Motor Vehicles – OWI — stop and detention

Listen to this article

Wisconsin Supreme Court

Criminal

Motor Vehicles – OWI — stop and detention

An officer’s knocking on a car window is not a stop and detention requiring reasonable suspicion.

“Although we acknowledge that this is a close case, we conclude that a law enforcement officer’s knock on a car window does not by itself constitute a show of authority sufficient to give rise to the belief in a reasonable person that the person is not free to leave. The objective of law enforcement is to protect and serve the community. Accordingly, an officer’s interactions with people are not automatically adversarial. A court’s “seizure” inquiry into one of these interactions must examine the totality of the circumstances, seeking to identify the line between an officer’s reasonable attempt to have a consensual conversation and a more consequential attempt to detain an individual. The facts in this case do not show a level of intimidation or exercise of authority sufficient to implicate the Fourth Amendment until after Vogt rolled down his window and exposed the grounds for a seizure.”

Reversed.

2012AP1812 County of Grant v. Vogt

Prosser, J.

Attorneys: For Appellant: Scott, Jeffery J., Platteville; For Respondent: Pozorski, Anthony J., Lancaster