Commonwealth v. Hill

570 S.E.2d 805 (2002)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Officer Fromme received a dispatch based on an anonymous telephone call, stating that two black males were 'possibly dealing firearms' in front of a green house in the 400 block of Briggs Street. Officer Fromme saw D sitting in the driver's seat of a car, which had the driver's side door opened and was parked in front of a green house in the 400 block of Briggs Street. There was no suspicious activity as they approached the car. D and his companion did not attempt to run away and D complied with the officers' request that he get out of the car. Officer Fromme explained that he had received a complaint about two suspects 'possibly dealing weapons,' and that, for reasons concerning safety, he wanted to 'pat them down' to determine whether they carried any firearms. Fromme 'patted down' D's left side without encountering any resistance. As Fromme attempted to 'pat down' D's right side, Fromme noticed a bulge in the right pocket of D's pants. D pushed Fromme's hand away in an attempt to prevent him from 'patting down' that pocket. Officer Fromme again told D that he only wanted to determine whether D carried any weapons. As Fromme reached toward the right pocket of D's pants, D placed his hand in that pocket. When Fromme grabbed D's hand and removed it from the pocket, D turned and tried to run away. D struck the officer in the mouth with his open hand, splitting Fromme's lip. All three officers struggled with D in an attempt to force him to the ground and restrain him. During the struggle, D struck Fromme 'a couple of times' before the officers were able to place D in handcuffs. The right pocket contained a plastic baggie with about 0.17 grams of cocaine. In D's right hand was a film canister containing five 'rocks' of crack cocaine, which weighed a total of 5.01 grams. There was no weapon. D filed a motion to suppress the seized evidence on the ground that his detention was illegal because Officer Fromme did not have reasonable suspicion that D was armed and dangerous or was involved in any criminal activity. D testified that he 'accidentally hit' Fromme while attempting to run away. The court found D guilty of the felonious assault. The Supreme Court published Florida v. J.L., 529 U.S. 266, 146 L. Ed. 2d 254, 120 S.Ct. 1375 (2000). 'An anonymous tip lacking indicia of reliability . . . does not justify a stop and frisk whenever and however it alleges the illegal possession of a firearm.' D filed a motion to set aside his conviction. The court denied the motion. On appeal, D argued that his conviction should be reversed 'because he used reasonable force to repel an illegal arrest.' The Court of Appeals concluded that D was the subject of an illegal detention, not an illegal arrest. The Court held that the common law doctrine allowing an individual to use reasonable force to resist an illegal arrest applies also to a detainee's efforts to resist an illegal detention. The Court reversed D's conviction and dismissed the indictment. P appealed.