Lee v. Superior Court CA4/2
Opinion
Opinion
BACKGROUND
A. The Traffic Stop
At 10:18 p.m. on July 26, 2023, two San Bernardino police department officers
observed traffic violations that prompted them to activate emergency lights to stop Lee
and his two passengers. Lee had failed to yield to an oncoming fire truck and his vehicle
lacked a front license plate. Lee pulled his car over and parked at a curb.
Our record contains a video of the stop from Officer Diego Diaz’s body camera.
The video shows the two minutes and eight seconds from when the officers approached
Lee’s car through the beginning of the patdown search of Lee’s person, and it shows
about another 50 seconds after the search began. Our summary of the facts is taken from
the video, the transcript of its audio in our record, and the suppression hearing testimony.
Officer Diaz approached the car on foot on the driver’s side and dealt with Lee.
Officer Sean Breceda approached from the passenger side and dealt with the passengers.
2 In response to Diaz’s requests, Lee opened the car windows and handed his license
to Diaz. Diaz asked if the back seat passenger was an adult, and Lee said he was.