Opinion ID: 1238356
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Investigation, Stop, Search, and Arrest[1]

Text: A firefighter witnessed a shooting on a street corner in Brooklyn and reported to the New York Police Department (NYPD) that he had seen a black male, who was 5'6 tall, fire several shots at a crowd of people and flee in a dark sport utility vehicle (SUV) with New York State license plate number DBM 2474. Two days after the shooting, a group of police officers patrolling the same area saw a dark SUV with New York license plate number DBM 2474, which they recognized from the report of the shooting. The officers briefly followed the SUV, confirmed with the local police precinct that the NYPD was still searching for that vehicle, and pulled it over. At the time, the police officers did not recall from the report of the shooting that the suspect was 5'6 inches tall; nor did they seek to get more details about the suspect. The SUV's windows were darkly tinted and the police officers could not see inside. Officers approached the driver's side and asked the driver, Defendant Damon Lucky, to roll down the windows and show his hands. After some resistance to police requests, officers opened the driver's side door and asked Defendant to step out of the vehicle. Defendant refused to do so, officers repeated the order, Defendant refused again, and the officers pulled him from the car. As officers removed Defendant from the SUV, Defendant moved his right arm, pull[ing] down towards the front as if reaching for his waist band. Officers placed Defendant on his stomach and handcuffed him. At this point, it was clear that Defendant was not 5'6 tall, but was much taller. The officers then rolled Defendant over, onto his back, and as they did so, Defendant's jacket opened up a little bit allowing police to see a gun tucked into his wasteband. Police placed Defendant under arrest and recovered a fully-loaded 9-millimeter semi-automatic handgun from his waistband.