Commonwealth v. McClease

JOHNSON, J.:

¶ 1 In this appeal we consider whether an exchange between a police officer and a member of the public may rise from the level of a mere encounter to that of a seizure absent evidence that the purportedly seized person intended to leave the scene prior to or during the exchange with the police officer. We hold that notwithstanding the absence of evidence to establish a person’s intent to leave the scene, a seizure occurs when, under all the surrounding circumstances, a reasonable person would not feel free to leave. Therefore, we reverse the suppression court’s order that denied…