Commonwealth v. Douglas
Annotate this CaseBoston police officers stopped a vehicle for a traffic infraction. The officers ordered the two rear seat passengers to get out of the vehicle and pat frisked each for weapons. Defendant, the front seat passenger, got out of the vehicle and was ordered to return to his seat. When he did so, he moved the gear shift to the “drive” position. Defendant and the driver were then ordered from the vehicle, and Defendant was pat frisked. Finding no weapon, the officers conducted a protective sweep of the vehicle and discovered a loaded firearm under the front passenger seat. Defendant was charged with unlicensed possession of a firearm and related offenses. Defendant moved to suppress the evidence seized as a result of the search. A superior court judge allowed the motion. The Supreme Judicial Court reversed the order allowing the motions to suppress, holding that, even if the pat frisks of the rear seat passengers were invalid, sufficient evidence supported the officers’ suspicion that Douglas might be armed and dangerous and that a limited protective sweep of the vehicle was necessary for officer safety.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.