Peters v. New York

An off-duty officer was in his apartment when he heard his front door knob rattle. He looked into the hallway through the door’s peephole and observed “two men tiptoeing out of the alcove toward the stairway.” Although he had lived in the apartment for approximately 12 years, he did not recognize either person. After calling the police and arming himself, the officer again looked through the peephole and saw both men tiptoeing. Believing that the two men were attempting to commit burglary, the officer left his apartment, slamming the door as he went into the hallway. Upon hearing the door slam, the men began to run down the stairs. The officer chased them. He caught the defendant, who claimed to be visiting a girlfriend. The officer then frisked the defendant and discovered a hard object in his pocket. Believing the object may be a knife he retrieved it. It was an envelope containing burglar tools.