Citizen's Tip Satisfies Reasonable Suspicion Test
Thomas Jenson was charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of liquor or drugs. He moved to suppress the evidence prior to trial. The trial court denied Defendant's motion to suppress concluding that the police officers had a reasonable suspicion to believe that Defendant was driving under the influence of alcohol to justify the stop under U.S. v. Terry.
Defendant entered a conditional plea of nolo contendere and appealed. The Appellate Court affirmed the trial court's denial of Defendant's motion. The trial court found that a citizen's tip, a dark colored SUV repeatedly swerved and crossed the yellow line, combined with the officer's observation that Defendant was driving 15 mph in a 40 mph zone satisfied the test for reasonable suspicion.
Viewing the totality of the circumstances, the information provided to the officers was sufficiently corroborated to give the officers the necessary level of suspicion of operating while under the influence of liquor to justify the stop. Because the test for reasonable suspicion is an objective one, it was not improper for the court to consider all of the information available to the officers including their own observations of slow driving to conclude that the information that Defendant was driving erratically combined with the officers' own observations gave rise to a reasonable and articulable suspicion.
State v. Jensen
Connecticut Appellate Court
(AC 29035)
