Florida Supreme Court Rules Police May Detain Passengers During Traffic Stops

‘Florida’s Supreme Court has ruled that police may detain passengers any and all passengers during even minor traffic stops and that doing so does not violate constitutional rights to hold someone not suspected of any wrongdoing for a “reasonable” time, The Newspaper reported.
The high court made the ruling after evaluating a January 29, 2015 traffic stop in which a car with a broken tail light was pulled over in Gainesville for allegedly rolling through a stop sign. Gregory Presley was one of two passengers in the stopped vehicle questioned by Officer John Pandak about who he was and where they were going. The officer asked if any of the passengers had been drinking and Presley questioned why would that be a problem.
“I don’t know, man,” Officer Pandak replied. “This is a traffic stop, you’re part of it. So we’re hanging out. That’s all there is to it…. Well, we’re just talking, man. You can’t go anywhere at the moment because you’re part of this stop. That’s all.”’
Read more: Florida Supreme Court Rules Police May Detain Passengers During Traffic Stops