Opinion ID: 203983
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Officer Canuto's Search of Dubose Was Appropriate

Text: After Officer Canuto succeeded in seizing Dubose, he decided to conduct a pat-down search of Dubose's outer clothing. Officer Canuto's limited search of Dubose's outer clothing was justified by legitimate concerns for his safety. Officer Canuto testified that after Dubose turned around with his hand still in his pocket, he became fearful that Dubose was carrying a weapon. He stated that drug dealers often carry weapons concealed in their waistbands, and, because that is not a very secure position for a gun, they often keep their hands in their pockets to ensure the gun does not fall down. Officer Canuto's concerns were further compounded by Dubose's initial refusal to remove his hand from his pocket, and Dubose's nervousness during this encounter. The combination of Dubose's interaction with the Camry's occupants, his initial refusal to heed Officer Canuto's order to remove his hand from his pocket, and his nervousness during his encounter with Officer Canuto, together with Officer Canuto's experience in dealing with drug transactions that often involve guns, were sufficient to justify a pat-down of Dubose's outer clothing. See Trullo, 809 F.2d at 113-14 (holding that protective frisk was justified when officers had reasonable suspicion that defendant had engaged in an illegal drug transaction, the officers' experience showed that people engaging in drug crimes often carried firearms, and the officers noticed a bulge in the defendant's pocket); United States v. Harris, 313 F.3d 1228, 1236 (10th Cir.2002) (holding that officer was justified in conducting a protective frisk of defendant's clothing primarily because [d]efendant refused to take his hands out of his pockets after [police officer] requested that he do so); see also United States v. Aitoro, 446 F.3d 246, 253 (1st Cir.2006) (When an officer sees a bulge in a detainee's clothing and reasonably believes that bulge to be a concealed weapon, under the right circumstances the officer will have license to search the detainee.). During the pat-down of Dubose's outer garments, Officer Canuto felt a hard object that he thought might be a firearm. He asked Dubose, What is this? (Appx. at 69.) Not exactly answering the question, Dubose responded, It's not mine. ( Id. ) Officer Canuto then reached into the pocket and retrieved a loaded .22 caliber revolver. Officer Canuto's decision to reach into Dubose's pocket was justified by his reasonable belief that the object he felt was a firearm. As we said in Trullo, 809 F.2d at 114, Once the pat down confirmed that the article in appellant's pocket had the characteristics of a weapon, the officer was justified in reaching into the pocket and seizing it. The officer had reasonable grounds to believe that appellant was armed and dangerous. It was therefore imperative, for the safety of the officers and the general public, that the officer take the action that he did. We hold that such conduct clearly was reasonable under the Fourth Amendment. Officer Canuto's justifiable belief that he had detected a firearm in Dubose's sweatshirt pocket, in combination with Dubose's strange response to Officer Canuto's question about the object in his pocket, clearly justified his decision to reach in and retrieve the firearm in Dubose's pocket.