Court Opinion

ID: 9724416
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 10:55:58.974348+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:25:00.112572
License: Public Domain

RILEY, Judge,
dissenting
I respectfully dissent. Here, Officer Gallagher testified that he observed Dodson playing his car stereo loudly and urinating outside, and that he initially approached Dodson because he was a drunk driver. Officer Gallagher also testified that he ordered Dodson out of his vehicle because Dodson was moving around inside the car and he was concerned for his safety. He further testified that once he saw Dodson’s empty shoulder holster, he was sure Dodson had a weapon. Officer Gallagher then patted Dodson down and placed him in handcuffs. Officer Gallagher testified that at this point he did not feel threatened by Dodson and although Dodson was in handcuffs, he was not under arrest. Nonetheless, Officer Gallagher then conducted a search of the vehicle, without Dodson’s permission, and discovered a gun only after removing the center console of the vehicle. Officer Gallagher acknowledged that the gun was not in plain view.
Based on the facts, I agree with the trial court that the search was unreasonable and illegal. Although Officer Gallagher had a reasonable suspicion to stop Dodson for public indecency, the search of the vehicle went beyond what was necessary to protect the officer’s safety. As I have noted, the purpose of a limited weapons search is to protect the safety of the officer or others, not to discover evidence of a crime. State v. Joe, 693 N.E.2d 573, 575 (Ind.Ct.App.1998), trans. denied; see also Trigg v. State, 725 N.E.2d 446, 449 (Ind.Ct.App.2000).
In this case, Officer Gallagher ordered Dodson from the vehicle, patted Dodson down, and handcuffed him. Dodson was then turned over to another officer while Officer Gallagher searched the vehicle. Once these events occurred, the officer’s safety was no longer at issue, and as Officer Gallagher acknowledged, he no longer felt threatened by Dodson. Therefore, although Officer Gallagher had a reasonable suspicion for the initial investigatory stop, his search of the internal areas of the vehicle, including his search underneath the center console, went beyond the limited weapons search allowed under Terry.