Opinion
February 2, 1998
Appeal from the County Court Dutchess County (Dolan, J.).
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.
During an encounter with the police, the defendant dropped a bag later determined to contain 1100 milligrams of cocaine. The defendant moved to suppress the cocaine arguing, inter alia, that it was the fruit of an unconstitutional seizure of his person. However, although the defendant was seized within the meaning of the New York Constitution at the time he dropped the bag, the police possessed a reasonable suspicion that he was engaged in criminal activity, and, therefore, the seizure of the defendant was permissible ( see, People v. Bora, 83 N.Y.2d 531; People v. Harrison, 57 N.Y.2d 470; People v. Castro, 129 A.D.2d 406, affd 70 N.Y.2d 943). In any event, the facts adduced at the suppression hearing support the hearing court's conclusion that the dropping of the bag was not a spontaneous reaction to police conduct, but was rather an independent act of the defendant involving a calculated risk ( see, People v. Boodle, 47 N.Y.2d 398, cert denied 444 U.S. 969; People v. Dukes, 184 A.D.2d 522). Thus, suppression of evidence of the cocaine was properly denied.
We have considered the defendant's remaining contentions and find them to be without merit.
Bracken, J. P., Rosenblatt, Ritter and Friedmann, JJ., concur.