Lonnie was riding his bike through a residential neighborhood. He failed to stop for a stop sign and barely avoided a collision with a car. Officer Mertz stopped Lonnie with the intent to warn him that he had violated a section in the Vehicle Code that applies to bicyclists. Once Officer Mertz got out of her car, she smelled a strong odor of marijuana. She asked Lonnie if he had been smoking marijuana. He said yes. She ordered Lonnie to put his hands on the patrol car and patted him down. She found a switchblade knife in his pants pocket. After she found the switchblade, she arrested him and did a thorough search of Lonnie and his fanny pack. She found a bag containing approximately 50 grams of cocaine in the fanny pack. Did Officer Mertz have the right to conduct a pat-down of Lonnie?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Officer Mertz did not have reasonable suspicion that Lonnie was armed or dangerous, which is required to justify a pat-down search under the Terry v. Ohio decision. The mere smell of marijuana does not provide reasonable suspicion that a person is armed.

Lonnie Was Riding His Bike Through a Residential Neighborhood