STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLANT,
v.
BRENDA JOYCE WILLIAMS, APPELLEE
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Florida's reversal of Williams' conviction for carrying a concealed weapon because the search was consensual and the seizure by an off-duty officer acting in his official capacity required proper Fourth Amendment analysis rather than reliance on the private-search doctrine.
A seizure by an off-duty uniformed officer acting in his official capacity constitutes state action subject to Fourth Amendment scrutiny, and the trial court properly suppressed evidence where the defendant consented to the search.
[1] An off-duty uniformed police officer hired by a private establishment to work during off-duty hours acts as a state actor subject to Fourth Amendment constraints when sei…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Perhaps Brenda Williams should not have taken her gun to the dance, but she did.”
Opening statement establishing the facts of the case.
Brenda Williams attended the Psychedelic Shack, which posted a sign warning of searches of personal belongings and persons. She disclosed the contents…
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MANN, Chief Judge.
Perhaps Brenda Williams should not have taken her gun to the dance, but she did. There was a sign stating that those who attended the Psychedelic Shack would be subject to a search of their personal belongings, and of their persons. The appellee stood in line and disclosed the contents of her handbag to an employee of the establishment, who, observing a handgun therein called Sergeant Philmore, an off-duty but uniformed officer of the City of Tampa, who seized the weapon and arrested appel-lee. At the argument on the motion to suppress, as on the argument here, the State cited Burdeau v. McDowell, 256 U.S. 465, 41 S.Ct. 574, 65 L.Ed. 1048 (1921) to the effect that a seizure by a private person does not constitute a Fourth Amendment violation. This may well answer the question as to the search by the civilian employee, but not as to the seizure by the uniformed policeman hired by the management of the establishment to work during off-duty hours. We agree with the trial judge that Sergeant Philmore acted as an officer of the City of Tampa. The State should have argued the matter as one involving a search consented to by the defendant, which it most certainly was. Wé think this record will not support any conclusion except that Ms. Williams consented to a search which gave rise to the seizure of a concealed weapon.
Reversed and remanded.
HOBSON, J., and SCHWARTZ, ALAN R., Associate Judge, concur.
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State v. Robinson, 379 So. 2d 712 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980)…ce officer is authorized by Florida law during off-duty hours at the discretion of his superior officers to carry firearms and to perform those law enforcement functions that he normally performs during duty hours.3 In the case of State v. Williams, 297 So. 2d 52 (Fla. 2d DCA 1974), involving a situation where a uniformed city policeman hired by the management of a dance hall to work during off-duty hours seized a handgun from a handbag which a patron sought to carry into the dance hall and arrested the patr…
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McGIBIANY v. State, 399 So. 2d 125 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981)…gave no significance, that proved to be cocaine. The State does not dispute that Sgt. Dozier was acting as a law enforcement officer, though off-duty and employed by the hotel as a security guard, at the time of this search. See State v. Williams, 297 So. 2d 52 (Fla. 2d DCA 1974). In Sheff v. State, 301 So. 2d 13 (Fla. 1st DCA 1974), aff’d, 329 So. 2d 270 (Fla.1976), we held that a motel manager has no power by consent or invitation to waive a guest’s Fourth Amendment rights of privacy against unreasonable…
Authorities Cited
- Burdeau v. McDOWELL, 256 U.S. 465 (U.S. 1921)