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1
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OPINION
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EXTRACTED KEY WORDS
DEFENDANT OFFICERS NY2D ARREST JUSTIFY PURSUIT REASONABLE SUSPICION DRUGS SUPRA STORE LEUNG OFFICER RADZINSKY BOUR HOWARD SEIZURE COMMIT CRIME SUPPORT FREEDOM COURTS FLIGHT EVIDENCE CRIMINAL ACTIVITY APPELLANT ACTING CHIEF JUDGE BASIS GROCERY STORE HIDE-A-KEY ABANDONMENT |
THE PEOPLE &C., RESPONDENT, v. STEVEN MARTINEZ, APPELLANT.
80 N.Y.2d 444, 606 N.E.2d 951, 591 N.Y.S.2d 823 (1992).
December 16, 1992
2 No. 246
Decided December 16, 1992
_________________________________________________________________
This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication
in the New York Reports.
Marcy Chynsky, for Appellant.
Maryanne Luciano, for Respondent.
SIMONS, ACTING CHIEF JUDGE:
This appeal addresses (1) the factual basis necessary to justify
police officers' pursuit and detention of a fleeing individual, and
(2) whether, under the circumstances presented, police officers
properly pursued defendant into a nearby grocery store, recovered
drugs he had discarded and arrested him for unlawful possession of
those drugs.
On April 7, 1989, at about 10:50 p.m., New York City Police Officer
Radzinsky was patrolling in a high-crime area with his partner in a
marked police car when he saw defendant reach up and remove a metal
Hide-a-Key box from the steel grate of a store window. Officer
Radzinsky was aware that the area was known for its drug activity; he
personally had made approximately 50 drug- related arrests in the
vicinity. He also knew, from his experience and training, that
Hide-a-Key boxes are sometimes used by drug dealers to "stash" drugs.
After observing defendant, the officers stopped and got out of their
car. They were dressed in plainclothes, but Officer Radzinsky had his
identifying badge prominently displayed and defendant knew him to be a
police officer because defendant had been present when Officer
Radzinsky previously arrested a friend of his. At the officers'
approach, defendant turned and ran a few steps into a nearby grocery
store. The officers chased defendant into the store, saw him pass off
the box to co- defendant Palmer, and saw Palmer go to the rear of the
store and throw the box to the floor. Officer Radzinsky retrieved the
box and found it contained 17 vials of what later proved to be crack
cocaine.
Defendant contends that the police had no justifiable basis to pursue
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