Pat Down Procedure and Standard - Essay Example

The court ruling was that it was lawful for Trevizo to have conducted the pat-down since she had reasonable suspicion that Johnson was armed and dangerous.

Once a police officer stops a vehicle for any kind of traffic offense, the basic standards as set out in Terry v Ohio must be followed. The first Terry condition stipulates that a traffic stop begins at the point when the vehicle is stopped and ends when the officer conducting the investigation tells the occupants that they can go. In Arizona v. Johnson, the standard that should be followed to an officer’s pat-down of a passenger during a traffic stop is based on whether the officer reasonably suspects that the individual in question is armed and dangerous. The law does not require the officer conducting the investigation during a traffic stop to have a search warrant. His suspicion of the driver and/or passenger being armed and dangerous is enough to warrant a pat-down. However, if the officer does not suspect the vehicle occupants of being armed and dangerous, then it would not be lawful to conduct a pat-down as doing so would be infringing on the individual’s constitutional rights.