Can a police officer from a neighbouring police department issue a wanted flyer?

The court rejected the notion that " 'the Fourth Amendment does not permit police officers in one department to seize a person simply because a neighboring police department has circulated a flyer reflecting the desire to question that individual about some criminal investigation that does not involve the arresting officers or their department.' " (United States v. Hensley, supra, 469 U.S. at pp. 229-230, 105 S.Ct. at pp. 680-681.) The court concluded:

"[I]f a flyer or bulletin has been issued on the basis of articulable facts supporting a reasonable suspicion that the wanted person has committed an offense, then reliance on that flyer or bulletin justifies a stop to check identification, [citation], to pose questions to the person, or to detain the person briefly while attempting to obtain further information. See Adams v. Williams, 407 U.S. 143, 146 [92 S.Ct. 1921, 1923, 32 L.Ed.2d 612] (1972) ('A brief stop of a suspicious individual, in order to determine his identity or to maintain the status quo momentarily while obtaining more information, may be the most reasonable in light of the facts known to the officer at the time')." (Id. 469 U.S. at p. 232, 105 S.Ct. at p. 682.)

The court further concluded the flyer justified detaining the individual while the officers ran a warrant check. The court stated: "As an experienced officer could well assume that a warrant might have been obtained in the period after the flyer was issued, we think the flyer would further justify a brief detention at the scene of the stop while officers checked whether a warrant had in fact been issued." (United States v. Hensley, supra, 469 U.S. at p. 234, 105 S.Ct. at p. 683.)