Reference no: EM133678681

There is an extensive description of the three justifications for law enforcement to conduct a search or frisk of a person or their belongings. We are going to focus on two that are considered levels of proof: probable cause and reasonable suspicion. Read the following scenarios and identify what level of proof you think is present and what action (detain, search, arrest, etc.) you could take as an officer in the scenario. Tell us what you would do and why your actions are justified. Your choices are probable cause and reasonable suspicion, but if you think no action is allowed, just tell us why you don't think any action is lawful.

1. You get a call on a suspicious male outside an elementary school taking photos. You locate the man walking away from the school and stop him. He tells you if he is not under arrest, he is leaving and begins to walk away.

2. You stop a car for being stopped at a green light. When you walk up to the car, you smell the odor of marijuana. The driver tells you he just picked the car up from his brother who is a pot head.

3. You're called to a domestic assault. As you pull up, you see a vehicle leaving the scene. You stop the car. As you walk up, a male says he left to get away from his crazy girlfriend. He tells you there is a gun in the car. You notice a small bag of white crystallized substance, you recognize as meth, lying in the floorboard.

4. A person calls from an apartment and says she can hear a fight going on downstairs between a man and a woman. When you arrive, you stop at the door and hear yelling and screaming. You hear a loud crash and then a thud like something or someone hitting the floor. You knock on the door and no one answers.