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| 05/08/91 MARVIN BROWN v. UNITED STATES
05/08/91 MARVIN BROWN v. UNITED STATES
MARVIN BROWN, APPELLANTv.UNITED STATES, APPELLEE
Ferren and Schwelb, Associate Judges, and Gallagher, Senior Judge. Opinion for the court by Associate Judge Schwelb. Dissenting opinion by Senior Judge Gallagher.
Officer Walker testified that he was already in the immediate vicinity when he heard the report over the police radio. He said that at that time, he observed approximately fifty people in the area. He quickly ruled out as suspects all but two, however, because only two potentially matched the broadcast description. *fn1 Having so narrowed the field, the officer requested over the police radio that the description be rebroadcast. After hearing it for a second time, he eliminated one of the two remaining potential suspects because that individual was about 6'2" in height and was wearing a white shirt and white shorts. *fn2 There was only one person left who, according to Officer Walker, matched the description which had been broadcast over the radio. That man was Marvin Brown.
After having made the stop, Officer Walker noticed an object in Brown's right pocket. He stated that the object "looked to be about four inches ," and that it "just extruded from his pocket a little bit." He asked Brown twice what the object was, but Brown did not reply. Officer Walker then conducted a patdown, holding on to the extruding object over Brown's clothing. He testified that he asked Brown for a third time what the object was. When Brown again failed to respond, the officer seized it from Brown's pocket. It turned out to be a film canister.
Officer Walker testified that in fifty or sixty of the seventy drug arrests in which he had participated, *fn3 drugs had been discovered in a film canister. He stated that at one point, apparently while the canister was still in Brown's pocket, he had thought it was a knife. Elaborating, he explained that in the past he had discovered a number of knives in lipstick containers and that, since he was alone, he was concerned about his safety. Officer Walker testified that he then opened the film canister, explaining that he did so because he did not know what was in it. From the canister, the officer extracted four tin-foil packets which later proved to contain PCP and marijuana. He placed Brown under arrest.
Brown also testified briefly at the suppression hearing. He stated that he was 5'8" to 5'9" tall. He testified that he was wearing a tan shirt which he described as "just like an Ocean Pacific shirt" *fn4 and that there was nothing at all written on it. *fn5 According to Brown's account, he did not match the broadcast description at all -- his height, shirt, and shorts all differed from the alleged seller's, and no other information had been provided in the tip.
The trial Judge explicitly disbelieved Officer Walker's testimony that he suspected that Brown had a knife. *fn6 The Judge was also troubled by the officer's inability to recollect what Brown was wearing on the night in question. Observing that in determining whether a citizen's tip is trustworthy, the court "has to look how detailed the information is. . . . that the tip contains," the Judge expressed concern that the description of the seller was "somewhat lacking in specificity." Nevertheless, he denied Brown's motion to suppress because
the officer's testimony that he observed two people who seemed to fit the description, but singled out this defendant due to his height more closely approximating the radio run than any other possible suspect, as well as his individual recollection that the other suspect wore white shorts, is a reason, in my mind, to credit his testimony, and find that he, in fact, arrested Marvin Brown with probable cause. . . to believe that he was the person described in the radio run.
The Judge ruled against the government on its alternative theory, namely, that Officer Walker's actions could be viewed as a proper investigatory stop pursuant to Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968), and that articulable suspicion ripened into probable cause as events subsequently unfolded. The Judge based this ruling on his belief that
PROBABLE CAUSE, ARTICULABLE SUSPICION, AND TOTALITY OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES
An officer has probable cause to arrest an individual when he or she has reasonably trustworthy information at the moment of arrest "sufficient to warrant a reasonably prudent in believing that the [suspect has] committed or committing an offense." Beck v. Ohio, 379 U.S. 89, 91, 96 (1979); see also Gerstein v. Pugh, 420 U.S. 103, 111 (1975). "This standard . . . represents a necessary accommodation between the individual's right to liberty and the State's duty to control crime." Gerstein, supra, 420 U.S. at 112. As the Supreme Court stated in Brinegar v. United States, 338 U.S. 160, 176 (1949),
the rule of probable cause is a practical, non-technical conception affording the best compromise that has been found for accommodating these often opposing interests. Requiring more would unduly hamper law enforcement. To allow less would be to leave law-abiding citizens at the mercy of the officers' whim or caprice.
The requirement of probable cause has roots that are deep in our history, for arrest on mere suspicion collides violently with the basic human right of liberty. Henry v. United States, 361 U.S. 98, 100, 101 (1959). Thirteen years before the Declaration of Independence, Lord Chief Justice Pratt termed arrests on suspicion "totally subversive of the liberty of the subject." Wilkes v. Wood, 19 How. St. Trials 1153, 1167, 98 Eng. Rep. 489, (K.B. 1763). The "forefathers" who wrote our Bill of Rights agreed; searches and seizures without probable cause "are the embryo of tyranny, and they well knew it." Wrightson v. United States, 95 U.S. App. D.C. 390, 393, 222 F.2d 556, 559 (1955). The concept of probable cause is recognized as central to the protection of "the right to be left alone -- the most comprehensive of rights and the most valued by civilized ." 1 W. LAFAVE, SEARCH AND SEIZURE, § 3.1, at 540 (2d ed. 1987), quoting Olmstead v. United States, 277 U.S. 438, 478 (1928) (Brandeis, J., Dissenting). It is the chief bulwark against investigative arrests proscribed by the Fourth Amendment. United States v. Short, 187 U.S. App. D.C. 142, 145, 570 F.2d 1051, 1054 (1978). Good faith on the part of the arresting officer is not enough, Henry, supra, 361 U.S. at 102, nor may probable cause be predicated on a hunch. Lathers v. United States, 396 F.2d 524, 531 (5th Cir. 1968). A search is not to be made legal by what it turns up; it is good or bad when it starts and does not change character from its success, United States v. Di Re, 332 U.S. 581, 595 (1948), or from evidence discovered subsequent to the arrest. Smith v. United States, 122 U.S. App. D.C. 300, 302 n.1, 353 F.2d 838, 840 n.1 (1965), cert. denied, 384 U.S. 910 and cert. denied, 384 U.S. 974 (1966). In sum, the probable cause requirement protects fundamental liberty interests which must be jealously guarded, lest their erosion bring a tear to the eye of the lady who stands guard in New York Harbor.
These considerations apply with particular force where, as here, the arrest was made without a warrant. "The informed and deliberate determinations of magistrates empowered to issue warrants as to what searches and seizures are permissible under the Constitution are to be preferred over the hurried action of officers and others who may happen to make arrests." United States v. Lefkowitz, 285 U.S. 452, 464 (1932). Absent a warrant, the burden of establishing probable cause is on the prosecution, for otherwise there would be little incentive for law enforcement agencies to bother with the formality of a warrant; moreover, the evidence comprising probable cause is peculiarly within the knowledge and control of the police. Malcolm v. United States, 332 A.2d 917, 918 (D.C. 1975).
The Constitution, however, proscribes unreasonable searches and seizures. The italicized adjective imports a command of proportionality to Fourth Amendment jurisprudence. An arrest constitutes a substantial intrusion upon an individual's liberty, and may not be lawfully effected unless the police can meet the comparatively exacting standard of probable cause. A lesser intrusion, on the other hand, requires a correspondingly lesser showing. At least since Terry, supra, it has been settled law that police may briefly detain or "stop" an individual and, if circumstances warrant, frisk him or her, even in the absence of probable cause, provided that they have an "articulable suspicion" of criminal conduct on the part of the individual sought to be detained. As the Court remarked in Adams v. Williams, 407 U.S. 143, 145 (1972), "the Fourth Amendment does not require a [police officer] who lacks the precise level of information necessary for probable cause to arrest to simply shrug his shoulders and allow a crime to occur or a criminal to escape."
Although the term eludes precise definition, "articulable suspicion is and was intended to be substantially less than probable cause. As the Supreme Court recently reiterated in Alabama v. White, U.S. , 110 S. Ct. 2412, 2416 (1990), quoting United States v. Sokolow, 490 U.S. 1, 7 (1989):
the Fourth Amendment requires some minimal level of objective justification for making the stop . . . . That level of suspicion is considerably less than proof of wrongdoing by a preponderance of the evidence.
Id. at 2416. (Citations and internal quotation marks omitted). The predicate for the stop must be "objective," so that a "gut" feeling or "hunch" will not do. If objective justification exists, however, the threshold is not set unreasonably high.
In the present case, the prosecution predicated its claim of probable cause and articulable suspicion primarily on information provided to the police by an anonymous tipster. Since Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 230 (1983), the ordained methodology for determining probable cause in cases of this kind has been to assess the totality of the circumstances. More recently, in White, the Supreme Court, applying the approach which it adopted in Gates, stated that the existence of reasonable suspicion *fn7 in anonymous informant cases likewise depends on the quantity and quality of the information available to the officer, and that these circumstances must be considered in the "totality of the circumstances -- the whole picture." 110 S. Ct. at 2416.
In light of White, we cannot agree with the trial Judge's apparent conception that, in deciding the question of articulable suspicion, he was restricted to a consideration of those of Brown's activities which Officer Walker had personally observed, to the exclusion of the information contained in the radio communication which he had monitored. In Adams, supra, 407 U.S. at 147, the Court expressly "rejected respondent's contention that reasonable cause for a stop and frisk can only be based on the officer's personal observation, rather than on information supplied by another person." This court has previously upheld stops and frisks on the basis of informants' tips, without requiring, as the Judge evidently did here, that the arresting officer personally observe suspicious conduct. Allen v. United States, 496 A.2d 1046, 1048 (D.C. 1985) (citing cases); see also United States v. Johnson, 540 A.2d 1090, 1092 (D.C. 1988). Accordingly, we look to the same "totality of the circumstances" in assessing both the government's claim that Officer Walker had probable cause to arrest Brown and its alternative contention that the facts before the officer warranted an articulable suspicion of unlawful conduct which justified an initial detention, and which ripened into probable cause as a result of events occurring after the stop.
THE ANONYMOUS INFORMANT - HOW RELIABLE IS HIS REPORT?
In abandoning the "two-pronged test" of Aguilar v. Texas, 378 U.S. 108 (1964) and Spinelli v. United States, 393 U.S. 410 (1969), to which it had subscribed for fifteen years, the Court made it clear in Gates that the factors that had been considered critical under Aguilar and Spinnelli -- an informant's veracity or reliability, and the basis of his or her knowledge -- remain "highly relevant" in determining the value of the informant's report. Gates, supra, 462 U.S. at 230; see also White, supra, 110 S. Ct. 2415. In evaluating the totality of the circumstances in this case, we must therefore consider the informant's credibility and reliability and the basis for his or her knowledge. In the light of the particular facts before us, we must also address issues raised by Brown as to the sufficiency of the informant's description and the degree to which Brown matched it, as well as Brown's conduct on the scene and any inferences that may fairly be drawn from that. We deal with each of these topics in turn.
In the present case, it is difficult to assess credibility or reliabitity because we know virtually nothing about the informant. As the Court observed in White, supra, 110 S. Ct. at 2415,
the opinion in Gates recognized that an anonymous tip alone seldom demonstrates the informant's basis of knowledge or veracity inasmuch as ordinary citizens generally do not provide extensive recitations of the basis of their everyday observations and given that the veracity of persons supplying anonymous tips is "by hypothesis largely unknown, and unknowable." *fn8
The government contends that the tipster was a "citizen" volunteering information rather than a "paid" informant, and that "a citizen is prima facie a more credible source than a paid police informant." Allen, supra, 496 A.2d at 1048, quoting Rushing v. United States, 381 A.2d 252, 255 (D.C. 1977). Although, technically, the government is right -- Brown's counsel conceded in the trial court, after listening to the radio run, that the report was made by such a "citizen" -- the tipster's anonymity precludes any productive exploration of his or her arguably enhanced credibility. *fn9
"The presumption in favor of the credibility of citizen informants is based on the assumed absence of ulterior motives." Rushing, supra, 381 A.2d at 255 n.3. The testimony presented by the government in the present case, however, revealed absolutely nothing about the tipster's motivation. He or she may have been a public-spirited individual. Alternatively, the call might have come from somebody's mendacious and mortal enemy. "Indeed, for all that this record tells us, the tipster may well have been another police officer Who had a 'hunch'. . . ., White, supra, 110 S. Ct. at 2418 (Stevens, J. Dissenting). Paid informants are supposed to be less reliable than ordinary citizens because they are generally drawn from the criminal milieu. Rushing, supra, 381 A.2d at 255 n.3. We have no idea, however, whether the informant here was or Was not a criminal (e.g., a drug dealer seeking to protect his terrain).
In light of these considerations, courts are properly wary of sustaining seizures on the basis of anonymous tips, and require a substantial measure of corroboration of information anonymously provided. An uncorroborated tip by an informer whose identity and reliability are both unknown does not constitute probable cause to make an arrest. Contee v. United States, 94 U.S. App. D.C. 297, 299, 215 F.2d 324, 326 (1954); see also Wrightson, supra, 95 U.S. App. D.C. at 392, 222 F.2d at 558. " citizen who prefers to remain anonymous would seem less reliable than a citizen willing to accept personal responsibility for his accusations." Rushing, supra, 381 A.2d at 255. Where its informant is known to the police, the government has "a stronger case than obtains in the case of an anonymous telephone tip." Adams, supra, 407 U.S. at 146; accord, Groves v. United States, 504 A.2d 602, 605 (D.C. 1986) (informant's credibility enhanced where he was willing to identify himself). "A named and identified person is not a 'faceless informer' whose inarticulated self-interest would render his information automatically suspect." Commonwealth v. Atchue, 393 Mass. 343, , 471 N.E.2d 91, 94 (1984). A person who does not hide behind the cloak of anonymity, but who voluntarily comes forward and identifies himself or herself, is more likely to be telling the truth because he or she is presumably aware of the possibility of being arrested for making a false report. State v. Lindquist, 295 Minn. 398, , 205 N.W.2d 333, 335 (1973). See generally W. LAFAVE, (supra) , § 3.4(a), at 722-725.
In the present case, the tip was communicated to the police by telephone, rather than in person. "Anonymity takes on even greater significance where there has not even been a face-to-face confrontation between the person giving the information and the police." LAFAVE, (supra) , § 3.4(a) at 723. A tipster establishes his credibility as an interested citizen "by identifying himself and otherwise cooperating with law enforcement officials in a manner consistent with the best interest of society." Rohrig v. State, 148 Ga. App. 869, , 253 S.E.2d 253, 255 (1979). By contrast, an anonymous telephone tip is of the "weakest reliability," People v. Crea, 126 A.D.2d 556, , 510 N.Y.S.2d 876, 880 (2d Dept. 1987), and an unverified one "does not support or contribute to a probable cause determination." Burks v. State, 293 Ark. 374, , 738 S.W.2d 399, 402 (1987).
This is not to say, of course, that information from a person not known to police may never be taken into account. LAFAVE, supra, § 3.4(a), at 724. Gates and White demonstrate the contrary; if the information has been substantially corroborated, the tip may be sufficient. Where the informant not only provides information as to facts or events observable by anyone (e.g., that a man in a white T-shirt and blue jeans is standing at a given corner) but also successfully predicts events that have not yet occurred at the time of the tip but which are thereafter verified by police, this may provide sufficient indicia of the informant's credibility (as well as his or her basis of knowledge) to justify a stop. White, supra, 110 S. Ct. at 2415, see Gates, supra, 402 U.S. at 245. There is no such evidence in the present record, however, and to the still substantial extent that the informant's credibility plays a role in the assessment of the totality of the circumstances, the anonymous telephone caller remains near the less reliable end of the spectrum. *fn10
An anonymous tip seldom demonstrates the informant's basis of knowledge. White, supra, 110 S. Ct. at 2415. Here, as in Rushing, "there was no evidence indicating how the caller obtained [his or] her information or on what grounds [he or] she concluded that [the person described in the tip was] selling narcotics. Nor did the tip describe the criminal activity in sufficient detail to remedy this defect." Rushing, supra, 381 A.2d at 256-57.
If a citizen "claims or appears to be a victim of a crime or an eyewitness to a crime, the reliability of his or her information is greatly enhanced." Allen, supra, 496 A.2d at 1048. No such claim was made by the tipster here, *fn11 and appearances are altogether ambiguous. The tip could have been based on first-hand information but, absent even a claim that it was, it is also possible that the tipster's purported knowledge was second-hand or third-hand or supposition or rumor or the product of a grudge against a rival or vengeance against an enemy. "Basis of knowledge" might arguably be inferred from an accurate prediction of future events, White, supra, 110 S. Ct. at 2415, but there is no prediction, accurate or otherwise, in the present record.
According to Officer Walker, the radio run which he monitored described the seller as a black male, approximately 5'6", white shirt, blue jeans, with dark writing on the front of the shirt. If the informant was close enough to be able to discern that the suspect was selling drugs, one might ordinarily expect him or her to be able to identify the lettering on the shirt. Nevertheless, no information was provided as to the one fact that would make the tip distinctive -- the words or letters on the suspect's clothing -- nor was anything said about the seller's facial features or about any other distinguishing characteristics.
"As a general proposition, it may be said that the greater the number of . . . identifying characteristics which are available, the more likely it is that there will be grounds to arrest a person found with all or most of these characteristics." *fn12 LAFAVE, supra, § 3.4(c), at 741. Descriptions applicable to large numbers of people will not support a finding of probable cause. Commonwealth v. Jackson, 459 Pa. 669, , 331 A.2d 189, 191 (1975).
The government argues that Officer Walker immediately ruled out all but two of the persons in the area as possible suspects, that one of those two was eliminated as soon as the lookout was rebroadcast, and that Brown was therefore the only person in the area who matched the description. But aside from the discrepancies between the lookout and Brown's appearance and the paucity of identifying characteristics, the prosecutor failed to establish that the seller would probably still have been in the area at the time of Brown's arrest. Although Officer Walker testified that he was more or less "on location" when he monitored the radio run, the government offered no evidence as to when the informant had called the police. We are therefore left to speculate as to how much time elapsed between the informant's call and the sighting of Brown. Logically, one would suppose that the police would move with dispatch upon receipt of a tip of this kind. Supposition, however, is no substitute for proof. *fn13 Street scenes of the kind before us change rapidly; the seller can be gone in a jiffy. *fn14
If the description in the radio transmission had been of a black male whose white shirt had O-C-E-A-N P-A-C-I-F-I-C printed on it in dark lettering, and if the officer had spotted a black male wearing such a shirt in the immediate area who otherwise fit the description, then one could reasonably conclude, in spite of the lacuna in the government's proof as to the time of the informant's call, that the suspect was probably the individual described in the lookout. Cf. White, supra, 110 S. Ct. at 2417. The government's inadequate showing could not be and was not cured, however, by "the police's independent verification of the fact that there was a person in the area indicated wearing a white T-shirt," Rushing, supra, 381 A.2d at 256, and, in this case, dark pants.
"One question which causes the courts difficulties is whether probable cause is present when the police match up some but not all of the description with the person arrested." LAFAVE, supra, § 3.4(c), at 743. Although less precision is required for articulable suspicion, similar problems arise in that context.
Not every discrepancy is fatal; "mistakes are irrelevant if there is sufficient particularized information to constitute probable cause." Brown, supra, 125 U.S. App. D.C. at 46, 365 F.2d at 979. The fact that a part of the description does not fit is, however, obviously a negative factor. Mobley v. State, 270 Md. 76, , 310 A.2d 803, 807 (1973), cert. denied, 416 U.S. 975 (1974). "What must be taken into account is the strength of the points of comparison which do match up and also whether the nature of those which did not match such that an error could readily occur." LAFAVE, supra, § 3.4(c), at 743.
Lookout Officer Defendant Trial Judge
1. Height 5'6" - 5/8"-5'9" No finding
2. Shirt Color White White Tan No finding
3. Lettering on Yes recollection No No finding
4. Pants Blue Jeans Maroon Jeans Burgundy Dark pants
(written on coach's shorts
police report)
The trial Judge did make a conclusory ultimate finding that Officer Walker arrested Brown with probable cause to believe that he was the person described in the radio run. The Judge did not, however, resolve the remaining conflicts in the testimony.
A discrepancy as to the color of Brown's pants may be explainable in view of the hour of the night. " observations occurred in the early hours of the morning under artificial lighting conditions, a mistaken belief in the color of [the pants] is understandable." People v. Washington, 89 Ill. App. 3d 734, , 44 Ill. Dec. 925, , 412 N.E.2d 1, 3 (1980). Assuming that Brown knows his own height and that he is 5'8" tall, an error of two and a half or three inches in describing him is not conclusive in and of itself. The discrepancies with respect to height, lettering, and color take on greater significance, however, where no meaningful similarities have been positively established except that Brown, like the seller, is a black male.
The allegedly evasive conduct to which the government alludes *fn15 consisted of Brown's attempt to walk away when Officer Walker spoke to him. The officer acknowledged that Brown did stop after the officer pressed the point. We recently observed in Smith v. United States, 558 A.2d 312, 316-17 (D.C. 1989) (en banc) that "typically, in those cases in which we have found that flight indicated a consciousness of guilt, the accused clearly knew that police were present and reacted by immediately running from the scene of the alleged crime." (Emphasis added). That is not what occurred here. Brown did not run. There was no "flight". Officer Walker's testimony established that Brown was not eager to have a Discussion with a policeman in uniform. The trial Judge found no more *fn16 and there was no more.
Departure. . . from an imminent intrusion cannot bootstrap an illegal detention into one that is legal. To permit such justification would be effectively to create a duty to respond to the police, and would seriously intrude upon the liberty and privacy interests which the Fourth Amendment was designed to protect.
leaving a scene hastily may be inspired by innocent fear, or by a legitimate desire to avoid contact with the police. A citizen has as much prerogative to avoid the police as he does to avoid any other person, and his efforts to do so, without more, may not justify his detention.
Smith, supra, 558 A.2d at 316; accord, Florida v. Royer, 460 U.S. 491, 498 (1983) (plurality opinion). To say that a citizen is free to leave without responding to the officer's questions, see Lawrence v. United States, 566 A.2d 57, 60-62 (D.C. 1989), is meaningless if the exercise of that freedom generates authority for a seizure where none previously existed.
This is not to say that a suspect's behavior on the scene is of no consequence. "Conduct by the individual which suggests he is attempting to flee from a crime may also be taken into account with the available description." LAFAVE, supra, § 3.4(c), at 748. Where a suspect reacts in an unusual way to police investigation short of detention, this may properly be included in the calculus. State v. Baldic, 131 N.H. 225, , 551 A.2d 977, 978 (1988) (opinion per Souter, J.). Brown's brief attempt to exercise his right not to participate in an encounter with Officer Walker, however, did not constitute the kind of conduct on the scene that could significantly bolster the government's showing of probable cause or articulable suspicion. *fn17
Whether reasonable suspicion or probable cause exists to justify a seizure is a mixed question of fact and law. The findings with respect to the historical facts are reviewed under the clearly erroneous standard; the ultimate Conclusion, however, is subject to de novo review. See United States v. Mendenhall, 446 U.S. 544, 551-52 n.5 (1980).
It is incumbent upon us, in this case as in any other, to eschew appellate fact-finding. Nevertheless, the absence of explicit findings on most of the disputed issues of fact reduces both our opportunity and our obligation to be deferential. As we have noted at page 21, supra, the only conflict in the testimony which the Judge specifically resolved was whether Brown was wearing shorts or long pants; he elected to credit Officer Walker on that point. *fn18 The Judge never addressed the other specific discrepancies, especially the dispute regarding the color of Brown's shirt and as to whether there was dark lettering on it. *fn19
In any event, even if we treat the determination that probable cause existed as necessarily including, by implication, findings favorable to the prosecution on disputed issues which the Judge did not explicitly address -- e.g., whether Brown was wearing a white shirt with dark lettering -- we would nevertheless be constrained to hold that the motion to suppress evidence ought to have been granted.
We now apply the principles described above to the record before us. Although the parties have concentrated their attention largely on the question of probable cause, we first assess the evidence to determine whether the facts before Officer Walker formed the basis for a reasonable suspicion justifying his initial stop of Brown. We proceed in this order because, under our analysis, if there was no articulable suspicion, then a fortiori, in the light of our Discussion at pages 7-12, supra, there was no probable cause.
During the pendency of this appeal, the Supreme Court has considered in Alabama v. White, supra, the question whether reasonable suspicion can be based on an anonymous tip. In that case, police received an anonymous telephone tip advising them that Vanessa White would be leaving a certain apartment at a particular time in a brown Plymouth station wagon with the right taillight broken, that she would be proceeding to Dobey's Motel, and that she would be in possession of an ounce of cocaine in a brown attache case. The officers staked out the parking lot in front of the building in question and observed a brown Plymouth station wagon with a broken right taillight. A woman who later proved to be Vanessa White came out of the building at a time which the Supreme Court estimated to be within the time frame predicted by the caller. *fn20 She was carrying nothing in her hand. Ms. White entered the station wagon and drove the most direct route toward Dobey's Motel. This route included several turns. Officers stopped the vehicle when Ms. White was on the road on which Dobey's is located, but before she reached the motel. With Ms. White's consent, they searched her attache case. Finding marijuana inside, they placed her under arrest. A search incident to her arrest resulted in the discovery of cocaine in Ms. White's purse.
Reversing the contrary holding of the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, *fn21 the Supreme Court held, three Justices Dissenting, that the stop was lawful and that the evidence was sufficient to support a reasonable suspicion that Ms. White was in possession of contraband. The Court noted that reasonable suspicion is a substantially less demanding standard than probable cause, and that a Terry stop may therefore be based on information that is less reliable than that required to show probable cause. 110 S. Ct. at 2416. The Court held that, although not every detail mentioned by the tipster had been verified, "the anonymous tip had been sufficiently corroborated to furnish reasonable suspicion that respondent was engaged in criminal activity and that the investigative stop therefore did not violate the Fourth Amendment." Id. Summarizing its holding, the Court stated that
although it is a close case, we conclude that under the totality of the circumstances the anonymous tip, as corroborated, exhibited sufficient indicia of reliability to justify the investigatory stop of respondent's car.
In reaching its decision, the Supreme Court effectively distinguished the situation in White from cases such as this one and made it plain that its holding depended on the presence of factors wholly lacking here. The Court emphasized that an uncorroborated anonymous tip, "standing alone, would not warrant a of reasonable caution in the belief that a stop was appropriate." 110 S. Ct. at 2416 (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). The Court therefore required "more than the tip itself," id., and looked to the "totality of the circumstances," id., to determine whether "the anonymous tip had been sufficiently corroborated to furnish reasonable suspicion that respondent was engaged in criminal activity and that the investigative stop therefore did not violate the Fourth Amendment." Id. The Court found the required corroboration in the tipster's predictions of future activity which the police could -- and did -- verify. *fn22 The Court credited "the proposition that because an informant is shown to be right about some things, he is probably right about other facts that he has alleged, including the claim that the object of the tip is engaged in criminal activity." 110 S. Ct. at 2417.
we think it also important that, as in Gates, "the anonymous contained a range of details relating not just to easily obtained facts and conditions existing at the time of the tip, but to future actions of third parties ordinarily not easily predicted." Gates, 462 U.S. at 245. The fact that the officers found a car precisely matching the caller's description in front of the 235 building is an example of the former. Anyone could have "predicted" that fact because it was a condition presumably existing at the time of the call. What was important was the caller's ability to predict respondent's future behavior, because it demonstrated inside information -- a special familiarity with respondent's affairs. The general public would have had no way of knowing that respondent would shortly leave the building, get in the described car, and drive the most direct route to Dobey's Motel. Because only a small number of people are generally privy to an individual's itinerary, it is reasonable for police to believe that a person with access to such information is likely also to have access to reliable information about that individual's illegal activities. See Gates, supra, at 245. When significant aspects of the caller's predictions were verified, there was reason to believe not only that the caller was honest but also that he was well informed, at least well enough to justify the stop.
In the present case, at least prior to the seizure, the police acted only on static information -- the tipster's description of the seller -- which afforded no basis in itself for a reasonable suspicion that Brown was selling drugs. The stop was thus based on the portion of the tip -- appellant's description -- which gave "easily obtained facts . . . existing at the time of the tip." Id. Anyone could have observed the corner of 17th and Euclid, N.W., and phoned in appellant's description. The tipster did not predict that the alleged seller would do anything except, perhaps implicitly, that he might still be selling drugs when police arrived, and there was no evidence that he was doing that. In the absence of any accurate prediction of future conduct, there is no reason to believe that the tipster had the sort of "special familiarity with [Brown's] affairs" which the Court in White evidently viewed as essential to its Conclusion that "the anonymous tip, as corroborated, exhibited sufficient indicia of reliability to justify the investigatory stop . . . ." Id. *fn23
We do not suggest that accurate prediction of future events has some talismanic quality or outweighs other constituent parts of the totality of the circumstances. The police might have had facts sufficient for reasonable suspicion if the tipster had not been anonymous, Adams, supra, 407 U.S. at 146 (1972) (tipster known to police officer), Groves v. United States, 504 A.2d 602, 605 (D.C. 1986) (tip reliable because informant called twice and identified himself), or if the informant had provided reliable information in the past, Adams, supra, 407 U.S. at 146; Allen v. United States, 496 A.2d 1046, 1049 (D.C. 1985) (tipster known to police and previous calls led to seizures of narcotics), or if the tip had accurately demonstrated some special familiarity with Brown's affairs, see White, supra, 110 S. Ct. at 2417, or if the officer's own observations before the stop had supported a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, see Lawson v. United States, 360 A.2d 38, 39, 40 (D.C. 1976) (suspect's noticeable effort "to hide something" as police arrived was consistent with possessing a concealed weapon), or if the tipster had reported that the suspect had a pistol, see Johnson, supra, 540 A.2d at 1091-92 (emphasizing need for prompt police investigation of tips involving firearms), but none of these factors was present here.
White stands for the proposition that, without more, an uncorroborated anonymous tip that a correctly described individual is engaged in narcotics activity falls short of providing the "minimal level of objective justification," 110 S. Ct. at 2416, which is required for a Terry stop. In the present case, there was no corroboration of any prediction of future conduct; moreover, the description of the seller was scanty and the match-up between that description and Brown's appearance was in some measure flawed. If White was a "close case," as the Supreme Court said it was, then the government's evidence here was surely insufficient as a matter of law to show the existence of articulable suspicion. If there was no articulable suspicion, then necessarily there was no probable cause. *fn24
GALLAGHER, Senior Judge, Dissenting: In the splendid isolation of the appellate court, search and seizure cases sometimes get over-refined and take on a different appearance than in the real world of enforcement. This is often because some of the evidence is magnified to the detriment of a totality review of all the earthy circumstances presented. Here, once the crucial facts are examined realistically and in their totality, it would appear the majority opinion is in conflict with our precedents, and with a prudent interpretation of the Fourth Amendment.
This case began with a call at midnight from a citizen, not here identified, reporting that a man was selling narcotics at 17th and Euclid Streets, N.W. *fn1 The height and dress of the man were given. Phone information by an unidentified citizen, standing by itself, constitutes neither probable cause to arrest nor a sufficient basis to conduct a Terry *fn2 seizure, under established law. Alabama v. White, 110 S. Ct. 2412, 2416 (1990). There is no difference with the majority opinion on this score. The difference we have is that, in my view, this is not really the basic issue in this case. Rather, the issue is whether on the totality of the facts, as the police investigation progressed step-by-step from the initial information, the officer, as the circumstances gradually unfolded at the end, had probable cause to arrest.
To put it another way, from the time the officer received the radio call to the time of the discover" of the narcotics on the defendant, did the officer take any unreasonable steps in the Fourth Amendment sense during the course of his investigation? If he did not, then this is an indication the arrest was valid, if the totality of circumstances added up finally to probable cause. I think that is the sensible way to approach this case. As the Supreme Court has instructed, when considering probable cause or investigative stop issues "the totality of the circumstances -- the whole picture -- must he taken into account." United States v. Cortez, 449 U.S. 411, 417 (1981). In this review, we are of course bound by the factfinding of the trial court, unless we conclude it is clearly erroneous, and there is no such finding by this court. *fn3
We start out with a phone call to the police at midnight describing a man who, it was said, was selling narcotics at the corner of 17th and Euclid Streets, N.W. The description was a black male, about five feet, six inches, wearing a white shirt, with dark writing on the front of the shirt and blue jeans. This information was relayed to an officer in a patrol car whose "beat" included that location. It so happened the officer was then approaching 17th and Euclid Streets in the patrol car. He testified he was familiar with that corner, as he had patrolled it for two years, and knew it to be a corner where drugs are sold. *fn4 When he arrived there, he started his on-the-scene investigation.
Continuing his investigation of the information from the citizen, he walked toward the defendant. As he approached him, the officer said "sir" and, as he continued the approach, the defendant turned around, disregarded him and kept walking. The officer said "sir" again, "come here," but he kept walking away. He said he had made "eye contact" and he had to "double time" to keep up. The officer caught up with the defendant and told him he wanted to talk to him because he "fit the description of a complaint" on drug selling. The officer asked if he had identification and the defendant said "no." He then observed an object which bulged in his right pocket. He twice asked the defendant what it was, and the defendant would not answer. The officer was, of course, aware that drug dealers often carry weapons. The officer thereupon did a protective "patdown, holding on to that object." He asked a third time what it was and got no response, so he "went inside his pocket, took it out." The reason he did so was based on his "experience with people in that area, me being by myself, it's a precaution that the department has taught me to use, so far as protecting myself."
While it is established under Alabama v. White, supra, 110 S. Ct. at 2416, that the telephone call from the citizen did not in itself constitute justification for a Terry *fn5 seizure, let alone probable cause to arrest, this is not to say it should not be given investigative weight. The police would be open to justifiable criticism if such information was not taken seriously. *fn6
This is the specific issue that divides the majority and the Dissent. I have a problem with the majority opinion at this juncture in its crucial footnote 24. *fn7 The court sets forth only a portion of the police officer's testimony in relation to what transpired after he arrived at the scene and began investigating. Consequently, one may get an erroneous impression of the evidence. I will therefore set forth the remainder of this pertinent testimony by the officer so there will be no misunderstanding on what actually transpired in this case. As it commences, the trial Judge is seeking to learn what actually transpired leading up to the seizure. *fn8
A. First time when I confirmed the look-out, he, the defendant, he was on the -- it was on the west -- he was on the northwest corner, and when I started approaching him, I called him and said, sir, and, like I said, he turned around, he acted like he didn't acknowledge what I was saying to him, and he kept walking.
A. Well, at one point, at one point he made eye contact. It was -- it was pretty brief, but, like I say, at one point, yeah, you know --.
He was -- he was -- he acknowledged me, I am pretty sure that he did because the second time I called him, he started walking away, totally. And I had to -- not jog, but double-time up to him to get him to stop, initially.
MR. KROLLMAN: Objection, Your Honor. It's a little leading, a little compound --
A. First -- first time I said, sir. Second time, I said, sir. Third time, I said, sir, and advanced towards him.
Q. Let me pull that back, each time.
The first time you said, sir, and you had eye contact with the defendant, what, if anything, did the defendant do?
THE WITNESS: Not like I'm talking -- I would say I've a -- pretty good voice, pretty good tone of voice.
The crucial difference between the majority and Dissent in this case is whether the seizure took place when the defendant stopped to answer questions, or when the officer later laid his hands on him. *fn9
It has been acknowledged that police do not seize persons within the Fourth Amendment meaning by merely approaching them in public and asking questions. In United States v. Mendenhall, 446 U.S. 544 (1980), the Supreme Court laid down some guidelines in this area of law.
Characterizing every street encounter between a citizen and the police as a "seizure," while not enhancing any interest secured by the Fourth Amendment, would impose wholly unrealistic restrictions upon a wide variety of legitimate law enforcement practices. The Court has on other occasions referred to the acknowledged need for police questioning as a tool in the effective enforcement of the s. Without such investigation, those who were innocent might be falsely accused, those who were guilty might wholly escape prosecution, and many crimes would be unsolved. In short, the security of all would be diminished.
Id. at 554 (citations omitted).
has virtually deemed a police approach for questioning on the street to trigger a "consensual encounter," Delegado, 104 S. Ct. at 1762, absent "intimidating" circumstances beyond the natural sense of obligation almost anyone would feel when a police officer begins asking questions.
In Kelly v. United States, 580 A.2d 1282 (D.C. 1990), this court once again stated that " Fourth Amendment 'seizure' occurs 'only when the officer, by means of physical force or show of authority, has in some way restrained the liberty of a citizen . . .'" and "it is not enough . . . to assert that police officers are inherently figures of authority, and that their presence results in non-consensual encounters." Id. at 1285. "There must be more than mere questioning before a court will find that a seizure has occurred." Id. at 1286.
It is unwise to over-refine these on-the-street investigative issues as to do so causes "unnecessary difficulty in, dealing with one or the relatively simple concepts embodied in the Fourth Amendment," as the Supreme Court has observed. United States v. Sokolow, 109 S. Ct. 1581, 1582 (1989). Otherwise, it may cause the prosecutor, the police and the public to be in considerable confusion on what is a permissible Terry seizure -- a constantly recurring practical problem in contemporary enforcement, certainly in this jurisdiction.
The concept of reasonable suspicion, like probable cause, is not "readily, or even usefully, reduced to a neat set of legal rules." Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 232 (1983). As the Supreme Court reminded us in Alabama v. White, supra, 110 S. Ct. at 2416, "reasonable suspicion is a less demanding standard than probable cause not only in the sense that reasonable suspicion can be established with information that is different in quantity or content than that required to establish probable cause, but also in the sense that reasonable suspicion can arise from information that is less reliable than that required to show probable cause." Under Alabama v. White, supra, as we know, a phone call to the police from a citizen not identified requires additional corroboration from investigation in order to support a Terry seizure.
The initial complaint of drug trafficking plus the subsequent investigation which revealed the particular street corner, the repeating of the police report when the officer arrived at the street corner, the belief of the officer that the defendant met the description given in the complaint, the conduct of the defendant during the street investigation -- these things lent reasonable corroboration to the initial information and justified articulable suspicion sufficient, to support a Terry seizure when the officer saw the pocket bulge when he first stood beside the defendant. Furthermore, when a person is leaving a scene upon seeing the police arrive and an officer directs a request to the individual for the opportunity to ask the person questions, and the person continues to depart and thereby rejects the officer's request, the individual at that point has the legal right to do so. But that is not to say that this conduct may not be factored by the officer into the reasonable suspicion equation. It would be legitimate to do so under those particular circumstances. This court's decision in Smith v. United States, 558 A.2d 312 (D.C. 1989), for example, is not to the contrary, as I understand it.