Leaked memo suggests low bar for police frisks
Azi Paybarah
A leaked legal memo written by an attorney for the city's Civilian Complaint Review Board suggests police can lawfully frisk a suspect when issuing a summons for any number of minor offenses.
The memo, written on January 28 by Brian Krist, the board's assistant deputy executive director of investigations, would appear to lower the bar for police frisks, allowing such a search even if the officer has no direct concern for his or her safety, and no reason to believe the suspect is carrying a weapon.
“New York is relatively clear that a police officer can frisk a suspect pursuant to lawfully issuing a summons for an offense other than a traffic infraction,” Krist wrote.
He went on to write that while courts have been “relatively clear that officers cannot conduct frisks” for a traffic summons, “a court is likely to determine that a frisk incident to a lawfully-issued summons for a non-traffic violation would be permitted under state and federal law.”
http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2014/05/8545624/leaked-memo-suggests-low-bar-police-frisks
