Cite as: 528 U. S. 119 (2000)
Opinion of the Court
Chief Justice Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court.
Respondent Wardlow fled upon seeing police officers patrolling an area known for heavy narcotics trafficking. Two of the officers caught up with him, stopped him, and conducted a protective patdown search for weapons. Discovering a .38-caliber handgun, the officers arrested Wardlow. We hold that the officers' stop did not violate the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
On September 9, 1995, Officers Nolan and Harvey were working as uniformed officers in the special operations section of the Chicago Police Department. The officers were driving the last car of a four-car caravan converging on an area known for heavy narcotics trafficking in order to investigate drug transactions. The officers were traveling together because they expected to find a crowd of people in the area, including lookouts and customers.
As the caravan passed 4035 West Van Buren, Officer Nolan observed respondent Wardlow standing next to the building
Alan G. Lance of Idaho, Carla J. Stovall of Kansas, Richard P. Ieyoub of Louisiana, Mike Hatch of Minnesota, Michael C. Moore of Mississippi, Don Stenberg of Nebraska, Frankie Sue Del Papa of Nevada, Michael P. Easley of North Carolina, W. A. Drew Edmondson of Oklahoma, Charles M. Condon of South Carolina, Mark L. Barnett of South Dakota, and Mark L. Earley of Virginia; for the Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney by John D. O'Hair, pro se, Timothy A. Baughman, and Jeffrey Caminsky; for Americans for Effective Law Enforcement, Inc., et al. by Wayne W. Schmidt, James P. Manak, and Richard Weintraub; for the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation by Kent S. Scheidegger and Charles L. Hobson; and for the National Association of Police Organizations et al. by Stephen R. McSpadden.
Briefs of amici curiae urging affirmance were filed for the American Civil Liberties Union et al. by Tracey Maclin, Steven R. Shapiro, Harvey Grossman, and Barbara E. Bergman; for the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc., by Elaine R. Jones, Theodore M. Shaw, George H. Kendall, and Laura E. Hankins; and for the Rutherford Institute by John W. Whitehead and Steven H. Aden.
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