Can a police officer refuse to conduct a patsearch on an armed suspect if they have "no other reason to suspect the person to be armed"?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from The People v. Okoh, H034614, No. F17747 (Cal. App. 2010):
Although officers may "give appropriate consideration to their surroundings and... draw rational inferences therefrom" (Souza, supra, 9 Cal.4th at p. 241), an officer may not conduct a patsearch if the officer has no other reason to suspect the person is armed. (People v. Sandoval (2008) 163 Cal.App.4th 205, 212.)
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