Opinion ID: 2571572
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Valid Search

Text: During a valid investigatory stop, an officer may also search those areas of a vehicle's passenger compartment in which a weapon may be placed or hidden. Altman, 938 P.2d at 145. The police officer must first possess[] a reasonable belief based on specific and articulable facts that the suspect is dangerous and may gain immediate control of weapons. Id. at 146. In Altman, this Court held that a state trooper had a reasonable belief in the defendant's dangerousness because the defendant bent over in his seat and made motions toward the bottom of his seat. Id. at 144. In this case, the man on the bicycle near the vehicle became verbally aggressive to the point that the contacting officer called for back-up. In addition, the defendant ducked down in her vehicle out of sight of the contacting officer while the officer was in her patrol car running a check on the defendant's vehicle. The officer became concerned when the defendant did not immediately sit upright and instead was hidden from view for a period of time. The officer testified that she was afraid that the defendant was possibly reaching for a weapon. Because of the officer's concern for safety, the officer asked the defendant to exit the vehicle and consent to a search of the front seat of the vehicle and the purse. Therefore, the search of the vehicle and the purse was valid because the officer had a reasonable belief based on articulable facts from the defendant's behavior that the defendant could have been trying to gain control of a weapon.