D.Neb.: Consensual encounter still requires RS for frisk, which the officer had

“Applying these principles to the facts of this case, the Court finds Moreno’s encounter with the officers was consensual until Sergeant Meola, without Moreno’s consent, initiated a protective frisk by touching Moreno’s outer clothing and the bulge he saw under her shirt. At that point, the encounter became ‘a search and a seizure for Fourth Amendment purposes,’ requiring reasonable suspicion for the frisk. Gray, 213 F.3d at 1000. When Sergeant Meola handcuffed Moreno and moved her to the back of the station, she was admittedly under arrest—which, in this case, required probable cause. See, e.g., Ross v. City of Jackson, 897 F.3d 916, 920 (8th Cir. 2018) (‘[A] constitutional violation occurs when there is a warrantless arrest that is not supported by probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed.’). The key questions, then, are whether Sergeant Meola had reasonable suspicion to frisk Moreno and probable cause to arrest her. The Court concludes he did.” United States v. Moreno, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 69458 (D. Neb. Apr. 24, 2019).

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