How has the court characterized the conduct of police officers in requesting to see the contents of appellant's pockets?

We are, therefore, called upon to characterize the conduct of the officers in requesting to see the contents of appellant's pockets. In making this determination we are guided by People v. Stout (1967) 66 Cal.2d 184, 57 Cal.Rptr. 152, 424 P.2d 704. In that case a police officer investigated a [10 Cal.3d 682] report that the defendants had engaged in suspicious behavior involving a blue overnight bag. The officer approached the driver's side of the defendants' automobile and saw the bag on the back seat of the passenger's side. After asking the defendants for information concerning the contents of the bag and receiving a noncommittal answer, the officer said, 'Well, you wouldn't mind then if I take a look in the bag?' When the officer started to walk toward the passenger's side, the defendants drove off in a burst of speed. The officer gave chase and eventually apprehended them. His search of the bag revealed various items of contraband. We upheld the trial court's finding that the search was lawful, even though we found the officer lacked probable cause to search the bag at the time he requested to see its contents. We held that 'Whether there was a threat of an illegal search capable of being carried out was a question of fact to be determined by the court in light of all the circumstances.' (Id., at p. 192, 57 Cal.Rptr. at p. 157, 424 P.2d at p. 709.)