The People of the State of Colorado, Plaintiff-Appellant v. Michael Andrew Pappan, Defendant-Appellee.

Summary

The court reversed the suppression order, holding that officers had an objectively reasonable basis to conduct a warrantless protective search of the defendant's residence because they faced an immediate officer-safety threat and that the search was reasonable in manner and scope. It also held that the rifles, observed during the lawful search and matching the weapon described by the 911 caller, were properly seized under the plain view doctrine. Justice Gabriel, joined by Justice Hart, dissented and would have affirmed suppression because the claimed threat was speculative and the search appeared evidentiary rather than protective.