| People v Grullon |
| 2007 NY Slip Op 07921 [44 AD3d 516] |
| October 23, 2007 |
| Appellate Division, First Department |
| The People of the State of New York, Appellant, v JoseGrullon, Respondent. |
—[*1] Patrick Jerome Brackley, New York, for respondent.
Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Richard D. Carruthers, J.), entered October 25,2006, which granted defendant's motion to suppress physical evidence and statements,unanimously reversed, on the law, the motion denied and the matter remanded for furtherproceedings.
The police action, in view of the totality of circumstances presented, was reasonable. In ahigh crime area at night, the police observed defendant's car speeding the wrong way on aone-way street, and going through a red light. This aggravated misconduct was considerablymore suspicious than an ordinary traffic violation. An officer saw defendant "take his arm fromthe waistband area of his body, move his arm upwards and then put his arm forward into thecenter area of the car" and advised her partner that defendant was "doing something in thecenter." Her partner then saw defendant closing the center console compartment. After beingordered out of the car, defendant appeared "very nervous" and gave an inconsistent answer as towhere he was coming from.
These observations by the officers provided a reasonable basis for them to fear for theirsafety which justified a limited intrusion into the console of the car (see People v Anderson, 17 AD3d166 [2005]), especially since a passenger remained in the car and the console was within herreach (see People v Alston, 195 AD2d 396, 397-398 [1993]; see also People vJackson, 79 NY2d 907, 908-909 [1992]). The evidence provided a satisfactory explanationfor the decision by [*2]the police to permit the passenger toremain in the car, and that decision does not undermine the conclusion that the officers had areasonable fear for their safety. Concur—Lippman, P.J., Andrias, Williams, Buckley andMalone, JJ.