When is an officer allowed to conduct a frisk?

An officer is allowed to conduct a frisk when a person is lawfully detained and the officer has a reasonable suspicion that the person may be armed and dangerous. This principle stems from the legal standard established in cases such as Terry v. Ohio, where the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a brief stop and frisk is permissible if the officer has specific, articulable facts that suggest a person is involved in criminal activity and may pose a threat to the officer's safety or the safety of others.

The law mandates that the officer must have a lawful reason for the detention—this means the individual cannot be stopped randomly without cause. The suspicion about the individual being armed adds an additional layer of justification for the frisk, allowing officers to ensure their own safety while performing their duties. This carefully balanced approach seeks to protect individual rights while also allowing law enforcement to take necessary precautions in potentially dangerous situations.

Other choices, such as conducting a frisk only during nighttime traffic stops or solely if multiple officers are present, misrepresent the legal standards. The conduct of a frisk is not contingent on the time of day or the number of officers present but rather on the specific circumstances surrounding the detention and the officer’s reasonable sense of threat. Finally, the notion that an officer can perform