Search Incident to an Arrest
In the previous posts, we discussed reasonable articulable suspicion, investigative stop, and probable cause to arrest, in this post we will discuss search incident to an arrest.
When we last discussed the scenario involving Officer Branch and Citizen Kenny, Officer Branch arrested Kenny for drug possession with intent to distribute and gun possession by felon. After arresting Kenny, Officer Branch conducted a search of Kenny’s person and retrieved the pills in his jeans pocket and uncovered crack cocaine in his socks and cash. This search is considered a field search as a search incident to an arrest.
The Atlanta Police Department provides that:
A recognized exception to the search warrant requirement is a search incident to a lawful arrest. This exception permits an officer to perform a warrantless search during or immediately after a lawful arrest. The reason for the search is to remove any weapons the arrestee may use to resist arrest or effect an escape or to search and seize any evidence in order to prevent concealment or destruction.
A field search is the search of an arrestee at the time of arrest in order for the officer to seize any weapons or contraband. The scope of the field search shall include a frisk or pat-down of the arrestee’s clothing and a search of the arrestee’s pockets, socks, shoes, hair, and waistband.
a. If [an officer] has a reasonable articulable suspicion that the arrestee is hiding contraband or a weapon due to the type of arrest (murder, armed robbery, drug sales, etc.…) or during the field search [the officer] has determined that the arrestee is concealing a weapon or other contraband, [the officer] should retrieve it immediately.
Here, Officer Branch had probable cause to arrest Kenny for the gun possession. As we look at the search that was conducted after the arrest, Officer Branch was authorized to conduct a thorough search of Kenny’s person as a search incident to arrest to retrieve any contraband that Kenny had hidden on him. This search allowed Officer Branch to raise Kenny’s pants legs and uncover drugs in his sock and reach into Kenny’s pockets and retrieve the money and pills from his pockets and check Kenny’s waistband more thoroughly.