Does the Exclusionary Rule Apply When a Law Enforcement Officer Approaches a Stopped Vehicle and Activates Emergency Lights in the Absence of Reasonable Suspision that Criminal Activity Has or Will Occur ? In People v. McDonough for support. People v. McDonough, 395 Ill. App. 3d 194, 917 N.E.2d 590, 334 Ill. Dec. 764 (2009), the defendant was the driver of a car that was stopped on the narrow shoulder of a busy highway. McDonough, 395 Ill. App. 3d at 195. 917 N.E.2d at 590. A State Police trooper (state trooper) noticed the stopped car and "decided to inquire whether the occupants needed assistance." McDonough, 395 Ill. App. 3d at 195, 917 N.E.2d at 591. The state trooper then parked behind the defendant's car and turned on his emergency lights for "safety reasons" because "it was dark outside" and " 'a lot of traffic' " was present. McDonough, 395 Ill. App. 3d at 195, 917 N.E.2d at 591. After the state trooper exited his vehicle, he approached the defendant and asked if " 'everything was okay.'" McDonough, 395 Ill. App. 3d at 196, 917 N.E.2d at 591. When the defendant opened his car window slightly, the state trooper detected the odor of alcohol on the defendant's breath. McDonough, 395 Ill. App. 3d at 196, 917 N.E.2d at 591. Consequently, the defendant submitted to field-sobriety tests and the state trooper arrested the defendant for DUI. McDonough, 395 Ill. App. 3d at 196, 917 N.E.2d at 591. The trial court later granted the defendant's motion to suppress evidence, on the ground that the state troo7per had improperly seized the defendant. McDonough, 395 Ill. App. 3d at 196, 917 N.E.2d at 592. The trial court also entered a written order rescinding the defendant's statutory summary suspension of his driver's license. McDonough, 395 Ill. App. 3d at 197, 917 N.E.2d at 592. The appellate court disagreed and found that "the state trooper's activating his emergency lights as he pulled behind a stopped vehicle on a busy four-lane highway" did not constitute police misconduct and, as a safety matter, was the "entirely prudent and right thing to do." McDonough, 395 Ill. App. 3d at 199-200, 917 N.E.2d at 594. The appellate court also noted that a law enforcement officer's action is not necessarily unlawful and the exclusionary rule need not inevitably apply when he "approaches an already stopped vehicle and activates his overhead emergency lights in the absence of reasonable suspicion that criminal activity has or will occur." McDonough, 395 Ill. App. 3d at 200, 917 N.E.2d at 595. Instead, "other circumstances," such as safety precautions, may justify the use of the emergency lights. McDonough, 395 Ill. App. 3d at 200, 917 N.E.2d at 594-95 (noting FBI statistics that stopping on or near a highway is one of the most dangerous aspects of police work). The appellate court then reversed the trial court's order granting the defendant's motion to suppress evidence, vacated the trial court's order rescinding the defendant's statutory summary suspension of his driver's license, and remanded the case for further proceedings. McDonough, 395 Ill. App. 3d at 201, 917 N.E.2d at 596.