver. Officers observe the exact sequence unfold. They detain Singh briefly to investigate the suspected drug transaction.
An anonymous caller reports that Sierra Santos, wearing a red jacket, is standing on the corner of Fifth and Main. Officers arrive and see a woman matching that description but observe no further suspicious conduct. They do not detain Santos because the tip supplies no predictive details or other reliability markers.
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Solomon Silver paces in front of a closed jewelry store at midnight, repeatedly peering into the windows and conferring with a companion. A veteran officer recognizes the pattern as casing behavior from prior robbery investigations. The officer detains Silver for questioning.
An officer stops Skylar Sullivan after seeing her reach into her pocket near a known drug location. The officer immediately frisks her without any indication she is armed. The pat-down yields no weapon and the evidence is suppressed.
Stella Shapiro and a companion walk past a store window multiple times, stop to look inside, and confer quietly. An experienced officer concludes they are preparing a robbery. The officer detains the pair and pats down their outer clothing for weapons.
Officers enter a bar and frisk every patron after arresting the bartender for selling narcotics. Sasha Stone, a customer seated nearby with no individualized suspicion, is patted down. The evidence recovered from her is suppressed.
Reasonable suspicion supported by specific and articulable facts that criminal activity is afoot permits a brief detention. If the officer also reasonably believes the person may be armed and dangerous, a limited pat-down of outer clothing for weapons is allowed.
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An anonymous tip can justify a stop when it contains predictive information that demonstrates inside knowledge and is corroborated by police observation. A tip that merely describes appearance and location without predictive details or other reliability indicators does not supply reasonable suspicion.
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When an officer has specific information that a weapon is hidden in a precise location such as a waistband, the officer may reach directly to that spot rather than first conducting a general pat-down.
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Mere presence in a high-crime area is insufficient. Officers must point to specific, individualized facts about the person that, together with the setting and the officer's experience, support reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.
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…opinion. Syllabus This case presents serious questions concerning the role of the Fourth Amendment when a police officer stops and frisks a suspect without probable cause to arrest. The petitioner, John W. Terry, was convicted of carrying a concealed weapon after a police officer stopped him and two others based on reasonable…