Larry Seng In was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm after Las Vegas police officers discovered a Glock in his car during a traffic stop. The stop began because the car had a taillight out and was parked in a no-parking zone near a busy tourist area. During the stop, an officer saw an unsecured gun on the backseat floor. When ordered out of the vehicle, In initially claimed he had no weapons, but later admitted the gun was his. The officers handcuffed him while verifying his identity and checking for warrants. In moved to suppress the gun, arguing that the handcuffing escalated a valid investigative stop into an unlawful arrest without probable cause. The district court agreed with In and suppressed the evidence, but the United States appealed that decision.
The Ninth Circuit applied the totality of the circumstances test to determine if the traffic stop became a de facto arrest. The court noted that while handcuffing substantially aggravates the intrusiveness of a detention, it is permissible if officers have a sufficient basis to fear for their safety. The panel emphasized that an unsecured firearm was visible in the car, and In had lied about having weapons, creating an information gap that raised a reasonable possibility of danger. Additionally, the officers were patrolling on bicycles in a densely populated area, lacking the immediate protection of a patrol car. The court reasoned that the officers needed to handcuff In to prevent him from accessing the visible gun, a measure that was reasonable to ensure the safety of the officers and the public, even in an open-carry state.
The suppression order is reversed, meaning the firearm evidence is admissible, and the case is remanded to the district court for trial. This decision clarifies that the presence of a visible weapon and a suspect's uncooperative or deceptive behavior can justify the use of handcuffs during a Terry stop without converting it into an arrest. It leaves open the question of whether similar restraints would be justified in other contexts where no weapon is visible or the suspect is cooperative.
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