KELVIN EUGENE WILSON, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Wilson appealed the denial of his motion to suppress evidence obtained during a pat-down search at a bar. The Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed the denial, holding that the officer's observations of Wilson's furtive hand movements toward his waistband justified a brief investigatory stop and frisk under the circumstances.
The court held that the facts, viewed through the officer's 14 years of experience, were sufficient to justify a brief investigatory stop and frisk. Wilson's unusual and suspicious behavior—including the furtive hand movement and evasive action—provided reasonable grounds for the search.
[1] A police officer may conduct a brief investigatory stop and frisk when a person takes evasive action upon spotting the officer and makes a furtive hand movement towards t…
[2] A furtive hand movement towards the front of one's pants, combined with evasive action upon seeing a police officer, can be considered suspicious and potentially dangerou…
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Wilson's movements could have reasonably been considered by the officer to conceal or retrieve a weapon, and the officer's reaction thereto was therefore reasonable.”
Establishes the legal standard for reasonable officer reaction to perceived threat of weapon during investigatory stop.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceOn March 14, 1989, Officer Taylor conducted a walk-through of Reno's Bar, known for violent crimes. When Wilson exited a bathroom and spotted the offi…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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PER CURIAM.
Kelvin E. Wilson has appealed from the denial of his motion to suppress following a plea of nolo contendere to a charge of possession with the intent to sell cocaine. We affirm.
On the evening of March 14, 1989, Officer Wesley Taylor, of the Ft. Pierce Police Department, was conducting a general walk through of Reno’s Bar, a bar with a reputation for violent crimes. Officer Taylor was alone when he encountered Wilson as Wilson exited the bathroom at the rear of the bar and proceeded to walk down the hallway. Officer Taylor observed Wilson take quick, evasive action after he spotted the officer. Wilson quickly turned and briskly walked back towards the restroom. As he was turning, Officer Taylor observed a suspicious and potentially dangerous act. Wilson made a sudden, furtive hand movement to the front area of his pants as if he was going for a gun. Taylor was concerned for his safety and the safety of others. Under these circumstances, Wilson’s movements could have reasonably been considered by the officer to conceal or retrieve a weapon, and the officer’s reaction thereto was therefore reasonable. State v. Patrick, 437 So. 2d 217, 218 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983).
We hold that the above facts taken together and viewed through Officer Taylor’s fourteen years experience as a police officer were sufficient to justify a brief investigatory stop and frisk. See Tamer v. State, 484 So. 2d 583 (Fla.1986). See also Cheatem v. State, 416 So. 2d 35 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982); Curry v. State, 532 So. 2d 1316 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988). This case is distinguishable from Ruddack v. State, 537 So. 2d 701 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989). In that case, this court ruled that the observations of police officers, on general patrol in a “high crime” area, that a defendant moved his hand behind his back was insufficient to serve as a factual basis to detain the defendant or search for a weapon where there was nothing suspicious about the defendant or his conduct, nor were there any unusual circumstances. This case presents the additional element that appellant’s behavior was unusual and suspicious.
AFFIRMED.
HERSEY, C.J., and WALDEN, J., concur. STONE, J., dissenting with opinion.
STONE, Judge,
dissenting.
In my judgment the defendant’s conduct and the circumstances here do not reasonably support and justify a stop and frisk. I would reverse. Cf. Ybarra v. Illinois, 444 U.S. 85, 100 S.Ct. 338, 62 L.Ed.2d 238 (1979), reh’g. denied, 444 U.S. 1049, 100 S.Ct. 741, 62 L.Ed.2d 737 (1980); Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968); Ruddack v. State, 537 So. 2d 701 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989); Kearse v. State, 384 So. 2d 272 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980); Walker v. State, 514 So. 2d 1149 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987); Johnson v. State, 547 So. 2d 699 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989).
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Brown v. State, 714 So. 2d 1191 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998)…is waistband while looking at the officer. See id. at 671. Unlike the instant ease, there was no furtive movement or concealing action from the officers, and the officers had no independent knowledge of the suspect. More on point is Wilson v. State, 569 So. 2d 516 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990), in which this court approved a stop and frisk where the defendant made a sudden furtive movement to the front area of his pants as if reaching for a gun. This fact, viewed through the officer’s fourteen years experience, was suf…
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Alexander v. State, 693 So. 2d 670 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997)…380 (Fla.1983); Richardson v. State, 599 So. 2d 703 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992); Daniels v. State, 543 So. 2d 363 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989), together with two opinions from this district, Joseph v. State, 647 So. 2d 1038 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994), and Wilson v. State, 569 So. 2d 516 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990), are either distinguishable or otherwise support reversal. In Lightboume, the court upheld a pat down search during a consensual encounter based on the defendant’s furtive conduct. However, in Lightboume, the officer’s initial c…
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Joseph v. State, 647 So. 2d 1038 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994)…s sufficient to support a conclusion that the officers’ reactions were reasonable and that the totality of the circumstances justified a brief stop and frisk. See e.g. Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968); Wilson v. State, 569 So. 2d 516 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990), rev. denied, 581 So. 2d 168 (Fla.1991); State v. Patrick, 437 So. 2d 217 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983); Brezial v. State, 416 So. 2d 818 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982); Poole v. State, 639 So. 2d 96 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994). See also State v. Stevens, 35…
Authorities Cited (13 total)
- Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (U.S. 1968)
- Ybarra v. Illinois, 444 U.S. 85 (U.S. 1979)
- Tamer v. State, 484 So. 2d 583 (Fla. 1986)
- Newman v. State, 384 So. 2d 272 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980)
- Walker v. State, 514 So. 2d 1149 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987)
- Amin Ruddack v. State, 537 So. 2d 701 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989)
- Johnson v. State, 547 So. 2d 699 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989)
- Curry v. State, 532 So. 2d 1316 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988)
- State v. Patrick, 437 So. 2d 217 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983)
- Cheatem v. State, 416 So. 2d 35 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982)