Summary
The Delaware Supreme Court affirmed Bernard S. Bryant’s convictions, holding that the police officer had reasonable and articulable suspicion to stop Bryant after he grabbed his waistband and fled. The Court also held that the officer’s testimony describing Bryant as displaying characteristics of an armed gunman was admissible as lay opinion testimony and, in any event, harmless if erroneous.
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Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether Officer Mosley had reasonable and articulable suspicion to stop Bryant after Bryant grabbed his waistband and fled.
- Whether Officer Mosley's testimony that Bryant was displaying the characteristics of an armed gunman was impermissible expert testimony requiring advance identification of Mosley as an expert.
- Whether any error in admitting the testimony warranted reversal.
Holdings
- The stop was supported by reasonable and articulable suspicion because the circumstances, including Bryant's grabbing his waistband and fleeing after the officer exited his patrol vehicle, provided ample facts to justify the stop.
- Officer Mosley's testimony that Bryant was displaying the characteristics of an armed gunman was admissible as testimony based on the officer's own impressions as a fact witness and was also admissible under Delaware Rule of Evidence 701 as lay opinion testimony.
- Bryant waived the argument by failing to fairly present it to the Superior Court, and reversal was unavailable absent plain error; no plain error existed.
- Even if the testimony had been inadmissible, its admission was harmless and did not warrant reversal.
Key quotations
“there were ample facts to establish reasonable and articulable suspicion to conduct the stop.” (¶ 1)
“Officer Mosley’s testimony was relevant and based on his own impressions as a fact witness, and given the subject matter of the issue addressed by the testimony, would also be admissible under Delaware Rule of Evidence 701 as lay witness testimony.” (¶ 2)
Factual background
At approximately 11:30 p.m. on July 20, 2015, Wilmington police Officer Brandon Mosley observed approximately ten people loitering near a vacant property. When Mosley exited his patrol vehicle, Bryant looked directly at him, grabbed his waistband, and fled. During the ensuing pursuit, Bryant ignored Mosley's command to stop and dropped a firearm, from which the magazine separated; the firearm and ammunition had been concealed under Bryant's clothing.
Procedural history
The Superior Court denied Bryant's challenges and convicted him of Carrying a Concealed Deadly Weapon, Resisting Arrest, Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited, and Possession of Ammunition by a Person Prohibited. The Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the Superior Court's judgment in a per curiam order.