Indictment Dismissed Due to Lack of Reasonable Suspicion
On the evening of November 12, 2020, four Queens police officers were engaged in a routine patrol in an unmarked car. There was no indication at the suppression hearing that the officers were patrolling a high-crime area and the officers had not received any reports of suspicious activity or about Mr. Bryant.
The officers saw Mr. Bryant walking in a residential area, make a number of turns onto a street and up a driveway, and walking across a lawn. Although there was no indication that Mr. Bryant was carrying any tools or weapons related to a theft, the testifying officer believed Mr. Bryant “appeared . . . to be casing the driveways.” The officers exited the unmarked car and Mr. Bryant immediately took flight. After a pursuit, during which an officer believed he heard “a loud metal object smack on the cement,” Mr. Bryant was taken into custody. A gun was subsequently recovered and Mr. Bryant made several statements. The suppression court denied the motion to suppress the gun and his statements.
The Appellate Division reversed. The Court determined that Mr. Bryant’s actions of walking up and down driveways and across a lawn were susceptible of many innocent interpretations. Significantly, the officers did not observe him looking into any houses or backyards and did not see him carrying or attempting to conceal any tools or weapons. Because the police lacked reasonable suspicion to pursue Mr. Bryant, the pursuit was unlawful, the gun and statements should have been suppressed, and the indictment was dismissed.
Sarah B. Cohen represented Mr. Bryant