This is the first part of a multi-part series on police interactions. Of course, this is very general information and each situation will be different. Hopefully this information will be useful for general knowledge purposes. However, if you have been arrested, or have had what you believe was an improper contact with the police, you should contact our office to discuss your potential remedies or defenses.*
Before I went to law school I believed that if the police stopped me, I pretty much had to do anything they asked me to do. Fortunately, that is not the case. One of the first questions people ask regarding interactions with the police is: “Do I have to consent to a search of my person or vehicle if the police ask to search it.” The unequivocal answer is no. If an officer asks for your permission to search your vehicle, the request is exactly that, a request.
Which leads to the next question: “So, when can the police search me or my vehicle without my consent?” The answer is: That depends (which by the way is usually the answer you will get when you ask a lawyer anything). Each interaction with the police is governed by different standards as to what they can and can’t do to you.
Georgia recognizes three distinct levels or tiers of police-citizen encounters. The first-tier involves verbal communications which involve no coercion or detention; the second-tier involves brief stops or seizures which must be accompanied by a reasonable articulable suspicion; and the third-tier involves arrests which can only be supported by probable cause. [1]Each of these “tiers” of encounters has different rules regarding how the police can engage you and what the consequences of your interaction with them will be.
A typical first-tier encounter would be an officer simply approaching a person on a public street and asking them questions. Another example of a first-tier encounter would be an officer approaching a stopped vehicle and inquiring why the vehicle is in the area or asking other questions. [2]In the first-tier encounter, the officer can ask you personal information, ask to see identification, and/or ask to search you. To do this they do not need to have any basis or belief that you are involved in criminal activity so long as the police do not detain you or convey the message that you cannot leave. [3]
Of course, since this type of interaction is voluntary, you do not have to answer any questions or otherwise cooperate with the police. However, if the police stop or prevent you from leaving, then this type of interaction becomes a second or third tier encounter and must be supported by reasonable articulable suspicion or probable cause. What is reasonable articulable suspicion and probable cause? Those are questions I will answer in my next posts.
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