“[W]hen an officer encounters a vehicle the whole of which is painted a different color from the color listed in the vehicle-registration records and the officer believes, based on his experience, that the vehicle or its displayed license plates may be stolen, the officer has a reasonable, articulable suspicion of criminal activity and is authorized to perform an investigative traffic stop.”
State v. Hawkins
158 Ohio St.3d 94 (2019)
Supreme Court of Ohio
On Friday May 20, 2016, at approximately 3:00 a.m. Washington Court House Police Officer Jeffery Heinz was completing a traffic stop when a vehicle drove past the traffic stop and Officer Heinz heard his License Plate Reader [LPR] alert.
Upon hearing the alert, Officer Heinz ran the tag through LEADS and it registered to a white 2001 GMC SUV. The vehicle was a black GMC SUV. Officer Heinz completed the traffic stop, located the suspect vehicle and initiated a traffic stop. The sole reason for the stop was that the color listed on the vehicle registration was different … white and black. The driver later identified as Mr. Justin Hawkins stated he did not have his driver’s license on his person and was being evasive with each question. Officer Heinz collected his name, date of birth and social security number. He simultaneously ran the VIN number to verify the vehicle registration with the license plate.
Mr. Hawkins had already begun a series of lies to Officer Heinz which was discovered when the social security number did not match what Mr. Hawkins stated was his own. As Officer Heinz obtained from Mr. Hawkins a second social security number he went back to his cruiser and attempted to determine if it matched. At this time the dispatcher radioed and told Officer Heinz that Mr. Hawkins’ second social security number was also incorrect. However, his name and date of birth confirmed Mr. Hawkins did not have a driver’s license and he had active warrant from Delaware County, Ohio.
At this time Mr. Hawkins rabbited and drove away from the traffic stop through the streets of Washington Courthouse. The pursuit ended with the license-less Mr. Hawkins crashing his car and fleeing on foot. Following the foot pursuit, Mr. Hawkins was arrested and neither of the first two social security numbers were used on his arrest paperwork. The vehicle was inventoried and two credit cards that had been reported stolen, were found in the glove compartment.
Mr. Hawkins crashed at the intersection of West Market Street and North Oakland Avenue in Washington Courthouse, Ohio. After a short foot pursuit he was arrested by Officer Jeff Heinz.
On June 3, 2016, Mr. Hawkins was indicted on two counts of Receiving Stolen Property F5’s and one count of Failing to Comply with an Order or Signal of a Police Officer F3. Mr. Hawkins filed a Motion to Suppress the evidence on the basis that Officer Heinz had lacked reasonable suspicion to make an investigatory stop.
The Twelfth District Appellate court denied the Motion to Suppress so Mr. Hawkins appealed to the Supreme Court of Ohio which held “[W]hen an officer encounters a vehicle the whole of which is painted a different color from the color listed in the vehicle-registration records and the officer believes, based on his experience, that the vehicle or its displayed license plates may be stolen, the officer has a reasonable, articulable suspicion of criminal activity and is authorized to perform an investigative traffic stop.” State v. Hawkins, 158 Ohio St.3d 94 (2019).
So can Reasonable Suspicion be the difference between black and white? Why yes, said the Supreme Court of Ohio … at least when it is the difference in the registered and actual color of a vehicle.
Information for this article was obtained from State v. Hawkins, 158 Ohio St.3d 94 (2019) and a phone interview with Officer Jeff Heinz.
Lessons Learned:
- If the color of the vehicle on the registration is different than the actual color of the vehicle, that may be Reasonable Suspicion to initiate a detention by way of a traffic stop. This stop will be limited in duration. Since the traffic stop will not be based on Probable Cause but rather Reasonable Suspicion, the officer can only detain the driver long enough to confirm or dispel why the color is different. [See Wh(r)en is it lawful to stop a vehicle? and Supreme Court Fence-Sitting] So if the driver had recently painted the vehicle and everything matches the registration, the officer cannot detain the driver to run warrant checks or begin a series of questioning.
- Though Officer Heinz utilized the LPR technology, he was the one that ultimately used his skills to complete the initial investigation and arrest. Officers should use technology for its intended purpose and not overly rely or ignore the capabilities and limitations of technology. Here, Officer Heinz accurately used his technology to successfully arrest Mr. Hawkins.
- Most cases are won or lost by the officer and this case is no different. Officer Heinz testified that he stopped the car because the color did not match the vehicle registration, explained why it could have indicated criminal activity and that was enough to create Reasonable Suspicion.
Does your agency train on the Reasonable Suspicion and Traffic Stops?
Don’t fail your training.
Don’t let your training fail you!
Be safe, smart and objectively reasonable!
Robert H. Meader Esq.