The state Supreme Court on Monday ruled that a police officer did not exceed his authority by asking to see a pill bottle containing methamphetamine during an investigatory stop on suspicion of domestic violence.

A man told police in Colorado Springs that Tony Lee Ashford and Ashford’s girlfriend had gotten into an argument with him. The man expressed concern that Ashford would “lay hands” on the girlfriend and that Ashford sold methamphetamine. When another officer stopped the couple to inquire about the abuse allegations, he patted Ashford down for weapons.

“I know this is a pill bottle, what is it?” the officer asked after feeling the object. Ashford produced the bottle, and showed that it contained baggies of methamphetamine. The officer arrested Ashford, who was charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession with intent to manufacture or distribute, among other charges.

A district court found that while the officer had a legitimate reason to detain Ashford, he “exceeded the reasonable scope of the suspicion that [he] had for the initial contact” when he asked to see the pill bottle, which he knew to not be a weapon. The court then suppressed all of the evidence of seized drugs.

Justice Brian D. Boatright, writing for the Supreme Court, reversed the lower court’s decision, finding that the officer’s conduct “did not exceed the scope of the investigatory stop.” An investigatory stop, also known as a Terry stop, is based upon an officer’s reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, rather than probable cause. Off-topic questioning is permissible during the stop if it does not “reasonably extend” the stopped party’s detainment.

“The officer asked a single question, which took mere seconds,” Boatright wrote. He cited a 2017 case in which the Supreme Court affirmed an officer who was shown drug paraphernalia after he suspected an impending domestic violence incident between a couple. As with that case, Boatright continued, “The question asked here was minimally intrusive and did not measurably extend the investigatory stop.”

The case is The People of the State of Colorado v. Tony Lee Ashford.