A police officer received an anonymous tip that a middle-aged, white female was dealing methamphetamine out of a white, four-door sedan, with a California license plate, that was parked in a remote part of a nearby shopping mall’s parking lot.

A police officer received an anonymous tip that a middle-aged, white female was dealing methamphetamine out of a white, four-door sedan, with a California license plate, that was parked in a remote part of a nearby shopping mall’s parking lot. The officer drove to the parking lot and located a car that satisfied the tipster’s description. The officer parked a distance from the target car and surveilled it for the next half hour as the car remained parked in the same spot, with the engine running. During that time, the officer observed another vehicle drive up to the target car so that the drivers’ doors were adjacent to each other. After 30 seconds, the target car remained parked and the other vehicle drove away. Based on this encounter, the officer approached the target car to conduct an investigatory stop of the driver. First, the officer asked the driver for her license and registration, which she provided. The officer determined that both the license and registration were valid. Then, the officer asked about the driver’s encounter with the other vehicle. The driver responded that a friend was driving the other vehicle, had spotted the driver’s car in the lot, and stopped to say hello. The officer then asked the driver why she was parked in the mall parking lot. The driver explained that she was waiting for her daughter and her daughter’s friend, who were shopping in the mall. For the next 15 minutes, the officer questioned the driver extensively about the girls, inquiring about their ages, school attendance, academic performance, extracurriculars, and the reason for the shopping trip. The driver answered all of the officer’s questions. The officer then asked the driver to come out of the car and follow her into the security office for a moment, indicating it wouldn’t take long and that if she was telling the truth, this would all be over very soon.  Once in the security office, the questioning of the driver continued for another 10 minutes, inquiring why she had not gone into the mall with the girls, whether she had given them cash to spend in the mall, how long the girls would be gone, what they were authorized to purchase, and other details about the trip.

Was this scenario considered a general police encounter, seizure or an arrest? 

Was this constitutional under the fourth amendment?