CA6: Officer lacked reasonable suspicion for stop, and trial court’s finding of fact was clearly erroneous

Officer lacked reasonable suspicion for stop, and trial court’s finding of fact was clearly erroneous. The fact he left a drug house and had handed something to another alone was not reasonable suspicion. United States v. Blair, 524 F.3d 740 (6th Cir. 2008):

a. Terry Stop Based on Time, Area, and Known Drug House

The question remains whether the late hour and high-crime area justify a Terry stop. We hold they do not. That a given locale is well known for criminal activity will not by itself justify a Terry stop, although it may be taken into account with other factors. Martin, 289 F.3d at 397 (citing Wardlow, 528 U.S. at 123). The only other factor to consider here is that the stop occurred at night. A late hour can contribute to reasonable suspicion; however, our cases so holding typically involve a much later hour than that involved here. See United States v. Caruthers, 458 F.3d 459, 467 (6th Cir. 2006) (discussing a stop that took place at 1:20 a.m.); United States v. Bailey, 302 F.3d 652, 659 (6th Cir. 2002) (addressing a stop that took place at 1:00 a.m.). Blair was stopped at approximately 10:30 p.m., an hour not late enough to arouse suspicion of criminal activity. Accordingly, Officer Holmes did not have reasonable suspicion to suspect Blair of criminal activity simply because he was driving in a bad neighborhood at 10:30 at night.

b. Terry Stop Based on Hand-to-Hand Transaction

The district court also found that Officer Holmes had reasonable suspicion that Blair was involved in drug activity based on “some evidence that Officer Holmes knew of the hand-to-hand transaction prior to the traffic stop.” This Court finds the district court’s conclusion of fact on this issue clearly erroneous.

Officers Munday and Holmes offered contradictory testimony regarding when Officer Holmes learned of the hand-to-hand transaction. Officer Munday testified that as soon as he saw
the transaction, he informed Officer Holmes. Officer Holmes, on the other hand, testified that he did not hear of the hand-to-hand transaction until after the stop occurred. Although Officer Holmes suggested that he and Officer Munday were communicating before the stop, Officer Holmes was unequivocal regarding when he learned of the hand-to-hand transaction: after the stop. Therefore, even viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, this Court finds that Officer Holmes did not know of the hand-to-hand transaction prior to the traffic stop. Consequently, the transaction could not provide reasonable suspicion for Officer Holmes to stop Blair.