CA6: When it is apparent driver of a stopped car is not the person the police want, they have to let him go

While the officer had reasonable suspicion to pursue and stop defendant’s car, once they saw he was not the person identified in the radio report, he had to be let go. His subsequent crime, however, revived the reasonable suspicion, and a gun found in plain view was admissible. United States v. Galaviz, 645 F.3d 347, 2011 FED App. 0115P (6th Cir. 2011):

Although we agree that Webber had reasonable suspicion to pursue Galaviz’s car and to stop it to investigate whether it was the car involved in the robbery, once Webber observed Galaviz’s physical features and saw that he was a Hispanic male, and thus did not match the description of the robbery suspect as a black male or black female, the reasonableness of the suspicion was undermined. Indeed, Webber testified at the suppression hearing that Galaviz “looked like a Hispanic male,” and that he was able to clearly identify him as such in the available light. Webber further conceded that, because the robbery suspect identified in the radio transmissions was a black male or black female, identifying Galaviz as a Hispanic male constituted conclusive information that he was not a suspect in the robbery. See United States v. Jackson, 188 F. App’x 403, 410 (6th Cir. 2006) (unpublished) (holding that, even if police had probable cause to stop defendant’s car based on purported similarity to the suspect’s vehicle, they should have immediately released him once they saw that his “physical appearance differed significantly from that of the suspect”).

Officers had reasonable suspicion that a particular Nissan would be carrying drugs. While the car was described as black and this one was dark green, the court does not find that material enough a mistake to undermine the reasonable suspicion. United States v. Benavides-Garcia, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48644 (N.D. Ga. March 28, 2011).*