People v. Letner and Tobin

WERDEGAR, J., Concurring and Dissenting.

Late in the night of March 1, 1988, a red-and-white Ford Fairmont speckled with rain traveled through deserted downtown Visalia. Officer Alan Wightman of the Visalia Police Department, aware of recent auto thefts in the area, saw the car and had a hunch the driver was involved in some illegality, so he followed it. Wightman confirmed by radio that the car had not been reported stolen. Still suspicious, he imagined that the driver might be under the influence of drugs or alcohol and, like a properly trained peace officer, followed the car but observed no…