I don’t think it’s reasonable for cops to assume a phone contains a hidden gun. But it’s not unreasonable for them to examine a phone, or other stuff someone they have stopped might be carrying, for possible hidden weapons.
For example, there are a lot of belt buckle knives out there.
I haven’t seen any smartphones that can fire bullets, but I don’t see any particular reason it should be impossible to build one. Though it probably would be a smartphone case with a concealed gun. I doubt it would be functional any longer as a phone.
See post 32. This is going down a very dangerous road. Exactly how far do we really want to take “I though that they had a weapon”?
“I don’t think it’s reasonable for cops to assume a phone contains a hidden gun.”
I agree with you. But there actually is a stun device that looks like a smart phone. It’s the “I-stun”. Then, there’s the credit card knife. Cops can sit around all day and think up very low probability threats as a justification to arrest or shoot you.
Show me the man, and I’ll find you the crime. L. Beria, NKVD.