KS: Welfare check turned into unreasonable seizure without RS

The officer was called to a convenience store for a welfare check of a woman inside who apparently was sick. When she finally came out, she was fine and appeared fine, but the officer, for no apparent reason, escalated the encounter to ask for her ID so he could run it for warrants. “The law does not permit the State to use the information potentially available from NCIC to rationalize an otherwise unlawful search or seizure.” “Officer Kent’s investigatory detention of Ellis exceeded the scope of the welfare check-the only constitutionally authorized encounter in this case. As such, the encounter violated Ellis’ rights under the federal and Kansas Constitutions.” State v. Ellis, 2019 Kan. App. LEXIS 81 (Nov. 15, 2019).

The evidence supports the trial court’s conclusion that defendant consented to taking a surveillance recording. State v. Shakhmanov, 2019-Ohio-4705, 2019 Ohio App. LEXIS 4770 (2d Dist. Nov. 15, 2019).*

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