Court Opinion

ID: 9751995
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 17:27:01.45097+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:27:04.078570
License: Public Domain

CONCURRING OPINION BY
BENDER, J.:
¶ 1 As I agree that Commonwealth v. Corley, 507 Pa. 540, 491 A.2d 829 (1985), compels the result reached by the Majority, I join in the Majority’s well-reasoned opinion. Nevertheless, because I am troubled by the status of the law that allows an EMT to conduct an unlawful stop of a citizen without apparent consequence, I write separately to address my concerns.
¶ 2 If an FBI agent would have stopped Appellant, the evidence would have been suppressed. Commonwealth v. Price, 543 Pa. 403, 672 A.2d 280 (1996). If a Liquor Control Enforcement officer would have stopped Appellant, the evidence would have been suppressed. Commonwealth v. Bienstock, 449 Pa.Super. 299, 673 A.2d 952 (1996). If an off-duty police officer, outside of his jurisdiction, had stopped Appellant, the evidence would have been suppressed. Commonwealth v. Bradley, 724 A.2d 351 (Pa.Super 1999) (en banc), appeal denied, 560 Pa. 696, 743 A.2d 913 (1999). Here, because Appellant was stopped by an EMT, the evidence will not be suppressed. The result of this rule is that if a citizen with no authority whatsoever (see majority’s example of a boy scout) stops another citizen, who happens to be driving under the influence, the case will proceed to trial. If a citizen with some authority stops another citizen, who happens to be driving under the influence, the evidence will be suppressed and the case will be dismissed. To me, this rule of law seems counter-intuitive. The actor, who at least has an arguable right to intercede upon observing a driver suspected of being intoxicated, is found not to have the authority and any evidence resulting from the actor’s actions in “stopping” the citizen will be suppressed. Meanwhile, the fruits realized from a stop by an actor, who has essentially no basis whatsoever to conduct a stop, and essentially, no basis to believe he had a right to intercede, will not be suppressed.
¶ 3 This rule is troubling for a few reasons. First, by attaching no negative consequences to the actions of a citizen, who is acting with no authority whatsoever to stop his fellow citizen and call the police, this rule validates, if not outright encourages, vigilantism. No suppression of the evidence results because the vigilante citizen is not a state actor and, in effect, the Commonwealth simply reaps the benefits of the unjustified and unlawful actions of the private citizen. The target citizen could, of course, ignore the vigilante citizen and continue on in the face of the vigilante’s attempts to effectuate a stop. But how is the target citizen to know if the vigilante citizen is a state actor, particularly if the citizen is in uniform or, possibly, armed? If the vigilante citizen is an armed state actor (FBI agent, police officer) what steps can the state actor take to detain the target citizen? In my opinion these questions are too difficult to be resolved on the street when one party is possibly armed and the other is possibly intoxicated. (Note: many cases discussed involve intoxicated defendants). Simply *903stated, there is no clarity as to who can do what.
¶4 Secondly, the present rules seem destined to promote a violent if not tragic encounter. In the present case, Appellant peacefully complied with the unlawful actions of Mr. Cropelli. Query: what would Mr. Cropelli have done if Appellant had ignored him? What if upon stopping and Mr. Cropelli was approaching him, Appellant realized that Mr. Cropelli was only an EMT and decided to leave. I can easily see such circumstance escalating into a physical altercation, as the vigilante citizen tries to enforce the stop. Had Appellant, upon seeing who was attempting to stop him, simply driven off, would Mr. Cropelli have pursued Appellant? Might a high speed chase ensue under those circumstances? Might the drunken driver crash his vehicle injuring himself, and possibly other occupants or other drivers or pedestrians?
¶ 5 Our message is that state actors sometimes improperly stop citizens, but pure vigilantes always properly stop other citizens. This result troubles me in that it appears to encourage vigilantism and discourages state actors from taking action. Nevertheless, I believe the result is compelled by the existing case law and I point out these concerns in hope that those who are empowered to do so will correct this counterintuitive result.