People v. Moore

In People v. Moore, 6 NY3d 496, 498, 847 NE2d 1141, 814 NYS2d 567 [2006], the police received an anonymous tip describing an individual who possessed a gun and who had been involved in a dispute. When the officers arrived at the location, they observed the defendant, who matched the description in the tip. As the officers approached, the defendant began to walk away. The officers drew their guns and yelled "police, don't move." (6 NY3d at 497.) When told to put his hands up, the defendant made a movement toward his waistband; he was frisked by one of the officers and a gun was discovered (see People v. Moore, 6 NY3d at 497). The Court held that "an anonymous tip cannot provide reasonable suspicion to justify a seizure, except where that tip contains predictive information--such as information suggestive of criminal behavior--so that the police can test the reliability of the tip" (People v. Moore, 6 NY3d at 499). The Court found that since there was no corroboration of any criminal activity, the anonymous tip triggered only the common-law right of inquiry. The officers would have been justified in asking questions or following him, but it did not authorize a seizure of the defendant. "A forcible stop requires reasonable suspicion that the suspect has committed a crime, not merely the founded suspicion--triggering the officers' common-law right of inquiry" (People v. Moore, 6 NY3d at 501).