People v. Otto

Where an officer stops a hitchhiker on the freeway in violation of MCL 257.679a; MSA 9.2379(1) and, in lieu of issuing a citation under MCL 257.728; MSA 9.2428, intends to transport the hitchhiker in the officer’s patrol car off the freeway so that he can continue to hitchhike legally, can the officer conduct a pat-down search for weapons prior to having the hitchhiker enter the patrol car in the absence of any showing of specific and articulable facts that the hitchhiker is armed and dangerous? On this question of first impression, the trial court answered in the affirmative, and defendant…