Also known as: stop and frisk · stop-and-frisk · Terry stop · Terry frisk · reasonable suspicion stop
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A limited investigative detention and protective search of a person by police based on reasonable suspicion of criminal activity and of being armed and dangerous. The detention must be brief and the frisk confined to a pat-down of outer clothing or a direct reach when specific information identifies the weapon's location. The doctrine balances officer safety against individual liberty under the Fourth Amendment.
Sebastian Santos left a downtown co-working space at 8 p.m. and drove his blue hatchback two blocks east toward a parking garage. Officers who had received an anonymous tip describing this exact route and a planned exchange of stolen source code watched the movements unfold and stopped the car. The accurate prediction of future conduct supplied the reliability needed for the brief detention.
Sophia Singh stood outside an apartment building wearing a red jacket. An anonymous caller described only her appearance and location without predicting any future action. Officers stopped and frisked her solely on that report. The absence of predictive details left the tip without sufficient indicia of reliability.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Simon Stern repeatedly walked past a jewelry store window at closing time and conferred quietly with a companion while adjusting a bulky object under his coat. An experienced officer recognized the pattern as casing behavior and stopped the pair. The officer's training allowed the inference of criminal activity from conduct that would appear innocuous to a layperson.
Seth Shapiro was stopped on the street after an officer observed him repeatedly reaching into his pocket near a known drug location. The officer conducted a limited pat-down and felt a hard object consistent with a weapon. The frisk was upheld because the initial stop rested on reasonable suspicion and the officer reasonably believed Shapiro was armed.
Serena Soto was a customer inside a tavern when officers entered to execute a warrant for the owner. An officer frisked Soto without any individualized suspicion that she was armed. The search exceeded the scope of a valid stop-and-frisk because mere presence at the location did not supply reasonable suspicion directed at Soto.
Sydney Santos was stopped on the street and then taken to the police station for questioning without being arrested. Officers lacked probable cause for an arrest and the prolonged seizure transformed the encounter into a de facto arrest unsupported by the reasonable suspicion standard. The extended detention violated the limited scope of a Terry stop.
An anonymous tip supports reasonable suspicion when it contains predictive details about the suspect's future movements that officers can corroborate, indicating the caller possesses inside knowledge. A tip that merely describes appearance and location without such predictions lacks sufficient reliability.
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Yes, when the officer possesses specific information that a weapon is hidden at a precise location on the suspect's body. The direct reach is a reasonable protective measure within the scope of a Terry investigation.
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Yes. Officers may draw inferences from observed conduct that would not be apparent to an untrained observer, provided the facts collectively create an objective basis to suspect criminal activity.
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The tip cannot alone justify a stop and frisk because it fails to demonstrate the caller's inside knowledge or reliability, even if the visible description proves accurate.
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…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…