## Facts

- Philadelphia police received a radio call reporting a “man with a gun” at 28th Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue, described as a Black male wearing a white T-shirt, blue jeans, and white sneakers.
- An officer arrived almost immediately and observed D.M., a juvenile, matching the description at the reported location.
- The officer exited his vehicle and told D.M. to come over; D.M. ran.
- After backup arrived, officers stopped D.M.
- The officer conducted a protective pat-down and felt a hard object in D.M.’s crotch area; a .32-caliber handgun fell out of D.M.’s pants leg.
- D.M. was arrested; juvenile court denied suppression of the firearm, adjudicated D.M. delinquent, and imposed intensive probation.
- On appeal, the matter returned to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on remand after intervening U.S. Supreme Court authority on the role of unprovoked flight in the reasonable-suspicion analysis.

## Issues

1. Whether the police had reasonable suspicion to stop D.M. based on an anonymous gun report, D.M.’s presence at the specified location matching the description, and D.M.’s unprovoked flight when approached.
2. Whether the ensuing frisk and seizure of the firearm were lawful under the Fourth Amendment and Article I, § 8 of the Pennsylvania Constitution.

## Decision

- The Pennsylvania Supreme Court held the stop was supported by reasonable suspicion under the totality of the circumstances.
- The court held the anonymous tip alone was insufficient, but the tip combined with D.M.’s unprovoked flight in a high-crime area and his match to the description at the precise location justified an investigatory stop.
- The court treated the officer’s initial request to “come over” as a non-seizure; the relevant seizure occurred when D.M. was actually stopped after fleeing.
- The court upheld the frisk as a lawful protective pat-down incident to a valid Terry stop where the suspected offense involved a firearm.
- The court reinstated the lower courts’ rulings denying suppression, leaving the delinquency adjudication and disposition intact.

## Legal Principles

- Reasonable suspicion is assessed under the totality of the circumstances, not by isolating individual facts.
- An anonymous tip alleging a person is armed generally requires corroboration before it can support a stop.
- Unprovoked flight upon noticing police, particularly in a high-crime area, is a significant factor that can contribute to reasonable suspicion.
- A police request to approach does not necessarily constitute a seizure; a seizure occurs when officers restrain a person’s freedom of movement through physical force or a show of authority to which the person submits.
- When officers reasonably suspect a person is armed and dangerous, they may conduct a limited protective frisk for weapons consistent with Terry.

## Conclusion

The court concluded that D.M.’s match to the reported description at the exact location, combined with unprovoked flight in a high-crime area, supplied reasonable suspicion for a stop, and the suspected presence of a gun justified a protective frisk; therefore, the firearm was admissible and suppression was properly denied.


In re D.M., 566 Pa. 445, 781 A.2d 1161 (Pa. 2001)