4/1/16 Police Cannot Delay Concluded Traffic Stop to Conduct Dog Sniff Search
The police may stop a motor vehicle when a suspected traffic violation has been committed. Once the traffic violation investigation has ended the police may not continue to detain the occupants of the vehicle, unless the police have reasonable suspicion to believe the vehicle occupants are or have been engaged in criminal activity.
In State v. Kjolsrud and Kambitsch, Nos. 2 CA-CR 2015-0230 and 2 CA-CR 2015-0231 (Consolidated) the Arizona Court of Appeals held that detaining occupants after the investigation for the traffic violation had concluded so that another deputy could arrive with a dog to conduct a drug sniff was an unconstitutional seizure.
In the case a deputy stopped a vehicle for an equipment violation. After the stop the deputy checked the driver’s licenses of the vehicle’s occupants and found they had outstanding non-extraditable warrants for drug offenses, meaning warrants which the issuing agency would not use to take them into custody and bring them into court. At this point the investigation for the traffic violation ended, however, with no other information the deputy then had the occupants exit the vehicle and, after the occupants refused to a consent search of the vehicle, called for another deputy to bring a dog to sniff for drugs. The other deputy arrived with the dog and after the dog indicated drugs were present a search was conducted and drugs were found.
The court of appeals held that once the investigation for the traffic violation had concluded there was no reasonable suspicion that the occupants were engaged in criminal activity and therefore the further detainment of the occupants to allow the dog to sniff search was unconstitutional. As a result the State was unable to use the evidence of the drugs found in the search at trial.
See: https://www.appeals2.az.gov/Decisions/CR20150230Opinion.pdf
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