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tenuous as to provide virtually no grounds on must satisfy a higher level of specificity than
whatsoever for suspicion,” because “[t]he if they were responding to a report of ongoing
officer was unsure whether the automobile or very recent criminal activity. The
used in the robberies was black or blue; the government cannot clear this hurdle under our
only description of the robbers was that they precedent. If a weeks-old description of two
were black males; . . . [and] it was not black males in a black or blue Chevrolet was
unusual for blacks to be seen in the area.” Id. insufficient to stop two black males in a black
at 121. Chevrolet, Rias, 524 F.2d at 119–21, and a
five-week-old description of a man’s race,
A less specific description may support height, weight, hair style, and clothing was
reasonable suspicion where there is temporal insufficient to stop someone matching it, Jones,
and geographic proximity to recent criminal 619 F.2d at 496, 498, then the description of a
activity. In Vickers, officers received a report Hispanic male who had once ridden a bicycle
of a recent burglary by a “black male last seen with large handlebars in a general area at some
wearing red shirt, blue or black unknown time in the past cannot justify the
shorts.” 540 F.3d at 361. We held the officers stop of Alvarez. To explain why this is so, we
had reasonable suspicion to stop a man consider in detail each factor relied on by the
“wearing clothing that met the description” government—the description of the subject
found “75 to 100 yards from the burglarized and the bicycle, the location, and the officers’
home.” Ibid. Similarly, in United States v. Hall, knowledge of local gang activity.
557 F.2d 1114, 1115–16 (5th Cir. 1977), a
police dispatch reported an armed robbery by The subject’s physical description was too
three men—two black and one either black general and vague. The officers did not have a
with a light complexion or white—who fled in photograph and did not otherwise “know what
a red 1969 two-door Ford. An officer [the suspect] looked like.” Other than race and
stopped “a red 1969 Ford driven by a light sex, they knew of no descriptors—
complexioned black male, proceeding away age, height, weight, identifying marks, or
from the vicinity of a bank robbery within clothing. “Hispanic” has negligible predictive
twenty minutes after the robbery.” Id. at value here given Corpus Christi is
1116–17. We upheld the stop, emphasizing predominantly Hispanic or Latino. Put simply,
that “[t]he most important factors” were “the the physical description “fit too many people[]
timing of the initial stop and its to constitute particular, articulable facts on
location.” Id. at 1117. which to base reasonable suspicion.” The
same is true of the bicycle. Other than “large
Accordingly, our case law distinguishes handlebars,” the officers knew of no
between stops related to completed crimes identifiers—color, make, model, condition,
and stops related to ongoing crimes or crimes features, or style of handlebars. “Large
very recently committed. handlebars” pales in comparison to vehicle
descriptions that have created or contributed to
The officers’ stop of Alvarez was not supported reasonable suspicion.9 Furthermore, when
by reasonable suspicion. This case involves an asked if certain types of large handlebars were
outstanding warrant—completed criminal “more prevalent in that area,” Officer Deleon
activity—so the information the officers relied answered, “most bikes have regular
Sept./Oct. 2022 www.texaspoliceassociation.com • (512) 458-3140 49
