The Pennsylvania Superior Court has decided the case of Commonwealth v. Davenport, holding on appeal that an officer lawfully performed a pat-down search of a defendant who had overdosed in his home after the officer noticed a bulge in his hoodie. This decision is concerning given the fact that the defendant was present in his home when the officers performed this search of him. Further, this decision seems to run afoul of Commonwealth v. Hicks which held that an officer cannot infer criminal activity merely because a defendant is in possession of a concealed firearm. Nonetheless, the Superior Court affirmed the search based on the community caretaking exception to the warrant requirement.

Commonwealth v. Davenport

A police officer in McKeesport, Pennsylvania responded to a report of a drug overdose. The officer arrived on scene and spoke with the defendant’s mother. She was the individual who had called the police. His mother told the officer that the defendant had smoked K2 marijuana and that she had found him unconscious on the back porch. The officer saw the defendant face down, breathing, but he was not responding to anyone. Medics arrived and attended to the defendant, and he began to regain consciousness. As the defendant started to get up, the officer observed a heavy bulge in the front pocket of the defendant’s hooded sweatshirt. The officer would later testify that he knew immediately that this bulge was a firearm. The officer then alerted his lieutenant that the defendant had a firearm on him. The lieutenant did a pat-down for officer safety and recovered the firearm. 

The defendant was subsequently arrested and charged with person prohibited from possessing a firearm. Prior to trial, the defendant filed a motion to suppress the gun found on his person. The trial court denied the defendant’s motion to suppress. The defendant then elected to proceed to a non-jury trial at which he was found guilty. He was then sentenced to six to twelve years in prison. The defendant filed a timely appeal. On appeal, the defendant argued that the officers illegally seized him because the police officers had completed their wellness check and his medical emergency had ended. 

What is the Community Caretaking Doctrine? 

The community caretaking doctrine is an exception to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement. This doctrine has three specific exceptions to the warrant requirement: the emergency aid exception, the public servant exception, and the automobile impoundment/inventory exception. Each of these exceptions contemplates that police officers engage in a wide variety of activities relating to the health and safety of citizens unrelated to investigating or preventing criminal activity. However, these caretaking activities must be performed in strict accordance with the Fourth Amendment. 

Regarding police actions pursuant to the emergency aid exception, the actions must be independent from the detection, investigation, or acquisition of criminal evidence. Further, the warrantless intrusion must be commensurate with, and limited to, the perceived need to provide immediate assistance. In other words, once the emergency that permitted the police officers to act without a warrant has ceased, their right to enter and search under the emergency aid exception has also ceased.  

The Pennsylvania Superior Court’s Decision  

The Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed the trial court’s decision. In this appellate case, the defendant conceded that the police were lawfully at his residence pursuant to the emergency aid exception. However, he argues that once he regained consciousness and began to get up from the porch floor to go to the hospital, the reason for the officers’ presence in the home ended and the officers were required to leave. 

However, according to the Superior Court, the officers still were allowed to conduct a pat-down for their safety when the one officer saw the bulge and “immediately knew it was a firearm.” According to the Superior Court, just because the officers were at the defendant’s house to render emergency assistance, this did not mean that they could not perform a safety frisk of the defendant. The Superior Court opined that because the defendant had just overdosed he could potentially pose a threat to himself or others. Therefore, the officers’ actions were justified. As such, the defendant will not get a new trial and he will be forced to serve his sentence. 

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