Opinion ID: 2495571
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The protective frisk

Text: ¶ 34. At the hearing, Jefferson testified that once he had stopped the vehicle, he asked the driver, whom he did not know, to step out. When the driver stepped out, Jefferson observed the butt of a gun sitting out from under the driver side seat, and an empty whisky bottle. Jefferson also could tell he had been drinking. At that point, Jefferson brought Eaddy to the rear of the car and patted him down for safety reasons. During the frisk, Jefferson found two pill bottles in Eaddy's pockets that contained what appeared to be crack cocaine. ¶ 35. On cross-examination, Jefferson was asked about the discrepancies in his police report. He testified that he had misstated that he knew Barnes and the exact point in time at which he had seen the gun. In an effort to clarify his report, Jefferson stated that he did not know Barnes at the time of the stop, and that he had seen the butt of a gun under the driver's seat immediately after Eaddy had stepped out of the vehicle. The trial court found that the officer's report at the time of the stop and arrest ... is not intended to be the total courtroom testimony of that officer. ¶ 36. Legally, an officer may frisk a person for weapons, if the officer has reason to believe that he is dealing with an armed and dangerous individual. [15] This type of noncustodial stop is an exception to the Fourth Amendment's general proscription against warrantless searches, otherwise known as a Terry stop. [16] Once Jefferson observed the butt of a gun under the driver's seat, saw the empty whiskey bottle, and smelled alcohol on Eaddy, he had reason to perform a limited search for weapons. Thus, Jefferson's actions hardly can be deemed unreasonable. [17]