Also known as: Terry stops · investigative stop · Terry detention
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A brief investigative detention of a person by police based on reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, allowing limited questioning and a pat-down for weapons if the officer reasonably believes the person is armed and dangerous.
Tessa Takahashi received a call from an informant describing a woman who would leave a specific apartment at a set time, enter a particular car, and drive to a motel while carrying cocaine. Officers observed the woman follow the exact sequence of actions predicted in the tip. They detained her briefly to investigate the suspected drug transport.
Tanya Tang stood near a rail yard at 3 a.m. repeatedly shining a flashlight on container seals and retreating when locomotives passed. A veteran rail officer familiar with cargo theft patterns inferred from the timing, location, and evasive actions that theft preparation was underway. The officer detained Tang for questioning.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Tiffany Torres was stopped after officers saw her reach into the passenger compartment of her vehicle. The officers observed a knife on the floor and, fearing additional weapons within reach, conducted a limited search of the areas she could access before allowing her to reenter.
Theodore Tucker and another man paced repeatedly in front of a store window, conferring and returning to peer inside. An experienced officer watching the pattern concluded they were casing the store for a robbery and detained them briefly to investigate.
Tamara Tan's suitcase was removed from a flight and held at the airport while officers arranged a dog sniff. The brief seizure allowed officers to confirm or dispel suspicion of narcotics without immediately arresting Tan.
Tonya Takahashi was pulled over for a traffic violation. During the stop an officer developed reasonable suspicion that she had entered the country unlawfully and detained her briefly to verify immigration status under federal standards.
An anonymous tip can support reasonable suspicion when it carries sufficient indicia of reliability, especially if it accurately predicts the suspect's future movements indicating inside knowledge of criminal activity.
Reasonable suspicion is evaluated under the totality of the circumstances, and officers may draw on training and experience to interpret conduct that might appear innocent to an untrained observer.
When an officer has specific information that a weapon is hidden in a particular location such as a waistband, the officer may reach directly into the clothing to retrieve it without first performing an outer pat-down.
Mere presence in a high-crime area is insufficient by itself to justify a Terry stop. Additional specific and articulable facts are required.
Under a valid stop-and-identify statute, refusal to state one's name during a lawful Terry stop can provide grounds for arrest, subject to a narrow Fifth Amendment exception if disclosure would itself be incriminating.
…aside in the context of this case, I think an additional word is in order concerning the matter of interrogation during an investigative stop. There is nothing in the Constitution which prevents a policeman from addressing questions to anyone on the streets. Absent special circumstances, the person approached may not be detained…