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Cleveland police officers stop thousands of people each year, mostly to issue tickets. In 2023, the department said it made nearly 17,000 stops — about 45 per day. More than 700 of them were Terry stops, during which officers briefly question a person they suspect of being involved in a crime. Nationally, a Terry stop became known as a stop and frisk.

This practice has always been controversial, particularly in communities of color where the use of on-the-ground interrogations caused friction and eroded trust. A United States Supreme Court decision regarding an arrest in Cleveland, Terry v. Ohio, established police authority to stop, question and search people they suspect of wrongdoing.

In 2014, a U.S. Department of Justice investigation found that Cleveland police officers failed to meet court standards, which required them to have reasonable suspicion to stop people.

Officers did not indicate why they were stopping people in their reports, and black residents told investigators they felt targeted by police. Federal officials have not accused the department of racial profiling.

After that, Cleveland officials signed a federal consent decree and agreed to update the department’s stop-and-frisk policies. As a result, the department now tracks who is stopped and why, in order to hold officers accountable and ensure the department is not violating the Fourth Amendment, which protects against police searches without reason.

That’s how we know that nearly 70% of the people involved in Terry stops in Cleveland in 2023 were Black – and that almost half of the stops resulted in no further police action.

To learn more about the history and rules of Terry Stops and how Cleveland handles them today, we’ve answered some common questions. We would like to hear about your related experiences: Have you been stopped and questioned or searched by Cleveland Police? Share your experience with our team.

What happened in the case that led to the decision in Ohio v. Terry?

Early in the afternoon of Halloween 1963, Cleveland Police Detective Martin McFadden reported seeing John W. Terry, Richard Chilton and Carl Katz repeatedly looking into the windows of a downtown jewelry store. -city.

McFadden said he suspected the men were surrounding the store and arrested them. McFadden searched them and found weapons on Chilton and Terry. He stopped them.

At trial, Terry’s lawyer argued that McFadden’s behavior the research violated the Fourth Amendment. Cuyahoga County Judge Bernard Friedman ruled that Terry’s suspicious behavior was reason enough for the officer to search him. Terry was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and found guilty.

Terry’s case eventually went to the United States Supreme Court. His attorney, Louis B. Stokes, argued that McFadden did not have enough evidence to search Terry and that McFadden’s self-proclaimed “intuitive sixth sense” was not sufficient justification to stop and search the men. Stokes in 1968 became Ohio’s first elected black congressman.

The Supreme Court has handed down a ruling that gives police the power to stop, question and search people if officers suspect them of wrongdoing.

Justice William Douglas disagreed with the court’s majority opinion and warned of a power shift.

“Giving the police more power than a magistrate is a big step on the road to totalitarianism,” he writes.

The morning after the 1968 ruling, then-Cleveland Police Chief Michael J. Blackwell told the Cleveland Press: “We are not going to use this privilege indiscriminately or abuse it. It will be up to each officer to decide whether the circumstances warrant a stop and search.

JJ Prats/HDMB.org

What makes Terry stop?

As police patrol city streets and neighborhoods, they approach and question people who are walking, driving or biking. In some cases, people voluntarily talk to the police and move on.

Most encounters with the police have a specific reason. Maybe a driver is speeding or a vehicle has a broken tail light. The officer notices a traffic violation and stops the car. Or, an officer uses a traffic violation – like illegally tinted windows – to stop someone they suspect of a more serious crime so they can gather more information. This is called a pretextual stop.

When police carry out what is called a “Terry stop”, named after the Supreme Court case, they briefly arrest a person while they officers investigate whether they are involved in criminal activity. The police can also search a person for weapons.

Law enforcement officers can arrest a person they suspect of being involved – or about to be involved – in a crime. To do this, they must be able to point out specific facts or observations that lead them to this conclusion.