Opinion ID: 1428871
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: search incident to arrest/detention

Text: Once the defendant here was taken into protective custody, I agree with the majority that the arresting officer was entitled to conduct a pat-down search for the discovery of weapons. A pat down or frisk for weapons is the very type of limited, protective intrusion authorized during an investigatory stop when the officer has reason to suspect the person with whom he is dealing might be armed and dangerous. People v. Savage, 698 P.2d 1330, 1335 (Colo.1985). In contrast with the majority opinion, I also believe that the officer had authority to conduct a search incident to a lawful custodial arrest. The scope of such a search is quite broad ... [and] need not be limited to a mere pat-down of the arrestee's outer clothing, but may extend to pockets and other containers, opened or closed, found on the person of the arrestee or within his immediate reach. People v. Bischofberger, 724 P.2d 660, 664 (Colo. 1986). A searching officer may seize and examine weapons, contraband, or other articles which the officer reasonably believes to be related to criminal activity even though these articles do not directly relate to the offense for which the arrest itself was effected. Id. at 665. In Bischofberger, law enforcement officers searched the defendant incident to a custodial arrest and, as part of the search, they opened a container found in the defendant's shirt pocket and found contraband. We reversed the trial court's suppression of this evidence by expressly holding that the seizure of the container's contents complied with recognized Fourth Amendment standards relating to a search incident to an arrest. Id. See also United States v. Robinson, 414 U.S. 218, 94 S.Ct. 467, 38 L.Ed.2d 427 (1973) (custodial search of a suspect under arrest is a reasonable intrusion under the fourth amendment). In the analogous situation of a search incident to a warrantless arrest, the test under our state constitution is whether the arresting officer had probable cause to arrest the defendant. People v. Cunningham, 194 Colo. 198, 570 P.2d 1086 (1977). In this particular area, we have adopted the language of the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Robinson : [an] intrusion [based on probable cause] being lawful, a search incident to the arrest requires no additional justification. People v. Traubert, 199 Colo. 322, 326, 608 P.2d 342, 345 (Colo.1980), on appeal after remand, 625 P.2d 991 (Colo.1981). Here, the statute requires that a detaining officer have probable cause to believe a person is intoxicated and a danger to himself or others before taking the individual into protective custody. While this is not the same probable cause requirement as required for a criminal arrest, I believe the correct analysis is to permit a full search, pursuant to taking an individual into temporary custody, for the safety of the detaining officer, the detainee, and the public. The necessary result is that the officer here had authority to conduct a thorough search of a detainee in protective custody. He had probable cause, as defined in the Alcoholism Act, to believe that the defendant was intoxicated and a danger to himself or others. Based on this statutory probable cause requirement, he detained the defendant in protective custody. He then conducted a pat-down search for weapons. When he emptied the pockets of the defendant's jacket, he discovered the folded paper packet. Suspecting that it might contain a razor blade, the officer opened the packet and found contraband. III.