Court rules officer justified in stopping man who ran from him

By Cy Ryan

Friday, Feb. 4, 2011 | 2:05 a.m.

CARSON CITY — A federal appeals court has ruled the constitutional rights of a Las Vegas man were not violated when a police officer handcuffed and searched him after he ran from the officer.

Jermaine Smith, through his lawyers, maintained the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution requires a police officer to have a reasonable suspicion before stopping him. And there was none in this case.

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the appeal. The court, in a decision written by Judge Ronald Gould, said Police Officer Tyler Dominguez had “reasonable suspicion” Smith was involved in criminal activity.

In 2009, Smith crossed the street in front of a patrol car driven by Dominguez, who activated his siren twice. The officer got out of the car and ordered Smith to stop.

After some initial conversation, Smith ran and Dominguez chased him. Smith was captured when he fell down. The police officer handcuffed him and found a gun.

Smith was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. He entered a conditional guilty plea, retaining the right to appeal his motion to suppress the gun as evidence.

Smith argued Dominguez did not have reasonable suspicion that he was engaged in any wrongdoing, and the officer had no right to seize him.

The court said the incident took place in a high-crime neighborhood and when Dominguez identified himself as a police officer, “Smith burst into headlong flight for no other reason than to evade Officer Dominguez.”

“The officer’s determination that Smith’s sudden flight was suggestive of wrongdoing was reasonable under these circumstances,” the court said.

Smith was sentenced to 71 months in prison and three years of supervised release.