City of Portland v. Gonzalez

All investigative activities conducted during a traffic stop have subject-matter and durational limitations, officers’ activities during a traffic stop must be reasonably related to the purpose of the stop or supported by an independent constitutional justification.

Defendant was convicted of section 14A.60.010 of Portland City Code, “Possession of a Loaded Firearm in a Public Place” as a result of a traffic stop search. Defendant argues that the evidence was unlawfully seized and should have been suppressed at trial. The City argued that the police suspected “there was probably something illegal in [Defendant’s] car,” but were not investigating anything traffic related. All investigative activities conducted during a traffic stop have subject-matter and durational limitations, officers’ activities during a traffic stop must be reasonably related to the purpose of the stop or supported by an independent constitutional justification. The Court held that this exceeded the scope of subject-matter limitation because there was no reason to believe Defendant had committed or was going to commit any crime. Police suspected Defendant was meeting someone with known gang affiliation, but the totality of circumstances does not create objective reasonable suspicion. REVERSED and REMANDED.