Detentions, Consensual Encounters, and Patdowns for Weapons

• Terry Stops; Detentions for Investigation
• Consensual Encounters
• Patdown Searches for Weapons

A police officer who observes unusual conduct leading him reasonably to conclude in light of his training and experience that criminal activity may be afoot, may temporarily detain the suspicious person for the purpose of making reasonable inquiries aimed at confirming or dispelling his suspicions.  A person is not detained (but rather “consensually encountered”) unless and until a reasonable person under the circumstances would not have felt free to leave.  A patdown for weapons is limited to feeling a detained person’s outer clothing.  Reaching into a person’s pockets exceeds the limits of a patdown, and is illegal unless a possible weapon is felt thus causing a police officer to reasonably believe the person may be armed.

Uniformed El Cajon Police Department Officers Robert Wining and Robert Nasland responded to a radio call at around 11:00 a.m. on ....