Can a police officer briefly detain the companion of the subject of a search warrant?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Streeter, A148698 (Cal. App. 2017):
An officer may briefly detain the companion of the subject of a search warrant in order to protect officer safety, even if the companion is not the subject of the warrant or suspected of criminal activity. (See People v. Samples (1996) 48 Cal.App.4th 1197, 1206.) The officer may also protect his or her own safety by conducting a patdown search of persons who are close companions of the person who is the subject of the warrant. (Id. at pp. 1210-1211.) Although this case involves the execution of arrest warrants rather than a search warrant, the same officer safety concerns are implicated, particularly where, as here, the officer was conducting a search of appellant's vehicle incident to the arrest of the passenger in appellant's vehicle.
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In assessing whether a patsearch of a detained individual is lawful, we ask whether "a reasonably prudent [person] in the circumstances would be warranted in the belief that his [or her] safety or that of others was in danger." (Terry v. Ohio (1968) 392 U.S. 1, 27.) It is unnecessary for the officer to be "absolutely certain" the individual is armed. (Ibid.)
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