Washington State Courts

arrest occurs if, "under the circumstances, a reasonable person would
conclude that he was not free to leave after brief questioning." United
States v. Del Vizo, 918 F.2d 821,824 (9th Cir. 1990).
The Belieu court analogized the test for a protective frisk for
weapons to the question whether the use of drawn guns is justified during
an investigative detention. 112 Wn.2d at 602. An officer may conduct a
weapons frisk when he can point to "'specific and articulable facts'" that
support an objectively reasonable belief that a suspect is "'armed and
presently dangerous.'" State v. Collins, 121 Wn.2d 168,173,847 P.2d 919
(1993) (quoting Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1,21-24,88 S. Ct. 1868,20 L.
Ed. 2d 889 (1968». A frisk is a narrow exception to warrant requirement.
"The courts must be jealous guardians of the exception in order to protect
the rights of citizens." State v. Setterstrom, 163 Wn.2d 621, 627,183 P.3d
1075 (2008).
In Belieu, the Court held the use of drawn weapons did not exceed
the scope of an ostensible investigative detention because officers
articulated specific facts that justified an inference that the suspects were
armed. Belieu, 112 Wn.2d at 597. Specifically, the police were aware
weapons had been repeatedly burglarized from residences in the area; one
suspect matched the description of an individual involved in the previous
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