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on speculation rather than objective, particularized facts. Accordingly, the trial court erred in
crediting the “high crime area” factor in its reasonable suspicion analysis.
Even when the evidence is viewed in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, the
Commonwealth does not support its claim that Chisholm exhibited any signs of nervousness
rising beyond ordinary reactions to police presence. Therefore, the trial court’s acceptance of
that inference was plainly wrong.
The Commonwealth relied heavily on Chisholm’s alleged nervousness to justify the
detention, but the record reflects nothing more than ordinary, generalized reactions that courts
have repeatedly held are insufficient to establish reasonable suspicion. At the suppression
hearing, the Commonwealth argued that Chisholm appeared “visibly nervous” when officers
approached him because his “breath rate change[d],” which Officer Smith characterized as “a
very abnormal reaction.” “Generally, however, ‘nervousness is of limited significance in
determining reasonable suspicion.’” United States v. Jones, 269 F.3d 919, 928 (8th Cir. 2001)
(quoting United States v. Fernandez, 18 F.3d 874, 879 (10th Cir. 1994)).
“Although there are a plethora of cases referring to a defendant appearing nervous,
nervousness is generally included as one of several grounds for finding reasonable suspicion and
not a ground sufficient in and of itself.” United States v. Mesa, 62 F.3d 159, 162 (6th Cir. 1995)
(footnote omitted). “[W]hile a person’s nervous behavior may be relevant, we are wary of the
objective suspicion supplied by generic claims that a Defendant was nervous or exhibited
nervous behavior after being confronted by law enforcement officials.” United States v. Barron-
Cabrera, 119 F.3d 1454, 1461 (10th Cir. 1997) (quoting United States v. Peters, 10 F.3d 1517,
1521 (10th Cir. 1993)). Moreover, “it is common for most people ‘to exhibit signs of
nervousness when confronted by a law enforcement officer’ whether or not the person is
currently engaged in criminal activity.” United States v. Salzano, 158 F.3d 1107, 1113 (10th Cir.
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