Williams v. State
Williams v. State
Opinion of the Court
Appellant appeals his conviction and sentence on grounds that the trial court erroneously denied his motion to suppress evidence found on his person pursuant to a detention without sufficient cause to suspect any illegal activity. Because the undisputed facts of Appellant’s initial encounter with the police were insufficient to support a reasonable suspicion that Appellant was committing trespass, the denial of the motion to suppress is reversed.
The consistent testimony of the three police officers at the suppression hearing established that four officers in plain clothes were patrolling in an unmarked vehicle in the neighborhood on the day of the incident. The officers were not responding to a call, any particular complaint, or tip, but were “just riding around.” They observed three men standing in the front yard, near the front porch and driveway, of a townhome. The front
At this point in the encounter, one of the officers inquired of Appellant whether he lived on the premises, to which Appellant responded “my people do” or something similar. Appellant then informed the officer that his own address was several streets away. The officer then directed Appellant to accompany him to the unmarked vehicle to verify Appellant’s identity. Meanwhile, as the other officers continued to struggle with Appellant’s companion who had fled next door, a weapon was found on the companion’s person. Observing this, Officer Gillespie handcuffed Appellant for officer safety. As he was handcuffing Appellant, he visually observed the evidence in question on Appellant’s person.
Contrary to the State’s position in response to the motion to suppress, Appellant’s initial encounter with the police officers was not a consensual encounter requiring no reasonable suspicion that Appellant was trespassing. “When determining whether a particular encounter is consensual, the Court must look to the ‘totality of the circumstances’ surrounding the encounter to decide ‘if the police conduct would have communicated to a reasonable person that the person was free to leave or terminate the encounter.’ ” Collins v. State, 115 So.3d 1040, 1042 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013) (quoting Taylor v. State, 855 So.2d 1, 15 (Fla. 2003)). The officers’ description of their sudden, collective exit from their vehicle and immediate pursuit of the fleeing man does not describe a casual encounter where officers merely approach an individual and initiate a conversation.
An example of a consensual encounter is described in Voorhees v. State, 699 So.2d 602 (Fla. 1997), where officers approached a man during cold and rainy weather and the man told the officers he was lost. The officers offered the man shelter, clean clothing, and a hot meal, and the man voluntarily entered the patrol vehicle and handed the officers a knife. Similarly, in Ward v. State, 21 So.3d 896 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009), police officers were patrolling on foot in a multi-building apartment complex liberally marked with “no trespassing” signs. The officers approached Mr. Ward, who was also walking in the parking lot of the premises, and inquired whether Ward was a resident. Ward voluntarily responded that he was not a resident and was “just cutting through.” These consensual encounters are distinguishable from the show of force in this case, where the officers suddenly parked, emerged from them vehicle, and pursued and subdued Appellant’s companion before asking any questions.
The initial encounter here is more similar to that described in Leroy v. State, 982 So.2d 1250 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008),
Because a reasonable person would not feel free to leave in Appellant’s situation, Appellant’s initial encounter with the officers constituted the second level of police-citizen encounter, an investigatory stop or temporary detention.
Appellant’s initial encounter with the police was not a consensual encounter, but was an investigatory stop, requiring a reasonable suspicion that Appellant had committed, was committing, or was about to commit a crime. Because the officers lacked reasonable suspicion that Appellant was trespassing at the time they first observed his presence on the property, the investigatory stop of Appellant did not comport with the Fourth Amendment. Accordingly, the eventual evidentiary product of this initial encounter should have been suppressed. The trial court’s denial of the motion to suppress is REVERSED and the judgment and sentence based on the plea entered after denial of the motion to suppress are likewise REVERSED.
. The Florida Supreme Court described the three levels of police encounters in Popple v. State, 626 So.2d 185, 186 (Fla. 1993).
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.