In a 1999 decision, a California appellate court ruled that a detainee's refusal to consent to a pat-down search does not constitute the reasonable suspicion needed to justify such a search.
The case involved a juvenile detained by an officer for improper lighting on his bicycle. By all accounts, the juvenile was cooperative until the officer told him he was going to conduct a pat-down search. At this point, the juvenile refused to consent to the search. Nonetheless, the officer proceeded with the pat-down, finding a revolver in the juvenile's jacket pocket.
The court reversed the subsequent conviction indicating the reasonable suspicion required to justify the search could not be created by the detainee's attempt to exercise his 4th Amendment rights. Further, the court found, under a totality of the circumstances standard, no other specific facts existed to lead the officer to believe the juvenile was armed and dangerous. |