What constitutes a police encounter with an individual and what constitutes a detention?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Brueckner, 223 Cal.App.3d 1500, 273 Cal.Rptr. 292 (Cal. App. 1990):

Three different categories of police interactions with individuals exist, ranging from the least to the most intrusive: the consensual encounter, which results in no restraint on liberty and for which the police officer needs no objective justification; the detention, a seizure strictly limited in duration, scope and purpose justified by the officer's articulable suspicion the individual has committed or is about to commit a crime; and arrest, the most intrusive contact, for which the officer must have probable cause. (Florida v. Royer (1982) 460 U.S. 491, 497-500, 103 S.Ct. 1319, 1323-1326, 75 L.Ed.2d 229; Wilson v. Superior Court (1983) 34 Cal.3d 777, 784, 195 Cal.Rptr. 671, 670 P.2d 325.) An encounter becomes a detention when a reasonable person would believe he or she is not free to leave. (Wilson v. Superior Court, supra, 34 Cal.3d at pp. 789-790, 195 Cal.Rptr. 671, 670 P.2d 325.) Such a belief may result from physical restraint, unequivocal verbal commands, or if the officer's conduct or words are clearly related to the investigation of specific criminal acts. (Id. at p. 791, fn. 11, 195 Cal.Rptr. 671, 670 P.2d 325.)

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