Wilson v. State, 3/22/18, COA (May) – While investigating a suspicious parked car, removing the driver at gunpoint and handcuffing him constituted an illegal arrest.

Interlocutory appeal of suppression ruling.  Police responded to a report of a suspicious parked vehicle in a high crime are.  The responding officers recognized one occupant as having a history of prostitution and drug use.  The driver, D, exited the car, then immediately bent back into it and reached toward the center console.  One officer drew his weapon and ordered D to show his hands.  D was compliant, and was then patted down and handcuffed for officer safety.  Officers asked D if they could search the car, but did not give Pirtle rights.  D consented to the search, and officers searched the car several times before finding drugs.  The COA concluded that “Wilson was under arrest for the purposes of a Fourth Amendment search and seizure analysis because the officers drew their weapons and handcuffed Wilson, which restrained his freedom of movement.”  There was no probable cause, rendering the searches illegal.  Reversed.