Opinion ID: 797817
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Conditions Precedent to a Lawful Protective Search

Text: 12 As a preliminary matter, we address Orman's contention advanced at oral argument that Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968), requires that Officer Ferragamo have reasonable suspicion that a crime was being committed before he could lawfully retrieve Orman's gun for officer safety purposes, even if the encounter was consensual. 13 Terry held that a brief investigatory detention, while constituting a seizure, is not a violation of the Fourth Amendment provided that the police officer has reasonable suspicion that criminal activity may be afoot. Id. at 30, 88 S.Ct. 1868. Terry also held that in the course of a lawful investigatory stop, a police officer also may lawfully pat down the detained individual for weapons provided that the officer has reasonable suspicion that the person may be armed and presently dangerous. Id. However, contrary to Orman's assertion, Terry did not cabin the use of officer safety patdowns to lawful investigatory detentions. 14 In United States v. Flippin, 924 F.2d 163 (9th Cir.1991), we rejected an argument similar to the position advanced by Orman. In Flippin, two police officers were in a woman's motel room pursuant to her consent. Id. at 164. An officer had visited her the previous day to determine the identity of her male companion who had been arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia. Id. When she would not produce her identification, the police returned the following day to investigate her identity. Id. Her male companion had been released from jail and was also present. Id. Upon entering the room, the police patted down the male for weapons. Id. When the male and one of the police officers left the room, the female grabbed a makeup bag, held it close to her, and refused to relinquish it. Id. The officer forcibly took the bag from her for fear that she was attempting to arm herself. Id. Based on the bag's weight, he suspected that it contained a loaded gun. Id. He opened the bag and found a gun and cocaine. Id. 15 We explained in Flippin that a Terry stop-and-frisk constitutes two independent actions, each requiring separate justifications. The stop must be based on a suspicion of criminal activity and the frisk on a reasonable suspicion that the person is armed. Id. at 165 n. 2 (citing United States v. Thomas, 863 F.2d 622, 628 (9th Cir.1988)). We also explained that only the frisk portion of Terry was implicated in Flippin because the police officer's presence in the motel room was consensual. Id. 16 The defendant in Flippin argued that the constitutional hurdle to entering the motel room— i.e., a search or an arrest warrant or exigent circumstances—must be overcome before the police could undertake a protective weapon's search. We rejected this argument, holding that following a consensual entry, a probable cause predicate is not needed to undertake a weapon's patdown when reasonable suspicion exists that a person is armed. Id. at 165-66. 17 Flippin relied on Maryland v. Buie, 494 U.S. 325, 110 S.Ct. 1093, 108 L.Ed.2d 276 (1990), which allowed for a protective sweep of a residence for dangerous individuals following execution of an arrest warrant at the residence. In Buie, the Supreme Court explained that officer safety both during and after an arrest justifies the necessity of a protective sweep for dangerous persons to protect the officer from harm. Id. at 333-34, 110 S.Ct. 1093. Therefore, the Court recognized that a protective sweep is not limited to the patdown of lawfully seized individuals. Id. at 332-34, 334, 110 S.Ct. 1093 n. 2 (citing Michigan v. Long, 463 U.S. 1032, 103 S.Ct. 3469, 77 L.Ed.2d 1201 (1983) (holding the protective sweep of a glove box reasonable under Terry when officer had a reasonable belief that the suspect was potentially dangerous), and Ybarra v. Illinois, 444 U.S. 85, 92-93, 100 S.Ct. 338, 62 L.Ed.2d 238 (1980) (holding patdown of tavern patron unlawful during execution of warrants to search the premises and arrest the bartender because officer lacked reasonable suspicion that patron was armed and dangerous)). Flippin summarized: 18 The protective search was upheld in Buie because the police had a legitimate right to enter the home and [o]nce inside, the potential for danger justified a standard of less than probable cause for conducting a limited protective sweep. 19 924 F.2d at 165 (quoting Buie, 494 U.S. at 334 n. 1, 110 S.Ct. 1093). 20 Accordingly, our inquiry is twofold. We must affirm Orman's conviction if we determine that Ferragamo (1) was acting in a lawful situation when he seized the gun from Orman's waistband, and (2) had reasonable suspicion that Orman was armed. Id. at 165 n. 2, 167. Here, either consent or reasonable suspicion would support the lawfulness of Ferragamo's contact with Orman.