Court Opinion

ID: 9753497
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 19:15:53.852486+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T10:00:42.292222
License: Public Domain

JOYCE, J.,
concurring.
¶ 1 I agree with the majority that given the duration of time which passed between the informant’s call and the vehicle stop; the fact that the informant described the vehicle and not the driver; and the fact that the vehicle was travelling in a direction completely opposite of the direction indicated by the informant, the trooper did not have reasonable suspicion to stop Appellant’s vehicle. However, I write separately to note my disagreement with the suggestion that the informant’s credibility *1027or reliability was lessened by the fact that the trooper who stopped Appellant’s vehicle did not know the identity of the informant and was unable to judge the informant’s reliability and credibility. As our Court noted in Commonwealth v. Cullen, 340 Pa.Super. 233, 489 A.2d 929, 937 (1985), the investigating officer need not have personal knowledge of the facts that support probable cause for an investigative stop. The officer may reasonably rely upon radio transmissions so long as the officer issuing the information has received reasonably trustworthy information sufficient to warrant a man of reasonable caution in believing that the suspect has committed or is committing an offense. Id.
¶ 2 Furthermore, Pennsylvania law permits a vehicle stop based upon a radio bulletin if evidence is offered at the suppression hearing to establish reasonable suspicion. See Commonwealth v. Janiak, 368 Pa.Super. 626, 534 A.2d 833 (1987) (allowing police to make stop of individual suspected of intoxication based upon radio information, although police had not personally observed unusual or criminal conduct). Also, the mere fact that the police received their information over the police radio does not, of itself, establish or negate the existence of reasonable suspicion. Commonwealth v. Korenkiewicz, 743 A.2d 958, 964 (Pa.Super.1999) (en banc) citing Commonwealth v. Jackson, 548 Pa. 484, 698 A.2d 571 (1997).
¶ 3 In the case at bar, it is immaterial whether the trooper knew specific information about the informant’s reliability. Police officers routinely rely on, and act on the basis of information received from dispatchers. On their part, dispatchers try to distinguish legitimate reports from hoaxes; they try to distinguish unreliable informants from rehable ones before they send out information to the troopers on the streets. Therefore, as long as the dispatcher has determined the identity and reliability of an informant, it is unnecessary for the trooper on the street to be informed of the identity of the informant making the report. The trooper need not be aware of the credibility or reliability of the informant. The job of a police officer involves acting in emergency situations and in a time-sensitive manner. Police officers on the street cannot effectively perform their duties if they are required to personally verify the identity and reliability of each informant whose report they must investigate.
¶ 4 Accordingly, I concur with the result reached by the majority while maintaining that the informant’s reliability was not diminished by the fact that the trooper did not know the identity or reliability of the informant.