00-2828, 00-2865 U.S. v. Felix-Felix

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“We conclude that these circumstances were largely of Francisco’s own making and thus did not transform the nature of the police conduct. A Terry stop is, after all, a brief involuntary detention. One of the ways the police might ensure compliance with their request for a person to stop is to cut off other avenues of escape. That is all that happened here. Once police have the reasonable suspicion required to justify an investigatory stop, they may use reasonable means to effectuate that stop. United States v. Weaver, 8 F.3d 1240, 1244 (7th Cir. 1993); Tom v. Voida, 963 F.2d 952, 958 (7th Cir. 1992). The stop in the dead-end street was necessitated by Francisco’s attempts to evade the agents. It is also worth noting that in considering whether an investigatory stop has transformed into an arrest, ‘we consider whether the subject’s own actions in resisting the legitimate efforts of police to stop and question him played a role in bringing about the challenged police conduct.’ Weaver, 8 F.3d at 1243.

Neither the chase nor the ultimate stop in the dead end had the effect of transforming this particular traffic stop and the resulting conversation into an arrest.”

Affirmed.

Appeals from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Williams, J. and Gottschall, J., Diane P. Wood, J.