Are You Free to Go?

The problem for somebody who is detained by a police officer is the person doesn't actually know if they're detained or whether it's what the law calls a consensual encounter. If I ask an officer, am I free to go, and the officer says no, then the officer is signaling legally that in the officer's mind, the officer does have reasonable suspicion to detain me. That means the officer believes that he has reasonable suspicion. But, of course, that doesn't mean that he actually does havereasonable suspicion. So if someone then declines to, say, provide their identity, you are free to – the officer wants to know who you are. If you're not being detained, you do