I did a little research yesterday morning about running from the police. It started when, in connection with a presentation for which I was preparing, I reviewed State v. Mewborn, __ N.C. App. __, 684 S.E.2d 535 (2009). Mewborn arose in Kinston. Officers were "patrolling a high crime neighborhood" and specifically, were "approaching and questioning people in the neighborhood to 'make sure [the people were] in the right area.'" When the officers approached the defendant and asked him to "hold up for a minute," the defendant took off running. The officers gave chase, caught the defendant, and determined that he was in possession of drugs and a gun. Although it wasn't directly the issue in the case, I started wondering if fleeing from the police always provides reasonable suspicion for a Terry stop. In other words, if you run from police, can they always give chase? The answer is basically yes, but with a few caveats. What follows is a list of cases in this area, then my short synthesis of the law. Illinois v. Wardlow, 528 U.S. 119 (2000) (presence in a high crime area, coupled with unprovoked "headlong flight" from police provides reasonable suspicion) State v. Butler, 331 N.C. 227 (1992) (presence at a known drug corner where several recent arrests have been made, coupled with turning and walking away as officers approach provides reasonable suspicion) State v. Sinclair, 191 N.C. App. 485 (2008) (presence in a "drug activity area," then running after declining an officer's request to search [...]
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