Which is NOT one of the three types of encounters described?

• A. Consensual
• B. Investigative Stops
• C. Terry Stops
• D. Arrests

Answer: (C)

Understanding the categories of police encounters.

In this framework, encounters fall into three broad types: consensual encounters, investigative stops, and arrests. A consensual encounter is voluntary—the person is free to leave at any time and no suspicion is needed. An investigative stop is a brief detention based on reasonable suspicion to allow the officer to investigate potential criminal activity. An arrest is a seizure with probable cause, where the person is taken into custody.

A Terry Stop is a specific form of investigative detention established by Terry v. Ohio. It describes the procedure for stopping someone and possibly frisking for weapons when there’s reasonable suspicion, but it isn’t a separate category from an investigative stop. Therefore, it’s not one of the three described types of encounters.

So the item referring to a Terry Stop isn’t a distinct encounter type; it’s a particular method used within the investigative stop category.