S.D.Tex.: Anonymous 911 call brought police to local store; seizures and patdowns were without RS

An anonymous 911 call about suspicious men in a small town store brought police. Because the town was small, it was easy to identify strangers, and the officers encountered them inside the store and brought them out. Ultimately there was a patdown, but the whole venture was without reasonable suspicion, and the evidence found on them and in their car is suppressed. United States v. Puga, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 220181 (S.D.Tex. Dec. 24, 2019)*:

Although the Court recognizes the difficult job that law-enforcement professionals voluntarily undertake, the Fourth Amendment does not permit them to detain individuals without specific and reasonable suspicion. When an anonymous tip does not establish reasonable suspicion, officers have “many tools at their disposal to gather additional evidence that could satisfy the requirements of Terry,” including “investigation, surveillance, and even approaching the suspect without a show of authority to pose questions and to make observations about the suspect’s conduct and demeanor.” United States v. Lowe, 791 F.3d 424, 435-36 (3d Cir. 2015). But in this case, law enforcement used an anonymous 911 call that vaguely reported “suspicious” behavior and possible littering to seize five people without further investigation. Defendant’s Motion to Suppress (Dkt. No. 53) is therefore GRANTED. All evidence that resulted from the unconstitutional seizures is hereby SUPPRESSED.