Once an officer has obtained reasonable suspicion and conducted the detention, just how long can that detention be? Well the answer (in true 4th Amendment fashion) is a reasonable amount of time. How long is reasonable? Well, that will depend on the totality of circumstances – the seriousness of the crimes, if the suspect is being elusive in the officer’s attempt to learn facts, and if the officer is diligently attempting to gain facts to confirm of dispel his or her suspicion. At some point, the circumstances surrounding the detention may approach that of an arrest (based on length or perhaps transporting the defendant to a police station holding cell). In those circumstances, the conduct of the officer transforms the detention into a de facto arrest, regardless of the intent of the officer or if the police later release the suspect. If there has been a de facto arrest, the officer’s action must be supported by probable cause.
Legal Supplement
U.S. v. Sharpe, 470 U.S. 675 (1985),
[O]ur cases impose no rigid time limitation on Terry stops.
[W]e consider it appropriate to examine whether the police diligently pursued a means of investigation that was likely to confirm or dispel their suspicions quickly…
Florida v. Royer, 460 U.S. 491 (1983),
Detentions may be investigative yet violative of the Fourth Amendment absent probable cause. In the name of investigation a person who is no more than suspected of criminal activity, the police may not carry out a full search of the person or his automobile or other effects. Nor may the police seek to verify their suspicions by means that approach the conditions of arrest.
Gallegos v. City of Colorado Springs, 114 F.3d 1024 (10th Cir. 1997),
[A] Terry stop does not automatically elevate into an arrest where the police officers use handcuffs on a suspect or place him on the ground … Police officers are authorized to take such steps as are reasonably necessary to protect their personal safety and to maintain the status quo during the course of a Terry stop.
As long as the precautionary measures are employed by offies during a traffic stop are reasonable, they will be permitted without a showing of probable cause.
U.S. v. Gama-Bastidas, 142 F.3d 1233 (10th Cir. 1998),
[T]he use of firearms, handcuffs, and other forceful techniques are justified only by probable cause or when the circumstances reasonably warrant such measures.
