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Bodiford v. State

The officer impermissibly prolonged the traffic stop by refusing to communicate with dispatch after requesting a license check.

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Ricardo Breshard Bodiford appeals from an order of the Henry County Superior Court denying his motion to suppress cocaine discovered in his car during a traffic stop. Bodiford asserts that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress because police discovered the cocaine only after the arresting officer impermissibly prolonged the traffic stop for the purpose of conducting a drug investigation, and because the officer lacked a legal basis for expanding the scope of the traffic stop beyond its original purpose. We agree with Bodiford and therefore reverse the trial court’s order.

At a hearing on a motion to suppress, the trial judge sits as the trier of fact. Gonzalez v. State, 299 Ga. App. 777, 778 1 683 SE2d 878 2009. On appeal from the grant or denial of such a motion, therefore, this Court “must construe the evidence most favorably to uphold the findings and judgment of the trial court, and that court’s findings as to disputed facts and credibility must be adopted unless clearly erroneous. However, we owe no deference to the trial court’s conclusions of law and are instead free to apply anew the legal principles to the facts.” State v. Able, 321 Ga. App. 632-633 742 SE2d 149 2013 punctuation and footnote omitted.

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