Also known as: pat down · patdown · pat-downs · frisk · Terry frisk
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A limited search of a person's outer clothing performed by an officer during a lawful investigative stop. The officer may conduct the pat-down only upon reasonable suspicion that the individual is armed and dangerous. The search must remain confined to detecting weapons and may not extend to manipulation or seizure of other objects unless their incriminating character is immediately apparent.
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Pavel Petrov sat in the passenger seat during a lawful traffic stop. The officer observed a bulge under Petrov's jacket and noted nervous behavior consistent with carrying a weapon. The officer ordered Petrov out of the vehicle and conducted a pat-down that revealed a handgun.
Patrick Phan stood on a street corner matching a description in an anonymous call. The tip supplied only the person's appearance and location without any predictive facts. Officers approached and performed a pat-down that uncovered contraband, which a court later suppressed.
Penelope Price was stopped on reasonable suspicion of carrying a weapon. During the pat-down the officer felt a small hard object in her pocket and immediately recognized its shape as crack cocaine. The officer seized the item without further manipulation.
Pedro Pacheco lingered outside a closed bank while repeatedly touching his waistband. An officer with articulable facts supporting suspicion of robbery detained Pacheco and performed a pat-down that located a firearm.
Pamela Phillips agreed to participate in a controlled drug purchase. Before sending her into the transaction officers conducted a pat-down to confirm she carried no personal drugs or weapons that could compromise the operation.
Parker Phillips was stopped for speeding and appeared intoxicated. Officers observed a large knife on the floorboard and conducted a pat-down of Phillips that revealed a weapon.
An officer may conduct a pat-down of a passenger when the officer possesses reasonable suspicion that the passenger is armed and dangerous. The suspicion may arise from the totality of circumstances observed during the stop even without separate suspicion of criminal activity by the passenger.
An anonymous tip that merely describes appearance and location without predictive details or other reliability indicators does not supply reasonable suspicion for a stop or pat-down. Courts require additional corroboration or predictive information demonstrating inside knowledge before authorizing the frisk.
…him. The officer had reasonable grounds to believe that Terry was armed and dangerous, and the search was limited in scope to a pat-down of outer clothing for weapons. The Fourth Amendment does not require that police officers, when they lack probable cause to arrest, must stand by and allow a suspect to draw a gun and…
…Court of Appeals reversed his conviction on the ground that the search of the vehicle was invalid, holding that the “Terry pat-down
…on articulable facts, may detain a suspect briefly for purposes of limited questioning and, in so doing, may conduct a brief "frisk" of the suspect to protect himself from concealed weapons. See, e. g. , United States v. Brignoni-Ponce , 422 U. S. 873, 880-884 (1975); Adams v. Williams , 407 U. S. 143, 145-146…
…or public safety is immediately at issue, that concern is sufficiently alleviated by the officer’s ability to perform a limited
…looked and sounded like a pager. They told Besore they would be monitoring his conversations. Finally, Thibodeau conducted a pat-down
An officer may seize an object only if its incriminating character is immediately apparent from the initial touch. Any further manipulation beyond what is necessary to determine whether the item is a weapon exceeds the scope of a lawful pat-down and renders the seizure invalid.
Reasonable suspicion supported by specific and articulable facts that the person is involved in criminal activity permits a brief detention. The same facts must also support a reasonable belief that the person is armed and dangerous before an officer may conduct the limited pat-down for weapons.
The doctrine permits seizure of contraband whose character is immediately apparent during a lawful pat-down. Officers may not squeeze or manipulate the object to develop probable cause beyond the initial tactile impression.