Outrageous: Wearing a Fanny Pack Over Your Shoulder Could Land You in a Police Search!?!

At approximately 1:00 a.m. on October 14, 2020, officers from the New York City Police Department (NYPD) encountered Defendant Michael Hagood near a housing complex managed by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) in the Bronx. Mr. Hagood was notably wearing a fanny pack slung across his chest while standing beside a double-parked vehicle. The officers observed that Mr. Hagood appeared visibly anxious upon spotting them, with one officer noticing an unusual protrusion in his fanny pack that resembled the shape of a handgun.

Prompted by these observations, the officers decided to stop and frisk Mr. Hagood, leading to the discovery of a loaded semi-automatic pistol in the fanny pack. Consequently, Mr. Hagood faced charges under 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2) for possessing a firearm subsequent to a felony conviction. He subsequently sought to suppress the firearm as evidence, contending that the initial stop violated his Fourth Amendment rights due to the officers lacking reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.

However, the circumstances surrounding this case, which encompasses the officer’s expertise in retrieving firearms from fanny packs, Mr. Hagood’s unconventional method of wearing the fanny pack, his nervous demeanor upon encountering the officers, and the late hour within a high-crime neighborhood, collectively established reasonable suspicion.

Dissent:
The ordinary, reasonable person looking at this case would describe it as follows: Officer Migliaccio drove by Michael Hagood late one night from thirty feet away and had a two- or three-second window during which to observe Hagood. Migliaccio saw Hagood standing outside, calmly talking to two friends and wearing a fanny pack over his shoulder and across his chest. For whatever reason, Migliaccio had a hunch that Hagood was up to no good. Migliaccio acted on his hunch and decided to find a way to search Hagood. His hunch turned out to be right. Hagood was, indeed, a past felon improperly in possession of a gun. […D]espite the majority’s Herculean efforts, the record, at best, merely supports that Migliaccio had a hunch that turned out right.

Read the full case here: United States v. Hagood, No. 22-588 (2d Cir. 2023), https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca2/22-588/22-588-2023-08-30.html