Also known as: frisks · frisked · frisking · frisk search · pat-down · Terry frisk · stop and frisk
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A limited pat-down of a person's outer clothing to discover concealed weapons. The pat-down is permissible when an officer has reasonable suspicion based on articulable facts that the person is armed and dangerous during a lawful investigative stop.
Officer Ramirez pulls over Felipe Figueroa for a broken taillight. A passenger, Farid Farahani, shifts nervously and keeps glancing at the glove box. Ramirez orders both men out and pats down Farahani's jacket, feeling a hard object that turns out to be a gun. The gun is admissible because the officer had reasonable suspicion that the passenger was armed and dangerous.
An anonymous caller tells police that Freya Freeman is standing on a corner wearing a red jacket and may have a gun. Officers arrive, see a woman matching the description, stop her, and frisk her jacket. No weapon is found and the stop is invalid because the tip supplied no predictive information showing the caller had inside knowledge.
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Officer Torres watches Fernando Farrell pace in front of a closed store, repeatedly peering inside and conferring with two companions. Torres approaches, identifies himself, and pats down Farrell's coat after feeling a bulge. The pat-down yields a revolver that is admissible because the observed conduct supplied reasonable suspicion that Farrell was casing the store and armed.
Felix Franco lingers at dusk by a power substation gate and shines a flashlight on the padlock three times while keeping one hand inside his coat. An officer arrives, orders Franco to stop, and conducts a pat-down that recovers a crowbar. The frisk is upheld because the focused conduct near critical infrastructure created reasonable suspicion that Franco was armed and preparing to tamper with the facility.
A delivery driver tells Officer Reyes that Felicity French is waiting outside an office building with a handgun in her hoodie waistband and appears agitated. Reyes approaches, receives no response to questions, and reaches directly into the waistband, recovering a pistol. The seizure is lawful because the specific tip about the weapon's location justified the immediate protective action.
After stopping Foster Forge for speeding, an officer sees a long object under the driver's seat that could be a weapon. The driver is ordered out and the officer conducts a limited search of the passenger compartment, locating a rifle. The rifle is admissible because the officer reasonably believed the driver could access the weapon during the encounter.
An officer may reach directly into a waistband when a reliable tip or observation supplies specific information that a weapon is hidden there. The tip need not rise to probable cause. Courts uphold the action when the information is particularized and the setting presents immediate safety concerns.
No. An anonymous tip lacking predictive information or other indicia of reliability does not create reasonable suspicion even if the description proves accurate. Officers must have additional facts showing the caller possessed inside knowledge before conducting a stop and frisk.
Yes. During a lawful traffic stop officers may frisk a passenger if they have reasonable suspicion that the passenger is armed and dangerous. The suspicion need not relate to criminal activity separate from the stop itself.
Repeated approaches to a secured gate, use of a flashlight on locks at dusk, and concealment of a long object in clothing can supply the required articulable facts. Proximity to critical infrastructure heightens the inference that the person may be armed and planning tampering.
…security is as important as the right to be free from unreasonable searches of private premises. Unquestionably, the officer’s stop and frisk of Terry amounted to a “search” and “seizure” within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment. We must decide whether these actions were reasonable. The reasonableness of any particular…