People v. Carvey

In People v. Carvey, 89 N.Y.2d 707 (1997) the defendant was a passenger in a lawfully stopped vehicle and was seen placing something under the seat. In addition, the officers saw that the defendant was wearing a bullet proof vest. The Court wrote in Carvey that these factors provided "ample evidence to support a finding that the officers could reasonably have concluded that" a weapon in the vehicle was a danger to the officers. (Id. at 712.) The observations particularly pointed to the possibility of the presence of a weapon in the car. In People v. Carvey, officers stopped an automobile for a traffic infraction and noticed defendant, a rear-seat passenger, bend down and place something under the seat. The defendant was also wearing a bulletproof vest underneath his sweatshirt. All four occupants were ordered out of the vehicle and patted down without incident, after which an officer reached under the rear passenger seat of the car and recovered a gun. Id. at 709. Denying suppression of the gun, the Carvey Court held that defendant's use of a bulletproof vest, "an article that uniquely evidenced his preparation to engage in gun battles as well as his enhanced ability to safely use a deadly weapon", coupled with his suspicious behavior of bending down and hiding something, reasonably led the officer to suspect that "a weapon located within the vehicle presented an actual and specific danger" to their safety, even though the occupants were outside of the automobile. Id. at 712 .