The Supreme Court has held that when police stop an automobile based on reasonable suspicion, they may search the passenger compartment for weapons, assuming they have reason to believe that a suspect is dangerous.

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This is known as the "automobile exception" to the Fourth Amendment's warrant requirement, established in the 1981 Supreme Court case of Michigan v. Long. In this case, the Court held that if police officers have a reasonable belief that the suspect is dangerous, they may conduct a search of the passenger compartment of a stopped car, including any containers that could contain a weapon.

The Supreme Court Has Held That When Police Stop an Automobile