A stop is justified if the suspect is exhibiting any combination of the following behaviors:
Appears not to fit the time or place.
Matches the description on a “Wanted” flyer.
Acts strangely, or is emotional, angry, fearful, or intoxicated.
Loitering, or looking for something.
Running away or engaging in furtive movements.
Present in a crime scene area.
Present in a high-crime area (not sufficient by itself or with loitering).
A frisk is justified under the following circumstances:
Concern for the safety of the officer or of others.
Suspicion the suspect is armed and dangerous.
Suspicion the suspect is about to commit a crime where a weapon is commonly used.
Officer is alone and backup has not arrived.
Number of suspects and their physical size.
Behavior, emotional state, and/or look of suspects.
Suspect gave evasive answers during the initial stop.
Time of day and/or geographical surroundings (not sufficient by themselves to justify frisk).
I am not the sort of person who would totally NEUTER the police, leaving them helpless and unable to use their instincts to fight crime. That’s MAINLY what I pay my taxes for.
When used correctly, the stop and frisk tool benefits the police and average citizens. Curbing crime and ensuring the safety of our on-the-beat public servants, stop and frisk can help us all sleep a little more soundly.
Probable cause for a Constitutional search occurs when a policeman witnesses a crime or witnesses evidence of a crime.
For stop and frisk, this is reduced to “They didn’t belong” and “He seemed irritated when I stopped him.”
The Left’s new definition of personal rights is that those rights simply don’t exist outside of certain geographic confines, such as your home or place of worship.
A frisk is justified under the following circumstances:
Concern for the safety of the officer or of others.
in others words 100% of the time.
To go back to your original analogy.
If a cop witnesses you run a red light, he has witnessed a violation of the law and has a valid reason to stop you. If he sees 200 new cell phones in your back seat and 500 cell phones were just stolen from Radio Shack, he has probable cause to detain you.
If the cop witnesses you driving your sports car down the street, he has no reason to stop you based on his perception that you have a desire or capability to speed.