U.S. District Judge Joseph Greenaway Jr. in Newark granted a request to suppress a handgun that was the only evidence that police had to convict Ronald Crandell for possession of a firearm as a convicted felon.
Three officers approached Crandell and asked his permission to pat him down but also told him he was free to leave if he wanted to, court papers say.
However, Greenaway ruled that their show of authority — as opposed to the safety they employed in working as a unit — created the impression that “a reasonable person … would not have felt that he or she could terminate the encounter.”
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