Can the Police Order You to Exit Your Car Before a K-9 Search?

In 2015, the United States Supreme Court held in Rodriguez v. United States that “[a]bsent reasonable suspicion, police extension of a traffic stop in order to conduct a drug sniff violates the Constitution’s shield against unreasonable seizures.” In other words, if an officer pulls you over to issue a traffic ticket, the officer cannot make you wait around until a K-9 unit arrives to sniff your vehicle for possible drugs, unless the police independently develop a legitimate reason to turn the traffic stop into a drug investigation.

Florida Supreme Court: K-9 Officer’s Arrival Mid-Traffic Ticket Did Not “Prolong” Stop

But what if the K-9 officer arrives in the middle of another officer issuing a traffic ticket? Can the K-9 officer conduct a drug sniff–and order the driver to exit their vehicle–without violating the Supreme Court’s Rodriguez decision? According to a recent Florida Supreme Court decision, the answer to this question is “yes.”

The case before the Florida Supreme Court, State v. Creller, began when a Tampa Police Department narcotics officer observed the defendant committing a traffic violation. The officer, who was undercover at the time, then radioed a second officer to initiate a traffic stop.

The two officers approached the defendant and asked for permission to search his vehicle. The defendant refused, as was his constitutional right. A third officer was then called to the scene to write up the traffic ticket, as the two officers did not have the necessary software to process the citation.

A fourth officer–a K-9 officer–then arrived at the scene. The K-9 officer asked the defendant if he had any illegal contraband. The defendant said no. The defendant then refused a second request for consent to search his vehicle. The K-9 officer then decided to have his dog sniff the exterior of the defendant’s vehicle. The officer asked the defendant to exit his vehicle as an officer safety measure. The defendant refused, leading to his arrest on charges of resisting an officer without violence. The subsequent K-9 sniff further revealed the presence of a controlled substance in the defendant’s vehicle and an additional drug possession charge.

The issue before the Florida Supreme Court was whether the police officers’ actions violated the defendant’s Fourth Amendment rights, and more specifically the U.S. Supreme Court’s Rodriguez decision. The Florida Supreme Court found the police did nothing wrong. The Florida court explained that Rodriguez applied to situations where the police prolonged a traffic stop without reasonable suspicion of other criminal activity. In this case, however, the police were still in the middle of processing the defendant’s traffic ticket when the K-9 officer lawfully ordered the defendant to exit his vehicle to facilitate the dog sniff. As such, the police did not illegally prolong the traffic stop and the K-9 officer’s actions “did not convert the stop into a narcotics investigation, even though narcotics were discovered.”

Contact Asilia Law Firm Today

Whenever you are pulled over by law enforcement, remember that you do not have to answer any questions about where you are going or what may–or may not–be in your vehicle. And if you are arrested and charged with a crime, you also have the right to speak with a qualified Miami drug possession attorney. Call the Asilia Law Firm in Miami today at (786) 420-3014 to schedule an initial consultation with a member of our team.

Source:

scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=15727399784564890975