United States v. Temarco Pope, Jr., 910 F.3d 413

Early-morning noise complaint at a motel; officer smelled marijuana and found ~30 people in a single motel room.
Officer recognized some occupants as gang members, ordered everyone out with hands up, and observed Temarco Pope, Jr. place a black pistol in his waistband and cover it with his shirt.
Officer saw the gun's outline through Pope's shirt, stopped and handcuffed Pope, then disarmed him; Pope admitted he lacked a permit.
Pope was indicted under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) for being a felon in possession of a firearm and moved to suppress the gun and statements, arguing the stop/frisk lacked reasonable suspicion.
District court denied suppression; Pope pleaded guilty while reserving the right to appeal the suppression ruling. The Eighth Circuit affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether officer had reasonable suspicion to detain Pope for carrying a concealed weapon	Pope: Officer lacked articulable suspicion that he was committing a crime because possession might be lawful with a permit	Government: Officer personally observed Pope conceal a gun; under Iowa law concealed carrying is presumptively unlawful absent a permit, so reasonable suspicion existed	Court: Affirmed — officer had reasonable suspicion to detain when he saw Pope place and conceal the gun
Whether officer had reasonable suspicion to frisk Pope for weapons	Pope: Officer only knew Pope was armed, not that he was dangerous; frisk exceeded Terry scope	Government: Officer reasonably believed Pope was armed; frisk aimed at officer safety justified under Terry/Adams	Court: Affirmed — frisk reasonable because officer could properly fear for safety even if weapon possession might be lawful
Whether handcuffing eliminated need for frisk	Pope: Handcuffs neutralized threat, so frisk was unnecessary	Government: Handcuffs do not eliminate risk; officer safety still requires a frisk and eventual removal of cuffs poses risk	Court: Affirmed — handcuffs do not remove all danger; frisk remains reasonable
Whether Second Amendment challenge to Iowa § 724.4(1) preserved	Pope: (raised in reply) statute violates Second Amendment	Government: issue not briefed in opening brief; forfeited	Court: Not reached — waived for this appeal

United States v. Cotter, 701 F.3d 544 (8th Cir. 2012) (reasonable-suspicion standard for investigatory stops)
United States v. Cobo-Cobo, 873 F.3d 613 (8th Cir. 2017) (de novo review of reasonable-suspicion determinations)
United States v. Jones, 606 F.3d 964 (8th Cir. 2010) (discussion whether suspicion of concealed weapon alone justifies stop; concurrence skeptical)
United States v. Harris, 747 F.3d 1013 (8th Cir. 2014) (seizure upheld on community-caretaking rationale; discussion of Jones)
Duffie v. City of Lincoln, 834 F.3d 877 (8th Cir. 2016) (report of openly carried handgun insufficient for reasonable suspicion)
United States v. Gatlin, 613 F.3d 374 (3d Cir. 2010) (concealed-carry laws treated as affirmative defenses; possession presumptively unlawful absent permit)
United States v. Dembry, 535 F.3d 798 (8th Cir. 2008) (officer observation of a weapon can support reasonable suspicion)
Adams v. Williams, 407 U.S. 143 (1972) (Terry frisk justified to allow officer to pursue investigation without fear of violence)
Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968) (officer may frisk when reasonably believes suspect is armed and dangerous)
Pennsylvania v. Mimms, 434 U.S. 106 (1977) (bulge indicating weapon permitted officer to conclude suspect posed danger)
United States v. Robinson, 846 F.3d 694 (4th Cir. 2017) (state-law presumptive lawfulness of gun possession does not negate officer safety concerns justifying frisk)