Commonwealth v. Polo

I join in the majority’s disposition, as I believe that the seizure of contraband from Appellee’s bag was tainted by an illegal detention under Fourth Amendment jurisprudence. In this regard, the applicable test, set forth in Florida v. Bostick, 501 U.S. 429, 111 S.Ct. 2382, 115 L.Ed.2d 389 (1991), is whether, in the totality of the circumstances, the police conduct would have communicated to a reasonable person that the person was not free to decline the officers’ requests or otherwise terminate the encounter. Id. at 439, 111 S.Ct. at 2389.1 Regardless of the ostensible consent of a bus…