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Lancaster v. State3/28/2002
ppellant's safety and welfare. When the appellant said that he was cold, the officer told him he could warm up in the patrol car, but department policy required that he would first have to be "patted down" for weapons. The appellant did not verbally consent to be searched for weapons, but he manifested his consent by placing his hands on the patrol car to accommodate the search. The officer found two knives on the appellant, one in each of the appellant's coat pockets.
[ ] During the weapons search, the officer located the appellant's wallet, which he placed on the hood of the patrol car. Having removed the appellant's weapons, the officer looked in the wallet to attempt to determine the appellant's identity. He found a driver's license bearing the name James Norman Lancaster, which he recognized as the name of the Casper Police Department's homicide suspect. *fn16 At this point, despite the realization that he was, indeed, dealing with a murder suspect, the officer determined that he would not "lose my cool," but would "[maintain] a professional posture." He continued his conversation with the appellant about the cold weather and the appellant being soaked, once again inviting the appellant to warm up in the back seat of the patrol car. He told the appellant that he was not under arrest, but that department policy required anyone sitting in the back seat of the patrol car to be handcuffed. He then handcuffed the appellant "to the front" and placed him in the vehicle. *fn17 The officer contacted the Casper police to inform them that he had their suspect in custody. The officer did not question the appellant after he was handcuffed and placed in the patrol car. While the two men sat waiting for the Casper police, however, the appellant volunteered the statement that he had been drinking with some friends and that he had had a rough night.
[ ] Sometimes, it is helpful to analyze the reasonableness of police conduct by considering what it is society expects its police officers to do given certain circumstances. Here, an officer on routine patrol early in the morning after a cold, wet night, sees someone walking along a dirt road. The officer is aware of a murder the night before in neighboring Casper and he has been told to be on the lookout for the murder suspect, who is still at large. While he did not testify so directly, it is clear from the officer's testimony that it is unusual to find someone walking along the road at that place and time. Surely, the officer should not be expected to ignore the man and drive away. The officer's initial contact with the appellant was not unreasonable.
[ ] As the officer talked with the appellant, the appellant's appearance and conduct, detailed above, justified the further brief detention that resulted from the officer's continued questioning about the appellant's health and welfare. It is telling that, even when informed via dispatch that this man was likely not the homicide suspect, the officer continued to try to ascertain the appellant's condition and destination. Only upon discovery of what appeared to be blood on the appellant's shirt and discovery of the two knives did the encounter shift from a community caretaker function to an investigatory stop and then to an arrest. It was reasonable and appropriate as those events occurred for the officer to determine the appellant's true identity. Viewing the totality of the circumstances of this case, we conclude that the contact was justified at its inception, that articulable facts have been shown to justify the intrusive measures taken by the officer during the encounter, and that probable cause existed at the time the appellant was arrested.
[ ] Perhaps a final word or two should be said about the o
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