Lead Opinion
OPINION
delivered the opinion of the Court in which
Appellant was charged with multiple offenses of improper photography, a state-jail felony.
On direct appeal, appellant’s sole issue asked, “Does merely taking photographs at a public pool give police reasonable suspicion to stop appellant’s vehicle?” The court of appeals overruled that single issue and affirmed the trial court’s judgments. Arguellez v. State,
We granted review of one of two grounds that appellant raised in his petition for discretionary review. “Is ‘crime afoot’ when a person takes pictures at a public pool permitting a police officer to conduct an investigative detention?” We conclude that crime was not afoot, sustain that ground, and reverse the court of appeals’s judgments.
I. Facts
At a hearing on appellant’s motions to suppress, the testimony of the two arresting officers reflects that on July 30, 2009, appellant was observed taking photographs of patrons at a municipal swimming pool at a public park. The subjects of these photographs included women and children who were wearing swimming attire. Police were notified, and patrol officers responded. The dispatched call described an unknown man in a suspicious vehicle, specifically “a male subject in a tan Ford Taurus taking photos at the [c]ity pool and they said he was parked beside the fence.” The responding officer testified that he saw a vehicle fitting that de
The first officer returned to appellant and requested and received verbal consent from appellant to look through the photographs stored on appellant’s digital camera. Those photographs depicted the pool area, its surroundings, and people, primarily females in bathing suits, many of whom were young girls. The camera also contained photographs of people in a place that the officer could not identify.
A grand jury returned two separate indictments against appellant. Appellant filed an identical motion to suppress in each case, asserting that the officer stopped appellant’s vehicle without a warrant, reasonable suspicion, or other legal justification. After hearing testimony from the two officers, the trial court denied the suppression motion in each case. Appellant then plead nolo contendere to the charges in both indictments.
II. Court of Appeals Opinion
On direct appeal, appellant’s sole issue asked, “Does merely taking photographs at a public pool give police reasonable suspicion to stop appellant’s vehicle?” The court of appeals held that the officers had reasonable suspicion to stop and detain appellant; under the totality of the circumstances, the information known collectively to the police “provided specific, articulable facts that, combined with reasonable inferences to be derived from those facts, led to the reasonable conclusion that appellant was, had been, or soon would be engaged in criminal activity.” Arguellez v. State,
We granted one of appellant’s grounds for review, in which appellant asks whether there was reasonable suspicion to justify his stop and investigative detention.
The state responds by asserting that “[t]he trial court properly denied [appellant's motion to suppress evidence.” It argues that the known facts created a reasonable suspicion such that the officer was justified in initiating a Terry stop. See Terry v. Ohio,
IV. Arguments
Appellant argues that a “suspicious person” taking pictures of people at a public pool, without more, “does not create reasonable suspicion to believe that ‘crime is afoot.’ ” He asserts that the applicable standards require objective, not subjective, facts and require more than one person’s opinion that someone’s behavior is suspicious. He also argues that taking pictures in a public park or a public pool is neither unusual nor a crime. “Taking pictures of people at a pool is no more ‘unusual’ than taking pictures of people at a beach or a football game, or any other public places where people gather.” Appellant criticizes the state’s failure to call “any ‘true’ complainant” — the pool manager or the dispatcher — and suggests that, because of such failure, it is unclear from the suppression hearing’s testimony what information was imparted to the responding officers. He maintains that the information adduced at the suppression hearing failed to provide any facts that support reasonable suspicion to stop his vehicle and detain him, thus failing to meet the state’s burden. He also suggests that the trial court erroneously reasoned that merely adding the word “suspicious” to a description of a “male subject taking pictures of people at the pool” provided the reasonable suspicion for the first officer to stop appellant’s vehicle and detain appellant.
Appellant also disputes the conclusion of the court of appeals that, under the totality of circumstances, the facts known to the initial officer provided specific, articulable facts that, combined with reasonable inferences to be derived therefrom, led to the reasonable conclusion that he was, had been, or soon would be engaged in criminal activity. He notes that “the uncontested facts fail to show any ‘unusual activity’ or that the activity of taking photographs was related to crime.” He asserts that, because the state failed to carry its burden to establish reasonable suspicion for the stop and subsequent detention, that stop and detention were unlawful, and the evidence obtained from the stop should have been suppressed. Appellant argues that the applicable jurisprudence requires this Court to focus on what was objectively known to the first officer before stopping appellant’s vehicle and detaining him and that, even when evaluating the facts under the totality of the circumstances, the state failed to carry its burden to establish reasonable suspicion for the stop and subsequent detention.
The state contends that the court of appeals correctly concluded that, under the totality of the circumstances, the known information provided specific, artic-ulable facts, combined with reasonable inferences to be derived therefrom, sufficient to justify the initial stop and detention of appellant. The state acknowledges that, at the time of the stop, the first officer did not know who the informant was, but knew that she was still on the phone with the dispatcher. It asserts that, because the
The state points to appellant’s attempted “flight,” i.e., driving away from the pool area when the first officer arrived: “If [appellant's actions were not illegal or suspicious, why did he leave when the police arrived?” The state also points out that the photos taken in one of these cases had been taken at a country club where appellant would have had to enter private property and that those photos “would not have been discovered if not for this investigative stop.” It adds that appellant leaving in a car created an “exigent circumstance” and suggests that, had the initial officer not stopped appellant’s car, “based upon the collective knowledge of the police,” appellant “would have fled the scene and this crime would have gone undetected.” The state also points to the brevity of the detention. It insists that, because the informant identified herself, identified the crime of taking photos at the pool, and stayed on the line with the dispatcher throughout the entire police encounter with appellant, the stop was justified.
V. Analysis
A trial court’s ruling on a suppression motion is reviewed on appeal for abuse of discretion, with almost complete deference being given to its determination of historical facts, especially if those are based on an assessment of credibility and demeanor. Crain v. State,
When police conduct a warrant-less search or seizure, the state has the burden to show that the officer had reasonable suspicion to believe that an individual was violating the law. We have held that the officer must have specific, articulable facts that, when combined with rational inferences therefrom, lead him to reasonably conclude that a particular person actually is, has been, or soon will be, engaged in criminal activity. Castro v. State,
We have noted that actions in a series may each seem innocent enough in isolation. If, however, when examined in the context of the totality of the circumstances, they reasonably suggest recent or imminent criminal conduct, an investigative detention is justified. Derichsweiler v. State,
Appellant’s vehicle was stopped based upon the information obtained from
The totality of circumstances, including the cumulative information known to the cooperating officers at the time of the stop, was that an unknown male in a described vehicle was taking photographs at a public pool. Photographs are routinely taken of people in public places, including at public beaches, where bathing suits are also commonly worn, and at concerts, festivals, and sporting events. Taking photographs of people at such public venues is not unusual, suspicious, or criminal.
The generally matching description of the vehicle simply connects appellant to the “suspicious” photography, but does not in any way suggest that, by taking pictures in a public place, appellant was, had been, or soon would be, engaged in criminal activity. And since there was no indication of crime being afoot, leaving the scene of such photography does not constitute flight or evasion. Likewise, the fact that the pool manager remained in contact with the dispatcher and confirmed that the initial officer was behind the suspect vehicle does not in any way indicate that crime was afoot.
VI. Conclusion
Given the record before us, we hold both that there was insufficient evidence to establish reasonable suspicion for the stop of appellant’s vehicle and that the investigatory detention of appellant was not supported by reasonable suspicion. The court of appeals erred in affirming the trial court’s denial of appellant’s suppression motions and its judgments. We reverse the judgments of the court of appeals and remand these causes to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Notes
. Appellant was charged by two indictments, each one alleging a different date of commission for the offenses, July 30, 2009 and August 4, 2009. Each indictment included two counts, with each count alleging a different named complainant, producing a total of four named complainants.
. It was later determined that those photographs had been taken at a Yorktown, Texas, country-club swimming pool.
. Miranda v. Arizona,
. The state also invites us "to peruse the photos introduced at trial.” It asserts that "[t]he bulk of the photos are shot from the knees to the neck of young girls, focusing on breasts, nether regions!,] and rear-ends” and insists that “[t]hey are lewd.” Nevertheless, we are unable to make our decision of the propriety of the stop based upon the evidence obtained from the stop. Appellant plead noto conten-dere to the charges in both indictments and challenged only the pretrial ruling on his suppression motions, thus the propriety of the search and seizure, rather than the substance of the evidence seized, is the subject of our review of the court of appeals’s decision in appellant's direct appeal.
. The trial court did not make formal written fact-findings, but rather, in orally announcing his denial of the motions stated that, because the officers were told by the dispatcher that a caller had stated that someone was acting suspiciously and could be found at the pool area in the described vehicle, the officer did not make an interpretation of whether or not there was suspicious activity but rather was told there was suspicious activity, which was sufficient for him to make a stop and investigate; i.e., somebody, the person who made the call, interpreted appellant's activity as being suspicious and reported that to police, who "have a right to stop suspicious actors to determine if, in fact, they have acted suspiciously.” The court concluded that based on the information, the officer “had a right to detain [appellant] and see what he had."
Even if that conclusion is taken as accurate, the responding officers still had insufficient evidence that appellant had violated a criminal statute.
Dissenting Opinion
filed a dissenting opinion,
in which KELLER, P.J., and MEYERS, J., joined.
I find nothing wrong with the court of appeals’ judgments in these cases. For this reason, I would affirm its judgments or, more appropriately, dismiss these petitions for discretionary review as improvidently granted because they do not present any reason for our review under Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 66.3.
In reversing the court of appeals’ decisions, the majority’s analysis overlooks two important principles of Fourth Amendment law: (1) the facts supporting reasonable suspicion need not be criminal; and (2) in forming reasonable suspicion, an officer is able to make rational inferences from those facts. The majority’s statement that “[pjhotographs are routinely taken of people in public places, including at public beaches, where bathing suits are commonly worn, and at concerts, festivals, and sporting events”
The majority’s opinion does not consider the rational inferences, based on common sense, Officer Tolbert may have deduced from Arguellez’s behavior. Officers are entitled to interpret facts with common sense and infer that criminal activity may have recently occurred.
For the foregoing reasons, I dissent.
. Ante, op. at 664.
. id.
. See Tex. Penal Code § 21.15(h)(1) (defining the offense of improper photography or visual recording as "photograph[ing] ... a visual image of another at a location that is not a bathroom or private dressing room: (A) without the other person’s consent; and (B) with intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person....").
. See Derichsweiler v. State,
. Illinois v. Wardlow,
.Derichsweiler,