Search Incident To Arrest

A. Search of Arrestee’s Person or Nearby Area

Police may search the person of an arrestee, after a custodial arrest, as well as the area within the arrestee’s reach; police may examine and seize any object they find during this search, in order to prevent the arrestee from gaining possession of a weapon or of evidence that may be destroyed. The search must be contemporaneous with the arrest within the actual area of the arrestee’s reach.

B. Search of Car Interior

An automatic search may be made of a car interior, excluding the trunk, following the arrest of a recent occupant of the car, whether or not the car interior is within the actual reach of the arrestee. Such a search may be made only if the arrestee is in custody, not if the arrestee was only given a citation.