CA1: Defendant was not stopped by an officer pulling up driving the wrong way on a one-way street
FourthAmendment.com:
Officers who drove the wrong way on a street to encounter the defendant did not actually “stop” him. The situation was non-coercive and di dnot become a stop until defendant mentioned that he had a gun. The First Circuit explains the law of stops in detail, just to show that this was not a “stop.” United States v. Ford, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 23087 (1st Cir. November 5, 2008):
Applying this precedent to the instant case, we decline to hold that the Officers seized Ford before he disclosed that he was in possession of a firearm. See Mendenhall, 446 U.S. at 555 (rejecting proposition that making statements contrary to one’s self-interest necessarily indicates involuntary submission). The Officers, like those in Cardoza, drove a short distance the wrong way on Gleason Street for the purpose of asking Ford questions but activated neither the cruiser’s siren or flashing lights. Their questions were largely general and non-threatening, like those in Smith. Throughout the brief encounter, until Ford’s incriminating statement, the Officers did not draw their guns or touch Ford.
At the onset of the interaction, Ford approached the cruiser and provided his driver’s license voluntarily. While the Officers retained the license during the two- to three-minute exchange, they did not otherwise restrict Ford’s movement.
(Comment: If an officer approaches you from the wrong way and a one-way street and looks at you and stops, he expects you to stop. If you did not, he likely would have then activated his blue lights, but the situation is rife with coercion to stop. Given that, you just can’t leave without consequences.)
State court action which included a challenge to search and seizure of plaintiff precluded claim in federal court over the same issue. Giragosian v. Ryan, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 23082 (1st Cir. November 10, 2008).*
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