What is the minimum requirement for conducting a Terry stop?

To conduct a Terry stop, the minimum requirement is reasonable articulable suspicion (RAS). This legal standard is derived from the Supreme Court case Terry v. Ohio, which established that police officers may stop and briefly detain a person for investigative purposes if they have specific and articulable facts that reasonably warrant the intrusion based on the officer's trained judgment.

This means that the officer must be able to point to particular facts or circumstances that led them to suspect that the individual is engaged in criminal activity. The suspicion must be more than just a vague hunch but does not need to rise to the level of probable cause, which is a higher standard that is required for arrests and obtaining search warrants.

The importance of RAS lies in its balancing act between individual rights and the necessity for law enforcement to ensure public safety. This standard allows officers to act on their observations, experiences, and understanding of criminal behavior without needing definitive evidence of a crime, thus enabling them to intervene before a crime occurs or escalates.

The other options, such as probable cause, witness testimony, and a warrant, represent different legal standards or requirements that are not applicable for a Terry stop. They are associated with different levels of law enforcement intervention, specifically regarding arrests or searches,