Opinion ID: 149612
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Other asserted factors

Text: We give little weight to the other factors asserted by the government. Specifically, the items that the trooper saw in the car (the butane lighters, the radar detector, the energy pills) are of little or no significance. The presence of butane lighters or energy pills adds no weight to the reasonable suspicion analysis as it would be likely to find such items in the vehicle of any innocent traveler. See Wood, 106 F.3d at 947 (Remnants from fast-food restaurants can probably be found on the floor of many cars traveling the interstate highways.). Similarly we give minimal weight to the dog trying to shred its reward toy. A trained and reliable alert from a narcotics dog can provide support for an officer to conduct a search. Clarkson, 551 F.3d at 1203 (This court has further indicated the narcotics dog must be `reliable' or `trained' in order for an alert to support probable cause. (quoting United States v. Kennedy, 131 F.3d 1371, 1378 (10th Cir. 1997))). Although the narcotics canine in this case was trained and reliable, there is no indication that this behaviortrying to shred its reward toywas a trained or reliable response that should be credited as part of the reasonable suspicion analysis. To detain a person based, even in part, on a dog's behavior when that behavior is not a trained reaction and when the trooper has only observed the behavior one other time, is not sufficiently reliable. [3]