Colorado POST Practice Exam

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Prepare for the Colorado POST Exam with essential study materials including multiple choice questions and detailed explanations. Achieve your goal of becoming a licensed peace officer!

Each practice test/flash card set has 50 randomly selected questions from a bank of over 500. You'll get a new set of questions each time!

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The case of Terry vs. Ohio established important guidelines for which police action?

Traffic stops
Arrests
Stop and frisk
Warrantless searches

The correct answer is: Stop and frisk

The case of Terry vs. Ohio, decided by the Supreme Court in 1968, established the legal precedent for stop and frisk procedures in the context of police encounters with individuals. In this case, the Court held that police officers are allowed to stop a person based on reasonable suspicion, which is a lower standard than probable cause. This decision affirmed that if an officer has a reasonable belief that a person is involved in criminal activity and may be armed, they are permitted to conduct a limited pat-down search of that individual’s outer clothing for weapons. This framework serves to balance the need for officer safety and effective law enforcement with the protection of individual Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures. Consequently, the guidelines set forth by this case specifically address the procedures and limits surrounding the stop and frisk intervention, making it a critical point of reference for police officers when assessing situations that warrant such actions.