State of New York OPINION Court of Appeals This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the New York Reports. No. 47 The People &c., Appellant, v. Limmia Page, Respondent. Daniel J. Punch, for appellant. Robert L. Kemp, for respondent. FEINMAN, J.: Using the emergency lights on his unmarked Chevrolet Tahoe, a federal marine interdiction agent with the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) stopped -1- -2- No. 47 the driver of a vehicle in which defendant was a passenger for driving dangerously on a public highway in Erie County. After pulling the driver over, the agent waited in his truck for members of the Buffalo Police Department who, upon arriving at the scene, searched the vehicle and arrested defendant for criminal possession of a weapon. The question on this appeal is whether the courts below properly relied on our decision in People v Williams (4 NY3d 535 [2005]) in granting defendant’s motion to suppress the evidence recovered. Because we conclude that Williams is inapposite, we reverse. I. One June evening in 2017, the on-duty agent had just concluded a “maritime patrol” and was merging his unmarked Tahoe onto Interstate 190 in Erie County on his way to make security checks at the local marinas. The Tahoe was equipped with an emergency radio as well as “red and blue emergency lights in the grille of the front of the truck” and “a little light bar inside the windshield,” but did not carry the full complement of lights and sirens typically found on a police vehicle. As the agent was merging, he suddenly noticed a pair of headlights, which belonged to a vehicle occupied by defendant and two others, “coming up from behind in the rearview mirror.” The driver of the vehicle rapidly closed in behind the agent, then suddenly hit the brakes to avoid rear-ending the Tahoe. Although the driver pulled back, he started weaving between the right and left lanes and then passed the agent’s Tahoe on the left, leading to a second near-collision with another car that was merging from Route 198 onto Interstate 190. -2- -3- No. 47 The vehicle continued to drive erratically, leading to a third near-collision, and the agent followed. After attempting to contact the State Police on the radio equipped in his Tahoe, the agent dialed 911 on his personal phone to report the incident. As he and defendant’s vehicle exited the freeway, the agent became increasingly concerned for public safety and “energized” the lights on his Tahoe, prompting the driver to pull over. After relaying their location to the 911 operator, the agent sat in his parked Tahoe and waited roughly five minutes for the police to arrive. An officer of the Buffalo Police Department arrived and spoke to the agent before approaching defendant’s vehicle. As a safety measure, the agent accompanied the lone officer to defendant’s car and saw him speaking with the occupants, but he did not speak with defendant or anyone else in the vehicle ...
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