The
following case study presents issues related to various levels of police
encounters with a suspect and potential criminal evidence and the legal
justification required for those encounters.
Case Study:
Officer
Taylor is on routine nighttime patrol when she notices a vehicle pass her
driven by an African American female. The vehicle appears to have a broken
taillight that appears to be covered with colored tape. She directs the driver
to pull the car to the side of the road. The car is an older model gold Pontiac
and as Officer Taylor walks to the driver-side of the vehicle, she remembers
that a car fitting this general description was the suspected car in a recent
road side killing of a fellow police officer.
The
driver has long braids, tattoos, and a nose ring. As Officer Taylor looks at
the driver, she thinks to herself, “Another one of those people we need to get
off the streets.”
Wanting
to make sure that she is safe, Officer Taylor asks the driver to step out of
her vehicle for a brief pat-down for weapons. She pats her down and finding no
weapons, Officer Taylor asks the driver to have a seat back inside her vehicle.
Officer Taylor then asks the driver for her driver’s license and registration.
Instead of providing her driver’s license and registration, the driver speeds
away resulting in a high speed chase.
The
chase ends when the fleeing car hits a telephone pole and crashes.
Concerned
that the car may ignite in flames from a leaking gas tank, Officer Taylor
removes the unconscious woman to a safe distance from the vehicle. Officer
Taylor returns to the vehicle to locate the driver’s purse for identification.
As she enters the vehicle, Officer Taylor notices the glove compartment has
popped open and that underneath some documents is a gun which she retrieves.
Officer Taylor also retrieves the driver’s purse from the floor on the
passenger side of the vehicle. Officer Taylor opens the purse to get the
woman’s identification and finds what appears to be a baggie of marijuana. It
is later determined that this vehicle was not the car involved in the shooting
death of the fellow officer. It is also later determined that the taillight was
not broken.
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