People v. Rashid, 2021 NY Slip Op 04390

Broome County task force executed a no‑knock warrant at April Hawley’s apartment (probable cause for cocaine) on Sept. 7, 2017.
Officers used a battering ram, announced themselves, and ordered occupants to the ground.
Rashid (not named in the warrant) attempted to flee out a rear door; officers ordered him to the porch floor, detained and handcuffed him.
An officer observed a handgun handle wrapped in a red/white bandana protruding from Rashid’s back pocket; officers removed a .38 caliber handgun loaded with two rounds.
Rashid was indicted for criminal possession of a weapon (2nd and 3rd degrees); a superseding indictment charged two counts of first‑degree perjury based on grand jury testimony.
County Court denied suppression of the gun and Rashid’s statement that he did not know whether the gun was loaded; jury convicted and County Court’s judgment was affirmed on appeal.

Issue	People’s Argument	Rashid’s Argument	Held
Lawfulness of detention/frisk and admission of the gun	Warrant implicitly authorizes brief detention of occupants; no‑knock entry and flight justified pat frisk and seizure	Detention/frisk were unlawful because Rashid was not named in the warrant and the search exceeded the warrant’s scope	Detention and frisk were lawful under Summers/Muehler principles; gun admissible
Admissibility of Rashid’s statement about whether the gun was loaded	Question was for officer/public safety, invoking the public‑safety exception to Miranda	Statement should be suppressed because Rashid was in custody and not Mirandized	Question fell within the public‑safety exception (Quarles); statement admissible

Linson v. City of New York, 98 A.D.3d 1002 (App. Div. 2012) (warrant to search carries limited authority to detain occupants)
Michigan v. Summers, 452 U.S. 692 (U.S. 1981) (search warrants implicitly authorize temporary detention of occupants)
Muehler v. Mena, 544 U.S. 93 (U.S. 2005) (detention during execution of a search warrant may include restraints like handcuffing)
Bailey v. United States, 568 U.S. 186 (U.S. 2013) (circumstances surrounding no‑knock entries can justify detention due to risk of violence or evidence destruction)
New York v. Quarles, 467 U.S. 649 (U.S. 1984) (public‑safety exception permits unwarned questioning to secure safety)
People v. Smith, 164 A.D.2d 456 (App. Div. 1990) (pat‑down during a warranted search permissible where weapons are suspected or observed)
People v. Soler, 92 A.D.2d 280 (App. Div. 1983) (no‑knock entries may create exigent circumstances justifying protective measures)