NAPO Press Release
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | CONTACT: (202) 842-3560 |
| January 12, 2000 | JODY HEDEMAN COUSER |
U.S. SUPREME COURT RULING SUPPORTS LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER’S RIGHTS
ILLINOIS V. WARDLOW
NAPO FILED BRIEF SUPPORTING THE AUTHORITY OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS TO STOP AND PAT-DOWN INDIVIDUALS FLEEING POLICE IN HIGH CRIME AREAS
WASHINGTON, DC - In a 5-4 decision today, the U.S. Supreme court ruled that police officers may stop and question citizens who flee when police officers approach. The National Association of Police Organizations, Inc. (NAPO) had submitted an amici curiae brief with the court in support of law enforcement officers in Chicago and elsewhere who stop, question, and search those persons who run away once they see an officer.
"The National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO) praises the U.S. Supreme Court for its decision today allowing officers to continue to investigate highly suspicious conduct. We are gratified by the Supreme Court’s 5-4 vote upholding the right of law enforcement officers to stop, question, and search for weapons those persons who run away once they see a police officer; effective law enforcement requires no less," stated Robert T. Scully, NAPO’s Executive Director.
The case stemmed from a September 9, 1995 incident in Chicago. Chicago Police Officer Timothy Nolan was assigned as part of a team to investigate narcotics sales in the Department’s 11th District, a high crime area. In full uniform, Officer Nolan and seven other officers were driving in four police vehicles when
Officer Nolan saw the Respondent, Sam Wardlow. Wardlow looked at the officers and "took off running" away from them, while carrying a bag under his arm. Officer Nolan pursued Wardlow, and eventually the officer and his partner were able to corner him a few blocks away. Nolan exited his vehicle and stopped Wardlow for the purpose of conducting a field interview. At the hearing, Nolan testified that it is common to find weapons in the vicinity where narcotics are sold. Therefore, without asking Wardlow any questions, the officer conducted a "protective pat-down" search "for [his] own safety." The officer squeezed the outside of the white opaque plastic bag that the suspect was holding under his arm and felt an object that was hard, heavy and similar in shape to a revolver. He then looked inside the bag and found a Colt .38 caliber handgun loaded with five bullets. The officer arrested Wardlow, who was subsequently convicted of the offense of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon. Wardlow’s conviction was reversed by the Illinois appellate courts on the ground that there was not sufficient reasonable articulable suspicion to believe that he had been or was engaged in criminal activity.
A relevant excerpt from Chief Justice Rehnquist’s opinion follows:
... [It] was not merely respondent’s presence in an area of heavy narcotics trafficking that aroused the officers’ suspicion but his unprovoked flight upon noticing the police. Our cases have also recognized that nervous, evasive behavior is a pertinent factor in determining reasonable suspicion. ... Headlong flight—wherever it occurs—is the consummate act of evasion: it is not necessarily indicative of wrongdoing, but it is certainly suggestive of such. ... Thus, the determination of reasonable suspicion must be based on commonsense judgments and inferences about human behavior. ... We conclude that Officer Nolan was justified in suspecting that Wardlow was involved in criminal activity, and therefore, in investigating further.
The Court recognized that there might be innocent reasons for flight from police, not necessarily indicative of ongoing criminal activity. However, the Court indicated that stopping and briefly detaining an individual to check out what is happening "does not establish a violation of the Fourth Amendment" just because there might be an "innocent explanation."
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, 250,000 sworn law enforcement officers,
more than 11,000 retired officers, and more than 100,000 citizens who share a common
dedication to fair and effective crime control and law enforcement.