FL1: ‘conduct does not need to be illegal (or acted upon if so) to be suspicious’ on the totality

“In fact, ‘conduct does not need to be illegal (or acted upon if so) to be suspicious.’ Weakley v. State, 273 So. 3d 283, 286 (Fla. 1st DCA 2019) (observing that in District of Columbia v. Wesby, 138 S. Ct. 577, 588 (2018), the Supreme Court explained that ‘the whole is often greater than the sum of its parts-especially when the parts are viewed in isolation’ and that the ‘totality-of-the-circumstances test “precludes this sort of divide-and-conquer analysis.”’ Here, the collection of facts was reasonable suspicion on the totality. Calhoun v. State, 2020 Fla. App. LEXIS 18619 (Fla. 1st DCA Dec. 30, 2020):

Even [though defendant likely was seized], the stop was justified because multiple seemingly innocent factors, when analyzed collectively through the lens of Sokolow and Weakley, provided the deputies with reasonable suspicion. The deputies knew that a convenience store clerk called 911 to report what he believed was a drug deal taking place behind his building at 5:30 in the morning. And they knew that it was an area known for criminal activity based on their regular patrols, responding to crimes that included burglaries, home invasions, robberies, drug activity, and loitering. They responded to the 911 call within minutes and saw the SUV still parked in the car wash stall furthest from the street, but no one was washing it and the ground was dry. As one of the deputies approached Calhoun, he saw a bulge in his pocket and Calhoun appeared nervous and seemed to be looking for a way out.

In short, the deputies saw unusual activity at an unusual hour in a location known for ongoing problems with drugs and loitering. …