People v. Benjamin

OPINION OF THE COURT

Wachtler, J.

We are once again concerned with the circumstances which must exist before a police officer can conduct a limited pat-down search of a citizen during a street encounter. The Appellate Division held that a loaded handgun was unlawfully seized and should be suppressed. We reverse.

On the evening of October 27, 1977, William Loran, a veteran police officer, was on motor patrol in the Borough of Queens when he received a radio run advising him that there were men with guns at a specified street location. He and his partner, both wearing plainclothes, arrived on the…