Opinion ID: 1312386
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: valium pills suppression.

Text: We next turn to the matter of the Valium pills in the Tylenol bottle. State advances that, because the Tylenol bottle could have held a weapon, Officer DeAguiar appropriately removed the container from Reed's person. Reed replies that Officer DeAguiar went beyond the legitimate extent of a protective weapons frisk. We once more stress that the pat-down frisk, as a form of the search incident to a valid arrest, must 1) be confined to a search of the arrestee's person or the area within his or her immediate reach for weapons, escape instrumentalities, or contraband; and 2) balance the weighty government interest in police safety against the arrestee's right to be free from unreasonable government intrusion. State v. Barrett, 67 Haw. 650, 701 P.2d 1277 (1985); see State v. Goodwin, 7 Haw. App. ___, 752 P.2d 598 (1988). Officer DeAguiar testified at the suppression hearing as follows: Q Now, what caused you to arrest the defendant, or charge the defendant with possession of valium, or promoting harmful drugs? A When I recovered from his left front pocket the Tylenol bottle, I could see the medicine or the pills inside the bottle. And they were blue with the letter V on it. So I knew from my knowledge that it did not look like Tylenol. I didn't know what kind that was. When I got to the station, I checked through the descriptions [in the Physician's Manual] there, and there were pills which looked to be the same as the ones inside the bottle, and it said valium. So I informed my supervisor, and we charged him for valium at that time at the desk. ... . Q And when you did the patdown search, the patdown search was for weapons, and you mentioned something else? A Contraband. Q So you knew at that time that he would be carrying contraband, is that right? A No. Transcript of May 23, 1987 at 9, 20-21. But as the ICA dissenting opinion accurately discerned, the record is not complete with regard to Officer DeAguiar's belief when sensing the Tylenol bottle: My holding would validate the pat-down search, the permanent seizure of the switchblade knife, and the feeling of the plastic Tylenol bottle when it was in Appellant's left front pocket. It would validate the temporary seizure of, removal from Appellant's pocket, and examination of the unopened plastic Tylenol bottle only if, when Officer DeAguiar legitimately felt the bottle when it was in Appellant's pocket, he had probable cause to believe that what he felt was or contained a weapon or property that could have been used to facilitate Appellant's escape. If Officer DeAguiar had probable cause to believe that what he felt was or contained contraband other than a weapon or property that could have been used to facilitate Appellant's escape, then he was not authorized to temporarily seize what he felt, to remove it from Appellant's pocket, or to examine it. Reed, dissenting op. at 3-4 (emphasis added). We agree that additional factfinding is necessary to resolve this ambiguity. We accordingly direct the trial court on remand to specifically take more evidence and issue findings plus conclusions on this matter. See State v. Anderson, 67 Haw. 513, 693 P.2d 1029 (1985). And should the seizure of the Tylenol bottle be deemed proper, we further charge the trial court to inquire into the particular circumstances surrounding the initial warrantless opening of the bottle and whether the inventory search exception applies. See State v. Ching, 67 Haw. 107, 678 P.2d 1088 (1984).