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Washington State Courts

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1. Johnson exceeded the limited scope of an<br />

investigative detention.<br />

The Fourth Amendment and article I, section 7 of the <strong>Washington</strong><br />

Constitution prohibit unreasonable searches and seizures. <strong>State</strong> v. Day,<br />

161 Wn.2d 889, 893, 168 P.3d 1265 (2007). Warrantless searches and<br />

seizures are generally per se unreasonable and the <strong>State</strong> bears the burden<br />

of demonstrating the applicability of a recognized exception to this rule.<br />

Id. at 893-94. "Exceptions to the warrant requirement are limited and<br />

narrowly drawn." <strong>State</strong> v. Parker, 139 Wn.2d 486, 496, 987 P.2d 73<br />

(1999).<br />

One recognized exception to the warrant requirement is the<br />

investigative detention. <strong>State</strong> v. Garvin, 166 Wn.2d 242, 249, 207 P.3d<br />

1266 (2009). An investigative detention is justified if the officer<br />

reasonably suspects the person is committing or is about to commit a<br />

crime. Id., at 250.<br />

In B.-H.'s case, the only source for suspicion was Officer Walker,<br />

who said he saw "[a] heavy hard object" that was "about six inches long"<br />

on the bottom of B.-H.'s coat pocket. RP 18, 26. Neither Schwab nor<br />

Johnson developed any independent suspicion.<br />

This scenario implicates the "fellow officer rule." An investigative<br />

detention under the "fellow officer rule" is justified only if the officer<br />

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