Supreme Court Case: Terry V. Ohio

Terry v. Ohio was a court decision made in 1968 that still affects how police conduct their operations to this day. This case gave special liberties to police officers which would otherwise be in conflict with the Fourth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment states " the right of the people to be secure in their persons, house, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizure, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the person or things to be seized. " The Supreme Court's decision allowing reasonable suspicion of a crime can be grounds for a search, even without probable cause.
The events that lead to this
Each pass by the two men would end with the men meeting at the corner. The Two men would later be Identified as John W. Terry and Richard Chilton. Detective McFadden believed these actions to be suspicious. The two men continued this act five to six times each ending with a conference. A third man joined the two after one of these patrols, who later be identified as Katz. Katz met with two men only for a moment and left. The Cleveland Detective believed the men were planning a robbery. The two men walked away from the store, Detective McFadden decided to follow the men, who met up with Katz in front of anther store a few blocks from where they were originally seen. Detective McFadden who was not in uniform, when he confronted the three men, he informed the men that he was a police officer and asked the men to identify themselves. The men were less then cooperative as they "mumbled Something". Detective McFadden then turned Terry around and patted down the outside of his cloths. As the Detective McFadden patted him down he felt a pistol in the pocket of his over coat. The detective ordered the three men into the store removed Terry's coat and recovered a revolver. He then told all three men to face the wall and raise
He followed his instincts to help preserve the peace and prevent crime. However his actions may have caused a fatal mistake, approaching 3 individuals believed to be planning a robbery alone may fall into the category of tombstone courage. It would seem that the detective waited to call for back up until he already made contact with the men. In today's world this could have lead to a shoot out with the suspects, and waiting that long to make the call just means back up is that much further