Also known as: pat-down · pat down · patdowns · pat downs · frisk · pat frisk
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A limited search of a person's outer clothing for weapons conducted by an officer who reasonably suspects the person is armed and dangerous during an investigative stop.
During a lawful traffic stop, Officer Reyes noticed Pablo Perez in the passenger seat repeatedly reaching toward his waistband while glancing nervously at the officers. Reyes ordered Perez out of the vehicle and conducted a patdown after observing the furtive movements and the high-crime area. The frisk revealed a concealed firearm.
An anonymous caller told police that Phoebe Park was standing on a corner wearing a red jacket and carrying a gun. Officers approached Park, stopped her, and performed a patdown based solely on the tip's description of her clothing and location. The frisk uncovered no weapon and the evidence was suppressed.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Officer Torres conducted a lawful patdown of Preston Pratt after reasonable suspicion arose during a street encounter. Torres felt a small rock-like object in Pratt's pocket whose incriminating character as crack cocaine was immediately apparent by touch. Torres seized the item without further manipulation.
Officer Morales observed Parker Phillips pacing outside a closed store at night while repeatedly touching his jacket pocket. Morales detained Phillips on reasonable suspicion of impending burglary and performed a patdown that revealed a handgun. The weapon was admissible in the subsequent prosecution.
After stopping Pavel Petrov for a traffic violation, officers saw a hunting knife on the floorboard and reasonably suspected additional weapons. They conducted a limited patdown of the passenger compartment area where Petrov could reach and discovered an open pouch containing drugs.
Paula Pierce was stopped on reasonable suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon in a jurisdiction with strict local gun laws. Officers performed a patdown that recovered an unregistered handgun. The seizure was upheld as a lawful protective frisk during the investigative detention.
Reasonable suspicion that the person is armed and dangerous, based on specific and articulable facts, permits a limited patdown of outer clothing for weapons.
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An anonymous tip that merely describes appearance and location without predictive information or other reliability indicators does not supply reasonable suspicion for a stop and frisk.
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If an officer feels an object whose incriminating character is immediately apparent, seizure is allowed under the plain-feel doctrine, but further manipulation beyond checking for weapons violates the Fourth Amendment.
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Yes, if officers have reasonable suspicion that a passenger is armed and dangerous, a patdown is permitted even without suspicion of other criminal activity.
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…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…