A Terry Stop refers to a police action based on what standard?

• A. Reasonable suspicion
• B. Probable cause
• C. Mere suspicion
• D. No standard required

Answer: (A)

A Terry Stop is allowed when an officer has reasonable suspicion that criminal activity is afoot. Reasonable suspicion means there are specific, articulable facts and rational inferences from those facts that would lead a reasonable person to believe that crime may be happening or about to happen. It’s evaluated using the totality of the circumstances and is a threshold lower than probable cause, which is needed for an arrest. This standard permits a brief detention to investigate; the stop should be limited in scope and duration. If danger is suspected, a protective frisk for weapons may be conducted. The other options don’t fit: probable cause requires more evidence for an arrest, mere suspicion is too weak to justify a stop, and no standard would ignore the legal framework that governs such actions.