United States v. Hawkins, 37 F.4th 854

At ~8:51 p.m. police received a ShotSpotter report of a gunshot from a building rooftop on Reverend James A. Polite Avenue in the Bronx; officers arrived within ~2 minutes.
Officers observed Michael Hawkins and Caesar Diaz exit the six‑story building and enter a fenced vestibule near the reported rooftop; officers noted slight pivoting/hurrying and both had hands in their pockets.
Officer Bonczyk asked them to remove their hands; when Diaz did, Bonczyk observed a bulge at Diaz’s waistband and tension in his sweatshirt. Consent to search was refused.
An eyewitness told officers he heard a gunshot and saw the defendants come down from the rooftop; officers recovered a spent casing from the rooftop.
A frisk of Diaz produced a plastic bag containing an unloaded firearm; both were arrested. Hawkins was later found to possess a firearm at the precinct that ballistically matched the rooftop casing.
Hawkins and Diaz pled guilty to being felons in possession of firearms while reserving the right to appeal the denial of their joint suppression motion; the Second Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
1) Whether officers had reasonable suspicion to stop/detain Hawkins and Diaz	ShotSpotter report of a nearby rooftop shot, defendants leaving the building shortly after, in a high‑crime area, plus evasive body movements, justified a Terry stop	The observations (body movements, hands in pockets) and ShotSpotter were insufficient to create reasonable suspicion	Court held reasonable suspicion existed to effectuate the initial stop
2) Whether officers had reasonable suspicion to frisk Diaz (Terry frisk)	Bulge at Diaz’s waistline on removal of hands, eyewitness report of descending from rooftop, and spent casing justified a frisk for weapons	Bulge and movement evidence were unreliable/insufficient and partly contradicted by video/testimony	Court held officers had specific and articulable facts to frisk Diaz
3) Whether officers had probable cause to arrest Hawkins	Recovery of a firearm on Diaz, matching spent casing on the rooftop, eyewitness that both came down from rooftop, and evasive behavior supported probable cause as to Hawkins	Hawkins was a mere bystander without individualized probable cause; evidence did not link him to the shooting	Court held probable cause existed to arrest Hawkins

Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (established standard for stop-and-frisk requiring reasonable suspicion)
United States v. Padilla, 548 F.3d 179 (articulable facts and inferences for reasonable suspicion)
Illinois v. Wardlow, 528 U.S. 119 (nervous/evasive behavior and high‑crime area relevant to reasonable suspicion)
Navarette v. California, 572 U.S. 393 (totality of the circumstances for reasonable suspicion from reports)
United States v. Lucky, 569 F.3d 101 (deference to district court factual findings on credibility in suppression rulings)
United States v. Patrick, 899 F.2d 169 (probable cause standard for arrest)
Brinegar v. United States, 338 U.S. 160 (probable cause as fair probability)
Florida v. Harris, 568 U.S. 237 (probable cause assessment under totality of circumstances)
Brown v. City of Oneonta, 221 F.3d 329 (seizure is a legal question reviewed de novo)
United States v. Tehrani, 49 F.3d 54 (Terry stop reasonable suspicion requirement)