New York Criminal Attorney Blog
In the state of New York, case law is clear that police officers have the right to approach parked cars for any “objective, credible reason.” This gives officers significant leeway to at least approach vehicles that are stopped and parked. When, though, can the officer demand that the car’s occupant step out of the vehicle?
According to a New York case called People v. Eugenio:
“[w]here .. a vehicle is lawfully parked on the street and neither it nor its occupant is under any restraint, and the police have no grounds to suspect the occupant of criminality at that point, requesting the occupant to step out of the vehicle creates a new, unauthorized restraint.”
This means that an officer must reasonably “suspect criminality” before telling an occupant to step out of his parked car. Suspecting criminality means that the officer must have a legitimate reason to think that there is criminal activity afoot. If the officer does reasonably believe that there is a possibility of criminal activity, that officer can tell the occupant to exit the vehicle.
In a recent case before a New York court, the defendant successfully argued that an officer did not have reason to suspect criminality and therefore should not have required him to step out of his car. According to the facts of the case, the officers were investigating a possible firearm offense that had occurred five hours beforehand in a nearby apartment. Because the offense had taken place several hours before the officers approached the defendant’s car, and because the defendant was not allegedly involved in the offense, it was unfair for them to demand that the defendant leave his car.
Therefore, said the appellate court, there were grounds to suppress the incriminating evidence that the officers found in the defendant’s vehicle. The evidence should not have been part of the trial record because the police initiated the search of the car without reasonable grounds to do so. The evidence suppressed in this case was a loaded gun. This case was a win for the defendant, who successfully argued that police officers infringed on his right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure by forcing him out of his car without his consent.
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