In prosecution on unlawful possession of firearm charge, Dist. Ct. did not err in denying defendant’s motion to suppress firearm that police discovered during on-street confrontation, where defendant was bystander to fight involving other individuals. Record showed that: (1) defendant left scene of fight in high crime area upon arrival of police officer; (2) defendant refused to stop after repeated directives from police officer to do so; and (3) defendant refused to remove his right hand from his pocket when directed to do so and turned his body in manner that officer reasonably believed that defendant was hiding weapon. As such, officer could seize defendant by then placing his hand on defendant’s shoulder due to officer's reasonable belief that defendant was about to use physical force and then arrest defendant once gun fell to ground after officer had used Taser on him.
Federal 7th Circuit Court
Criminal Court
Search and Seizure