Opinion ID: 2163467
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Search of Taylor

Text: The Superior Court held that once the police officers entered the basement, they were justified in searching Taylor for a potential weapon. Because Taylor began moving his hands under the barber's apron, the court concluded that the officer could have reasonably suspected that Taylor might be armed and dangerous. We agree. A police officer may conduct a quick frisk for weapons if he or she reasonably fears that the person with whom he or she is dealing may be armed and dangerous. Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 27, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968); Commonwealth v. Hicks, 434 Pa. 153, 253 A.2d 276, 279 (1969). The officer need not be absolutely certain that the individual is armed; the issue is whether a reasonably prudent man in the circumstances would be warranted in the belief that his safety or the safety of others was in danger. Terry, 392 U.S. at 27, 88 S.Ct. 1868. The existence of reasonable suspicion to frisk an individual must be judged in light of the totality of the circumstances confronting the police officer. United States v. Cortez, 449 U.S. 411, 418, 101 S.Ct. 690, 66 L.Ed.2d 621 (1981); In the Interest of D.M., 556 Pa. 160, 727 A.2d 556, 557 (1999). In light of the totality of the circumstances in the instant case, Officer Adams reasonably suspected that Taylor could be armed and dangerous. Officer Adams and Constable McIntyre discovered Taylor and Mahone while conducting a protective sweep subsequent to the arrest of Gooden and the discovery of a large quantity of crack cocaine. After announcing their presence, the officers told Taylor and Mahone not to move. N.T. 12/18/96 (Suppression Hearing), at 61 (R.R. 80a). Taylor fumbled under the black barber's apron and reached for his pocket. N.T. 12/18/96 (Suppression Hearing), at 61-62 (R.R. 80a-81a). Despite Officer Adams' repeated warnings not to move, Taylor continued to stir under the apron. N.T. 12/18/96 (Suppression Hearing), at 62 (R.R. 81a). To protect his safety and the safety of the other individuals in the basement, Officer Adams justifiably touched Taylor's pocket to determine if Taylor had a weapon. Taylor argues that even if the pat-down of his outer-clothing was reasonable, Officer Adams had no basis for removing the pill bottle from Taylor's pocket. Because Officer Adams knew that Taylor did not possess a weapon and could not be certain that the bottle was contraband, Taylor maintains that this evidence should be suppressed. The Superior Court concluded that Office Adams felt what he reasonably believed to be a weapon in Taylor's pocket; therefore, Officer Adams justifiably reached into Taylor's pocket. We agree with the Superior Court and find the seizure of the pill bottle to be constitutional. As noted above, the purpose of a frisk under Terry is not to discover evidence, but to allow the officer to pursue his investigation without fear for his or her safety. See Adams v. Williams, 407 U.S. 143, 146, 92 S.Ct. 1921, 32 L.Ed.2d 612 (1972); Commonwealth v. E.M., 558 Pa. 16, 735 A.2d 654, 661 (1999). In keeping with that purpose, the scope of a Terry frisk is limited to that which is necessary for the discovery of weapons. Terry, 392 U.S. at 26, 88 S.Ct. 1868; Commonwealth v. Stevenson, 560 Pa. 345, 744 A.2d 1261, 1264 (2000). Therefore, in order to reach into a suspect's pocket during a frisk, the officer would have to feel something that reasonably appears to be a weapon. [4] We dealt with the search of a defendant's pocket and the seizure of a bottle in Commonwealth v. Graham. See 554 Pa. 472, 721 A.2d 1075 (1998). In Graham, Officer Dawley had been on patrol alone, late at night, when he confronted three individuals. In order to effectuate an arrest of one of the individuals, Officer Dawley had to turn his back on the defendant, whom Officer Dawley noticed had a bulge in the front pocket of his pants. Officer Dawley patted the bulge and concluded that it was money. Then, Officer Dawley patted the defendant's back pockets and felt what he believed to be a Lifesavers Holes bottle. Officer Dawley shined a flashlight down into the pocket and discovered a Lifesavers Holes container full of crack cocaine. In examining the search of the defendant, we concluded that Officer Dawley had been reasonable in initiating a frisk of the defendant for weapons. Graham, 721 A.2d at 1077. This Court went on to find that Officer Dawley had exceeded the scope of a valid Terry frisk by continuing to search after he had ascertained that the defendant was not armed and dangerous. Id. at 1078. Unlike the officer in Graham, Officer Adams in the present case did not exceed the scope of a proper Terry frisk. In Graham, Officer Dawley ascertained that the defendant was not armed and dangerous and continued to search. In addition, Officer Dawley recognized the hard object in the defendant's back pocket as a candy bottle, but shined his flashlight into the defendant's pocket anyway. Here, Officer Adams placed his hand on the object in Appellant Taylor's pocket. N.T. 12/18/96 (Suppression Hearing), at 62-63 (R.R. 81a-82a). Officer Adams testified that the object was hard and about four inches long. N.T. 12/18/96 (Suppression Hearing), at 71 (R.R. 90a). While Officer Adams concluded that the object was not a gun or knife, he testified that he still feared that the object could have been some type of weapon. N.T. 12/18/96 (Suppression Hearing), at 673, 76 (R.R. 92a, 95a). We find that Officer Adams reasonably concluded that Taylor may have been armed even after the officer had touched the pocket. Officer Adams had been involved in the investigation of the drug trafficking in the convenience store. Moments before the search team carried out the search of the store, Officer Adams had observed Taylor enter the store and then found Taylor in the basement. Immediately after encountering police, Taylor reached for his pocket, despite being told not to move several times. After observing Taylor fumble under the black barber's apron, Officer Adams touched Taylor's pocket. Officer Adams felt a hard, cylinder-type object. Because an officer need only be reasonably, and not absolutely, certain that an individual is armed in order to investigate for weapons, we conclude that Officer Adams was reasonable in suspecting that Taylor could be armed and dangerous. Therefore, Officer Adams justifiably reached into Taylor's pocket in order to protect his safety and the safety of others in the basement. After Officer Adams discovered that the object in Taylor's pocket was a prescription bottle that apparently contained crack cocaine, he placed Taylor under arrest. Pursuant to Taylor's arrest, Constable McIntyre searched two coats, which were ten feet from Taylor. We now address the validity of this search.