HENRY LEE KEY, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Henry Lee Key appeals the denial of his motion to suppress evidence obtained during a Terry stop. The court reverses, holding that the arresting officer lacked founded suspicion to conduct the stop because the description of a fleeing black male bicyclist was too vague and could have applied to many people at the parade.
The court held that the BOLO was too vague to warrant a stop because the general description could have applied to many people at the lengthy parade route, the officer did not know if any offense was suspected, and a person voluntarily approaching an officer for help was unlikely to be the same person who fled an hour earlier. The court reversed and remanded with instructions to dismiss all charges.
[1] A Terry stop is not justified when the description of a suspect is so vague that it could apply to numerous individuals present at a large public event.
[2] A BOLO (Be On the Lookout) that only states a person fled from an officer, without specifying any suspected offense, is insufficient to establish founded suspicion for a…
Previewing 2 of 5 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“We conclude that the BOLO was too vague under these circumstances to warrant a stop.”
Establishes the core holding that the radio description lacked sufficient specificity to justify the Terry stop.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceDuring the Edison Pageant of Light Parade in Fort Myers on February 18, 1989, Officer Chitwood heard a radio broadcast that police should look for a b…
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ALTENBERND, Judge.
Henry Lee Key appeals the denial of his dispositive motion to suppress evidence. Following the denial of his motion, he pleaded nolo contendere to the charges of carrying a concealed firearm, possessing cannabis, and resisting an officer without violence, and reserved the right to appeal. The trial court entered an order withholding adjudication and placing the defendant on probation. We reverse the order because the arresting officer did not have a founded suspicion to justify a Terry stop. § 901.151, Fla.Stat. (1987).
On the evening of February 18, 1989, the Edison Pageant of Light Parade was held in Fort Myers, Florida. Thousands of people participated in the event. A number of police officers were assigned to patrol the parade route. During the evening, an officer announced over the police radio that the police should be on the lookout for a black male bicyclist who had fled from the officer. Officer Chitwood heard this broadcast. If any additional information was provided, Officer Chitwood was unable to hear it because of the noise of the crowd.
About an hour later, Mr. Key peddled his bicycle up to Officer Chitwood and asked how to leave the parade route without disrupting the parade. A highway patrolman who was standing with Officer Chitwood reminded him that the police were looking for a black male on a bicycle. Since Mr. Key is black and was on a bicycle, Officer Chitwood decided to conduct a stop and frisk. During the frisk, the officer discovered a derringer and three marijuana cigarettes. Mr. Key also resisted the officer without violence.
We conclude that the BOLO was too vague under these circumstances to warrant a stop. Strong v. State, 495 So. 2d 191 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986), review denied, 503 So. 2d 328, cert. denied, 481 U.S. 1049, 107 S.Ct. 2180, 95 L.Ed.2d 837 (1987). The arresting officer had such a general description of the suspect that it could have applied to many people along the lengthy parade route. From the BOLO, the arresting officer only knew that a person had fled from an officer. He did not even know if the person identified in the BOLO was suspected of committing any offense. If anything, a man who voluntarily approaches an officer to ask for help is not likely to be the same person who fled from another officer an hour earlier. Since the stop was unlawful and since Mr. Key did not resist the officer with violence, the charge of resisting an officer should also be dismissed. Johnson v. State, 395 So. 2d 594 (Fla. 2d DCA 1981); In re T.M.M., 560 So. 2d 805 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990); Lee v. State, 368 So. 2d 395 (Fla. 3d DCA), cert. denied, 378 So. 2d 349 (Fla.1979).
Accordingly, we reverse and remand with instructions to discharge Mr. Key on these offenses.
HALL, A.C.J., and PARKER, J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- LEE v. State, 368 So. 2d 395 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979)
- Johnson v. State, 395 So. 2d 594 (Fla. 2d DCA 1981)
- In the Interest of T.M.M., 560 So. 2d 805 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990)
- City of McKeesport v. Cunningham, 481 U.S. 1049 (U.S. 1987)
- State Line Delivery Serv., Inc. v. Rivera, 481 U.S. 1049 (U.S. 1987)
- Strong v. State, 495 So. 2d 191 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986)