Police officers can use what they witness or locate during searches as evidence of criminal activity. Occasionally, the desire to prove that a crime occurred can lead to officers violating the rights of individuals.
For example, police officers sometimes conduct inappropriate searches. Their behavior can lead to unfair criminal prosecution and also a more complicated legal case if the matter goes to trial. Defendants can sometimes fight pending charges by asserting that a violation of the law or their rights occurred. Physical searches of a person’s body are often how the state gathers evidence that a drug crime occurred. The law limits the scenarios in which officers can physically search a person.
When is a frisk or pat-down search appropriate?
When arresting an individual
Police officers who already have an arrest warrant or probable cause to take an individual into state custody can conduct a bodily search. Doing so is a standard part of the arrest procedure.
Otherwise, people could easily smuggle contraband and even weapons into state holding facilities. Officers who have already begun the arrest process typically have grounds to conduct a physical search of the person they have arrested.
When they suspect there may be a weapon
Officers can conduct a stop-and-frisk or Terry stop search in limited scenarios. They cannot racially profile people or search individuals just for being present in a neighborhood associated with high crime rates.
Instead, a warrantless search of an individual’s body typically requires credible suspicion that the individual might possess a dangerous weapon. Believing that an individual could possess drugs is typically not justification for a physical search of that person.
When they have permission
Police officers frequently ask for consent to work around the rules restricting their authority. If they can convince someone to give consent to a search during a one-on-one encounter in a public park or a traffic stop, they can then sidestep the rules limiting when and how they search.
People who are aware of their rights can make use of them when encountering police officers. They can also inform their defense attorneys that a violation of their rights occurred. Fighting drug charges may sometimes require raising questions about the conduct of officers attempting to gather evidence of criminal activity.