What constitutes reasonable suspicion for an officer to conduct a frisk?

Reasonable suspicion for an officer to conduct a frisk is based on specific and articulable facts that suggest a threat to the officer or others. This standard requires that the officer has a particularized and objective basis for suspecting that a person is involved in criminal activity and that the individual may be armed and dangerous.

These facts can come from the officer's training, experience, and the totality of the circumstances. It is not sufficient for an officer to rely solely on a gut feeling, general observations, or a person's past criminal record without the context of current behavior or specific actions that indicate a threat. The requirement for articulable facts ensures that the officer’s actions are grounded in objective evidence rather than intuition or assumptions, thereby protecting the rights of individuals and ensuring accountability in law enforcement practices.