Tokugawa Enterprises v. Los Santos Police Department, was a landmark decision by San Andreas Supreme Court decided on 17 November 2013, which held that the Fourth Amendment prohibition of unreasonable search and seizures is violated when police respond in force to detain and search citizens based solely on anonymous 911 calls.
Facts[]
Business partners of Tokugawa Enterprises and other area businessmen were conducting an open air business meeting at the Mulholland Parking Lot in Los Santos. The business meeting was raided by Los Santos Police Department SWAT members responding to an anonymous 911 call which stated one of the vehicles at the meeting had a firearm in the trunk. All members of Tokugawa Enterprises at the scene were ordered to the ground at gunpoint, detained and subsequently searched.
Attorney for the plaintiff, Kato Hideyoshi, argued the police did not develop reasonable suspicion before choosing to search and seize the individuals. Police acted on the sole circumstance of a 911 call from an unknown and unverified person which is not enough to sustain reasonable suspicion to search and seize.
Opinion[]
Chief Justice A. McTrevor ruled in favor of the plaintiff and overturned all convictions associated with the unlawful search and seizure:
"The detective's who were nearby the scene could have continued their surveillance in order to determine a suspicion to ensure that a stop and frisk would have actually been needed—that's the main reason why the court has ruled in favor for the plaintiff. A sole 911 call does not permit law enforcement to immediately react upon such situations where immediate danger is not at cause; the location wasn't proven to be dangerous nor was any life directly threatened—Taking and evaluating the Detective's narrative and most witness statement into weight. If said surveillance would have been evaluated in a better light and in a longer time span, then the 911 call would have been disproved accordingly and a stop and frisk would have been nil."