State v. DeSantiago

Sweeney, A.C.J.

In State v. Ladson 1 our Supreme Court held that a police officer’s subjective motive for a traffic stop, in addition to the reasonableness of the officer’s behavior, determines the constitutional propriety of the stop. Here, a Pasco police officer suspected that Armando DeSantiago had just bought or sold drugs. But the officer did not have probable cause to stop him for the drug transaction. So he followed Mr. DeSantiago looking for a reason to stop him. After following him for about 10 blocks, the officer stopped Mr. DeSantiago for a traffic violation. Mr. DeSantiago had an…