Court Opinion

ID: 9626738
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 08:22:46.524658+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:06:32.968167
License: Public Domain

Olly Neal, Judge, concurring. I agree that this case udge, and remanded; however, I write separately to point out that when the minor driving the scooter was free to leave, the purpose of the stop had ended and Officer Bailey had no specific or particularized reason for the continued detention of appellant. Officer Bailey testified that he stopped the scooter on which appellant was a passenger because the driver, a juvenile, was not wearing a helmet and should not have had a passenger. Pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. § 27-20-104(b)(1)(2) (Repl. 2004), “All passengers and operators of motorcycles and motor-driven cycles used upon the public streets and highways of this state shall be equipped with the following equipment under standards set forth by the Office of Motor Vehicle: (1) Protective headgear unless the person is twenty-one (21) years of age or older; and (2) Protective glasses, goggles, or transparent face shields.” It is also unlawful for any person in the State of Arkansas under sixteen (16) years of age to carry another person as a passenger upon a motor-driven cycle. See Ark. Code Ann. § 27-20-110 (Repl. 2004). Moreover, as part of a valid traffic stop, a police officer may detain a traffic offender while the officer completes certain routine tasks; however, after those routine checks are completed, unless the officer has a reasonably articulable suspicion for believing that criminal activity is afoot, continued detention of the driver can become unreasonable. Sims v. State, 356 Ark. 507, 157 S.W.3d 530 (2004). Under our criminal rules, once the legitimate purpose of a valid traffic stop is completed, a police officer must have a reasonable suspicion that the person is committing, has committed, or is about to commit a felony or a misdemeanor involving danger to persons or property, in order to continue to detain that person. See Ark. R. Crim. P. 3.1; Lilley v. State, 362 Ark. 436, 208 S.W.3d 785 (2005). A person has been seized within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment only if, in view of all of the circumstances surrounding the incident, a reasonable person would have believed he was not free to leave. See Jefferson v. State, 349 Ark. 236, 76 S.W.3d 850 (2002); Lilley, supra. Under Rule 3.1, in order to further detain him and ask him questions, the officer is required to have reasonable suspicion. Whether there is reasonable suspicion depends on whether, under the totality of the circumstances, the police have specific, particularized, and articulable reasons indicating that the person may be involved in criminal activity. Laime v. State, 347 Ark. 142, 155, 60 S.W.3d 464, 473 (2001) (quoting Smith v. State, 343 Ark. 552, 570, 39 S.W.3d 739, 750 (2001)). Officer Bailey testified that he told the juvenile what he did wrong and sent him on his way. He testified that: As soon as I told the juvenile he was free to go, I turned and talked to Mr. Rice and asked him if he would consent to a pat down for weapons. . . . His demeanor was very uncharacteristic from my prior dealings. He was very nervous and jittery and overly helpful, which is very uncharacteristic from dealings I’ve had with him in the past. . . . Here, the purpose of the stop had ended, but the officer continued to detain appellant because of his friendly behavior. The officer articulated no specific or particularized reason for the further detention of appellant that was based on reasonable suspicion that appellant was involved in criminal activity. Therefore, once Officer Bailey told the juvenile he was free to leave, appellant should have been free to leave also, absent any specific particularized reasons of reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. Here, Bailey offered no suspicion of criminal activity afoot but only that appellant was known to have carried weapons on his person and that his demeanor was uncharacteristic. Based on the foregoing reason, I respectfully concur in the reversal of this case.