| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 28, 2000 |
CONTACT:
(202) 842-3560
JODY HEDEMAN COUSER |
NATIONAL POLICE GROUP DISAPPOINTED WITH U.S. SUPREME COURT DECISION
INVOLVED FUNDAMENTAL
SEARCH AND SEIZURE RIGHTS
Washington, DC — In a unanimous ruling today, the U.S. Supreme Court severely limited the authority of police to stop and search someone for a gun based on an anonymous informant’s detailed description of a suspect’s clothing and location. The National Association of Police Organizations, Inc. (NAPO), which represents 4,000 law enforcement organizations, with 220,000 sworn law enforcement officers nationwide, submitted an amicus curiae (“friend-of-the-court”) brief supporting law enforcement officers in the State of Florida v. J.L., a juvenile.
“We are disappointed and frankly, very baffled by the Court’s decision,” said Robert T. Scully, NAPO’s Executive Director. Scully continued, “As a consequence of this ruling, the danger to law enforcement officers and the general public will significantly increase, and we fear that more officers and members of the public will be assaulted and murdered under this more restrictive standard. In our legal brief, we urged the Supreme Court not to sacrifice public safety and the safety of law enforcement officers for minimal gains in search and seizure protection. Stopping of an individual, whom an officer reasonably believes is armed and dangerous, constitutes the least predictable and the most dangerous duty of a law enforcement officer. We pointed out to the Court that, for example, during the 10-year period from 1988 through 1997, 92 percent of the 688 police officers who were killed in the line of duty were killed with firearms. In addition, in 1998, the rate of officers killed with firearms rose even higher, to 95 percent, with all but three of the 61 slain officers dying from gunshot wounds. Most of these slain officers were shot at close range, in the front of the head or upper torso, within 10 feet of their assailants, and many officers were shot while investigating suspicious circumstances.”
Scully also stated, “We asked the court to adopt a policy of allowing police officers to seize and disarm those individuals presenting a serious risk of injury or death to the officer and the public, as reasonable under the Fourth Amendment. We continue to believe that an anonymous informant’s detailed description of an armed suspect’s clothing and location, when subsequently verified by the police, should be enough to establish reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, including a concealed weapon. Time will only tell the extent of the damage of this decision to the safety of law enforcement officers and the public ” continued Scully.
The National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO) is a coalition of police unions and associations from across the United States that serves in Washington, DC to advance the interests of America’s law enforcement officers through legislative and legal advocacy, political action and education. Founded in 1978, NAPO now represents more than 4,000 police unions and associations, 220,000 sworn law enforcement officers, 11,000 retired officers and more than 100,000 citizens who share a common dedication to fair and effective crime control and law enforcement.
NOTE TO MEDIA: NAPO REPRESENTATIVES ARE AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS. PLEASE CALL JODY COUSER AT (202) 842-3560.
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