Here's a discussion from the FLETC (where all the non-FBI feds are trained):
There is more in the podcast transcript posted at: http://www.fletc.gov/training/progr...h-amendment-transcripts/terry-stop-frisk.html
Okay. Let’s start with Terry Stops. A Terry Stop, as you know, is an investigative detention of a suspect. We can conduct one with reasonable suspicion that criminal activities is a foot. An agent can stop a suspect and investigate that person for a reasonable period of time. And, even though that’s not a formal arrest, it is a seizure. The suspect’s not free to leave during that Terry Stop. The agent’s going to control that stop and can even use reasonable force to stop the suspect and keep him there while the agent does his investigation.
Now in addition to a Terry Stop, there’s another legal tool that’s similar, it’s called a Terry Frisk. After legally detaining the suspect in that Terry Stop, if the agent also has reasonable suspicion that the suspect’s presently armed and dangerous, then the agent can conduct a limited search of that suspect’s outer clothing for weapons. Now weapons are basically anything that can be used to hurt the officer. So the search is going to be limited to searching for hard objects that the suspect could use to hurt the officer like guns, pocket knives, mace, clubs, … it’s not limited to just those things we ordinarily think are weapons. It could also be things like car keys or pens because those could hurt an officer as well.
There is more in the podcast transcript posted at: http://www.fletc.gov/training/progr...h-amendment-transcripts/terry-stop-frisk.html