For a legal frisk to occur, what must exist?

For a legal frisk to occur, it is necessary that a lawful stop is made, and the officer has a reasonable belief that the person may be armed and dangerous. This situation typically arises under the "Terry v. Ohio" ruling, which allows law enforcement officers to conduct a pat-down of an individual if they have a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity and the individual may possess a weapon that poses a threat to the officer’s safety.

In the context of this question, the requirement of a lawful stop ensures that the officer's actions are justified legally and based on observed behavior or circumstances that give rise to suspicion. The visible weapon aspect adds weight to the officer's concern for safety, justifying the need to conduct a frisk to ensure that the individual does not have any weapons that could endanger the officer or others.

Therefore, a lawful stop combined with either a visible weapon or reasonable suspicion forms the basis for conducting a frisk, making this choice the most correct. Other options, such as probable cause to search, witness testimony, or a vehicle search warrant, do not pertain directly to the requirements for a frisk under the law. Probable cause is needed for searches and seizures but does not apply to the brief protective measures of a frisk, while witness