Opinion ID: 163021
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Legality of the Initial Encounter

Text: 33 Mr. Mikulski contends that the detectives lacked the requisite reasonable suspicion when they approached Mr. Mikulski and questioned him. The district court, however, determined that the initial interaction between Detective Perschon and Mr. Mikulski was a consensual encounter. We agree. The officers did not make a sufficient showing of authority to sufficiently convey to Mr. Mikulski that his liberty was restrained. The detectives, dressed in plainclothes, walked up to the truck that was stopped. The detectives' vehicle did not block Mr. Mikulski's path or exit. While the detectives displayed their badges to identify themselves, they did not display a weapon or use any coercive language or tone. The questioning took place in a public setting in full view of two people on the porch of 4560 West 5780 South and in front of the truck's passenger. Although [Mr.] Mikulski was never informed by Detective Perschon that he need not answer the detective's questions, Rec. vol. I, doc. 49, at 16 (Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation, filed Feb. 15, 2001), Detective Perschon gave Mr. Mikulski no reason to believe that [he was] required to answer the [detective's] questions. United States v. Drayton, 536 U.S. 194, 122 S.Ct. 2105, 2112, 153 L.Ed.2d 242 (2002). Finally, the record does not indicate that the officers behaved in a manner that was threatening. We agree with the district court that the initial encounter was consensual. See United States v. Lambert, 46 F.3d 1064, 1067 (10th Cir.1995) (holding that a police officer's encounter with the defendant had been consensual, and stating that a seizure does not occur simply because a police officer approaches an individual and asks a few questions) (citing Florida v. Bostick, 501 U.S. 429, 434, 111 S.Ct. 2382, 115 L.Ed.2d 389 (1991)).