Opinion ID: 2336279
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: the removal of the crack pipe

Text: The second issue is whether Officer Bloomfield received permission to remove the crack pipe from Appellee's pocket after he realized that the object was not a weapon. Frisking a suspect during a Terry stop is strictly limited to that which is necessary for the discovery of weapons which might be used to harm the officer or others nearby. Commonwealth v. Crowder, Ky., 884 S.W.2d 649 (1994), citing Terry, supra ; see also Michigan v. Long, 463 U.S. 1032, 1049, and 1052, n. 16, 103 S.Ct. 3469, 3480-3481, and 3482, n. 16, 77 L.Ed.2d 1201 (1983); Ybarra v. Illinois, 444 U.S. 85, 93-94, 100 S.Ct. 338, 343-344, 62 L.Ed.2d 238 (1979). However, the plain feel exception to this rule allows for the discovery of non-threatening contraband if the contraband is immediately apparent from the sense of touch while the suspect is lawfully frisked. Crowder, supra, at 651, citing Minnesota v. Dickerson, 508 U.S. 366, 113 S.Ct. 2130, 124 L.Ed.2d 334 (1993). Thus, if non-threatening contraband is immediately apparent to the officer from the sense of touch while the officer is conducting a lawful pat-down search, the officer is not required to ignore the contraband and can lawfully seize it. Crowder, supra, at 651. In the case at hand, the crack pipe was immediately apparent to the officer while he was conducting a lawful pat-down of Appellee. Moreover, the Court of Appeals, the Commonwealth, and Appellee all concede that Appellee gave the officer permission to remove the crack pipe from Appellee's pocket. Therefore, the officer lawfully removed the crack pipe from Appellee. The other incriminating evidence against Appellee, which included another crack pipe, rolling papers, and two rocks of crack cocaine, was lawfully discovered during the search incident to his arrest. Thus, Appellee's rights were never violated. For the above mentioned reasons, the decision of the Court of Appeals is reversed and the judgment of the Fayette Circuit Court is reinstated. All concur.