Analyzing a Police Encounters with a Suspect Essay -- Case Study, Exig

A police officer is required to have probable cause to stop a vehicle, which can be, but not limited to a traffic violation, equipment violation, or simply suspicious activity. A frisk of the occupants of a vehicle is justified if the police officer has reasonable suspicion that the occupants are armed and dangerous. In this essay, I will identify the levels of police encounter involved in the case study. I will describe the legal requirements needed to justify each encounter. I will analyze the facts in the case study against each level of encounter to determine if Officer Smith was justified. In the scenario presented in the case study, Officer Smith is on routine patrol at night when she notices the vehicle in front of her appears to have a broken tail light, but covered with colored tape. Officer Smith instructs the driver to pull the vehicle to the side of the road. In the 1996, Whren v. United States despite the prevailing circumstances and the personal opinion of the officer whether the occupant of a vehicle is involved in some other illegal activities, a traffic stop is legitimate as long as another logical officer would have stopped the vehicle for the same traffic violation (The Oyez Project at llT Chicago-Kent College of Law, 2013). The law varies on the broken tail light from state to state. In general, as long as the tail light does not show a bright glaring light and the tail light is operational then it is not a traffic law violation (Leagle, 2013). With that being duly noted, Officer Smith does not have reasonable suspicion to make the initial stop of this vehicle (Carden, 2013). In the case study, as Officer Smith walks to the driver side of the vehicle; she recalls that a car fitting the gene... ... 1 June 2015. http://www.georgiacriminaldefense.com/georgiaattemptingtoeludeapoliceofficer.html Leagle. (2013). Vicknair v. State. Web. 1 June 2015. http://www.leagle.com/decision/1983956670SW2d286_1945 Legal Information Institute. (n.d.). Exigent circumstances. Web. 1 June 2015. http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/exigent_circumstances National Paralegal College. (2007). Exceptions to the warrant requirement. Web. 1 June 2015. http://nationalparalegal.edu/conlawcrimproc_public/protectionfromsearches&seizures/extowarrantreq.asp Nolo. (2013). Your rights during a traffic stop. Web. 1 June 2015. http://www.lawfirms.com/resources/criminal-defense/traffic-tickets/your-rights-during-a-traffic-stop.htm The Oyez Project at llT Chicago-Kent College of Law. (2013). Whren v. United States. Web. 1 June 2015. http://www.oyez.org/cases/1990-1999/1995/1995_95_5841