Kafker, C.J.
The defendant, Tyrone Vick, was convicted of possession of a class B substance, see G. L. c. 94C, § 34, following a jury trial. He appeals, arguing that the motion judge erred in denying the defendant’s motion to suppress evidence seized as the result of a stop, a search at the scene, and a search at the police station.
The search at the police station involved the use of force to pull down the defendant’s pants and to remove a plastic bag containing drugs (which an officer had felt during the search at the scene) protruding from his buttocks. On appeal, the defendant claims that (1) the motion judge erred by failing to resolve conflicting testimony regarding material facts;
(2) the search at the police station constituted a manual body cavity search not supported by a warrant issued by a judge, as required by
Rodriques
v.
Furtado,
410 Mass. 878, 888 (1991); and (3) the police station search, even if characterized as a strip or visual body cavity search, was unreasonably conducted, particularly because it was performed in violation of a Boston police department policy requiring a warrant for the use of force to effectuate such a search. We affirm.
Background.
“We summarize the facts found by the motion judge following the evidentiary hearing, supplemented where necessary with undisputed testimony that was implicitly credited by the [motion] judge.”
Commonwealth
v.
Oliveira,
474 Mass. 10, 11 (2016). On May 9, 2007, at approximately 6:00 p.m., Boston police Officers Peter Cazeau and Linda Stanford, both in uniform, were on patrol in a marked cruiser near the intersection of Stuart and Tremont Streets, in an area of Boston known for illegal drug activity. Cazeau observed another officer on foot and approached him in the cruiser. The officer informed Cazeau that a woman had reported several males acting suspiciously in a nearby alley. Cazeau and Stanford observed two men exit the alley. Both recognized one of the men as Anthony Cianci, an in
dividual with several prior drug arrests.
Cianci entered the passenger seat of a vehicle parked illegally in a crosswalk on Tremont Street. The defendant was in the driver’s seat of the vehicle.
Cazeau and Stanford waited for the vehicle to move out of the crosswalk. When the vehicle remained, Cazeau issued a parking citation. While placing the citation on the windshield, Cazeau observed the defendant with his pants down around his knees, underpants pulled to the side, and penis exposed. Cianci was facing the defendant. Cazeau, intending to arrest one or both of the individuals for engaging in sexual conduct for a fee, see G. L. c. 272, § 53A, indecent exposure, see G. L. c. 272, § 53(a), or open and gross lewdness, see G. L. c. 272, § 16, told both of the individuals not to move their hands. Cazeau ordered Cianci out of the vehicle and searched him. Cazeau recovered a pipe containing white residue, later determined to be “crack” cocaine, from Cianci’s pocket. Stanford radioed for backup.
When Officer Steven Green arrived, he ordered the defendant to the back of the vehicle and searched him for weapons. During the search, Green felt a hard object in the cleft of the defendant’s buttocks. When Green touched the object, the defendant tightened the muscles of his buttocks and “pulled away.” The defendant violently resisted the remainder of the search, prompting the officers to handcuff him. The defendant continued to thrash around and refused to spread his legs. The officers placed him in the back of a cruiser to transport him to the police station. While in the cruiser, the defendant continued to fidget and to flail, attempting to get his cuffed hands down the back of his pants. He was found with a handcuff key on his wrist band. A drug-sniffing dog was brought to the scene and the dog alerted to the presence of drugs in the defendant’s vehicle.
At the station, the defendant was placed in a holding cell while Officer Green obtained permission from his supervisor to conduct a strip search. Green then informed the defendant that he had authorization to conduct a strip search, but that it would not be necessary if the defendant removed the object from his buttocks voluntarily. When the defendant refused, two officers attempted to remove his pants. The defendant resisted forcefully, prompting
three or four more officers to enter the cell to assist. With the defendant on the ground, the officers were able to remove his pants and see the object between his buttocks, which Green immediately recognized as crack cocaine wrapped in a plastic bag.
Green “brushed” or “flicked” the object with his fingers and it “popped out on the ground,” according to his testimony. The motion judge found that Green, “[wjithout manipulating the defendant’s body, . . . grabbed the bag and pulled it out from between the defendant’s buttocks.” The motion judge further found that the “bag came out easily without any significant pulling force” and “without any touching or probing of [the defendant’s] body cavities.” The defendant was charged with possession of a class B substance with intent to distribute, subsequent offense, G. L. c. 94C, §
32A(b);
committing a drug violation in a school zone, G. L. c. 94C, § 32J; and resisting arrest, G. L. c. 268, § 32B.
Standard of review.
“ ‘In reviewing a ruling on a motion to suppress evidence, we accept the judge’s subsidiary findings of fact absent clear error,’ and we defer to the judge’s determination of the weight and credibility to be given to oral testimony presented at a motion hearing. ... We conduct an independent review of the judge’s application of constitutional principles to the facts found.”
Commonwealth
v.
Hoose,
467 Mass. 395, 399-400 (2014), quoting from
Commonwealth
v.
Contos,
435 Mass. 19, 32 (2001). The judge’s resolution of conflicting testimony “invariably will be accepted.”
Commonwealth
v. Ortiz, 435 Mass. 569, 578 (2002).
Discussion.
1.
The stop.
To justify an investigatory stop under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution or art. 14 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights, “the police must have ‘reasonable suspicion’ that the person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime. Reasonable suspicion must be ‘based on specific, articulable facts and reasonable inferences therefrom.’ ”
Commonwealth
v.
Costa,
448 Mass. 510, 514 (2007) (citations omitted). See
Terry
v.
Ohio,
392 U.S. 1, 21 (1968). A person is seized when “in view of all of the circumstances surrounding the incident, a reasonable person would have believed that he was not free to leave.”
Commonwealth
v.
Isaiah
I., 450 Mass. 818, 821 (2008). See
United States
v.
Mendenhall,
446 U.S. 544, 554 (1980).
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Kafker, C.J.
The defendant, Tyrone Vick, was convicted of possession of a class B substance, see G. L. c. 94C, § 34, following a jury trial. He appeals, arguing that the motion judge erred in denying the defendant’s motion to suppress evidence seized as the result of a stop, a search at the scene, and a search at the police station.
The search at the police station involved the use of force to pull down the defendant’s pants and to remove a plastic bag containing drugs (which an officer had felt during the search at the scene) protruding from his buttocks. On appeal, the defendant claims that (1) the motion judge erred by failing to resolve conflicting testimony regarding material facts;
(2) the search at the police station constituted a manual body cavity search not supported by a warrant issued by a judge, as required by
Rodriques
v.
Furtado,
410 Mass. 878, 888 (1991); and (3) the police station search, even if characterized as a strip or visual body cavity search, was unreasonably conducted, particularly because it was performed in violation of a Boston police department policy requiring a warrant for the use of force to effectuate such a search. We affirm.
Background.
“We summarize the facts found by the motion judge following the evidentiary hearing, supplemented where necessary with undisputed testimony that was implicitly credited by the [motion] judge.”
Commonwealth
v.
Oliveira,
474 Mass. 10, 11 (2016). On May 9, 2007, at approximately 6:00 p.m., Boston police Officers Peter Cazeau and Linda Stanford, both in uniform, were on patrol in a marked cruiser near the intersection of Stuart and Tremont Streets, in an area of Boston known for illegal drug activity. Cazeau observed another officer on foot and approached him in the cruiser. The officer informed Cazeau that a woman had reported several males acting suspiciously in a nearby alley. Cazeau and Stanford observed two men exit the alley. Both recognized one of the men as Anthony Cianci, an in
dividual with several prior drug arrests.
Cianci entered the passenger seat of a vehicle parked illegally in a crosswalk on Tremont Street. The defendant was in the driver’s seat of the vehicle.
Cazeau and Stanford waited for the vehicle to move out of the crosswalk. When the vehicle remained, Cazeau issued a parking citation. While placing the citation on the windshield, Cazeau observed the defendant with his pants down around his knees, underpants pulled to the side, and penis exposed. Cianci was facing the defendant. Cazeau, intending to arrest one or both of the individuals for engaging in sexual conduct for a fee, see G. L. c. 272, § 53A, indecent exposure, see G. L. c. 272, § 53(a), or open and gross lewdness, see G. L. c. 272, § 16, told both of the individuals not to move their hands. Cazeau ordered Cianci out of the vehicle and searched him. Cazeau recovered a pipe containing white residue, later determined to be “crack” cocaine, from Cianci’s pocket. Stanford radioed for backup.
When Officer Steven Green arrived, he ordered the defendant to the back of the vehicle and searched him for weapons. During the search, Green felt a hard object in the cleft of the defendant’s buttocks. When Green touched the object, the defendant tightened the muscles of his buttocks and “pulled away.” The defendant violently resisted the remainder of the search, prompting the officers to handcuff him. The defendant continued to thrash around and refused to spread his legs. The officers placed him in the back of a cruiser to transport him to the police station. While in the cruiser, the defendant continued to fidget and to flail, attempting to get his cuffed hands down the back of his pants. He was found with a handcuff key on his wrist band. A drug-sniffing dog was brought to the scene and the dog alerted to the presence of drugs in the defendant’s vehicle.
At the station, the defendant was placed in a holding cell while Officer Green obtained permission from his supervisor to conduct a strip search. Green then informed the defendant that he had authorization to conduct a strip search, but that it would not be necessary if the defendant removed the object from his buttocks voluntarily. When the defendant refused, two officers attempted to remove his pants. The defendant resisted forcefully, prompting
three or four more officers to enter the cell to assist. With the defendant on the ground, the officers were able to remove his pants and see the object between his buttocks, which Green immediately recognized as crack cocaine wrapped in a plastic bag.
Green “brushed” or “flicked” the object with his fingers and it “popped out on the ground,” according to his testimony. The motion judge found that Green, “[wjithout manipulating the defendant’s body, . . . grabbed the bag and pulled it out from between the defendant’s buttocks.” The motion judge further found that the “bag came out easily without any significant pulling force” and “without any touching or probing of [the defendant’s] body cavities.” The defendant was charged with possession of a class B substance with intent to distribute, subsequent offense, G. L. c. 94C, §
32A(b);
committing a drug violation in a school zone, G. L. c. 94C, § 32J; and resisting arrest, G. L. c. 268, § 32B.
Standard of review.
“ ‘In reviewing a ruling on a motion to suppress evidence, we accept the judge’s subsidiary findings of fact absent clear error,’ and we defer to the judge’s determination of the weight and credibility to be given to oral testimony presented at a motion hearing. ... We conduct an independent review of the judge’s application of constitutional principles to the facts found.”
Commonwealth
v.
Hoose,
467 Mass. 395, 399-400 (2014), quoting from
Commonwealth
v.
Contos,
435 Mass. 19, 32 (2001). The judge’s resolution of conflicting testimony “invariably will be accepted.”
Commonwealth
v. Ortiz, 435 Mass. 569, 578 (2002).
Discussion.
1.
The stop.
To justify an investigatory stop under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution or art. 14 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights, “the police must have ‘reasonable suspicion’ that the person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime. Reasonable suspicion must be ‘based on specific, articulable facts and reasonable inferences therefrom.’ ”
Commonwealth
v.
Costa,
448 Mass. 510, 514 (2007) (citations omitted). See
Terry
v.
Ohio,
392 U.S. 1, 21 (1968). A person is seized when “in view of all of the circumstances surrounding the incident, a reasonable person would have believed that he was not free to leave.”
Commonwealth
v.
Isaiah
I., 450 Mass. 818, 821 (2008). See
United States
v.
Mendenhall,
446 U.S. 544, 554 (1980).
Officer Cazeau effectuated a stop of the defendant when he ordered the defendant not to move his hands. See
Isaiah
I., 450 Mass. at 822 (suspect seized when officer ordered him not to move). The defendant claims that Cazeau’s order was not supported by reasonable suspicion that the defendant had committed, was committing, or was about to commit a crime. Specifically, he argues that, because the testimony of Cazeau, Stanford, and Green conflicted in several respects, the motion judge left several facts material to this determination unresolved. We disagree.
Although the testimony of Cazeau, Stanford, and Green conflicted in some respects, their testimony did not differ on the points material to the reasonable suspicion analysis, as the motion judge aptly noted.
Cazeau testified that he saw the defendant with his pants down to his knees, underwear to the side, and penis exposed. This observation gave Cazeau probable cause to believe that the defendant was committing the crime of indecent exposure, G. L. c. 272, § 53(a).
See
Commonwealth
v.
Fitta,
391 Mass. 394, 396 (1984) (offense requires “an intentional act of lewd exposure, offensive to one or more persons” [citation omitted]).
See also G. L. c. 272, § 54 (authority to arrest for offense). Officer Stanford’s testimony did not contradict this statement. Although Stanford did not state that she also saw the defendant
with his pants down and his penis exposed, she was never directly asked whether she had. The motion judge also found that Cazeau approached the defendant’s vehicle before Stanford, which might explain why he saw the defendant with his pants down and his penis exposed, but she did not. Thus, Cazeau’s observation, properly credited by the motion judge and uncontroverted by Stanford, established reasonable suspicion to stop the defendant. The motion judge therefore properly denied the defendant’s motion to suppress evidence related to the stop.
2.
The search at the scene.
Officer Cazeau’s observation of the defendant with his pants down and penis exposed also gave Cazeau probable cause to arrest the defendant for indecent exposure. “[PJrobable cause exists where, at the moment of arrest, the facts and circumstances within the knowledge of the police are enough to warrant a prudent person in believing that the individual arrested has committed or was committing an offense.”
Commonwealth
v.
Kennedy,
426 Mass. 703, 708 (1998), quoting from
Commonwealth
v.
Santaliz,
413 Mass. 238, 241 (1992). The fact that the defendant was not charged with indecent exposure does not alter this conclusion, contrary to the defendant’s contentions. See, e.g.,
Commonwealth
v.
Lawton,
348 Mass. 129, 133 (1964) (“[i]f the facts known to the officer reasonably permitted a conclusion that probable cause existed for [one charge], the arrest should be treated as legal even though he at first assigned another ground”).
Because the officers had probable cause to arrest the defendant, the search for weapons constituted a valid search incident to arrest. See G. L. c. 276, § 1;
Chimel
v.
California,
395 U.S. 752, 762-763 (1969). Once an arrest occurs, “no additional justification is required for a search of the person for weapons that otherwise might be used to resist arrest or to escape, or to discover evidence of the crime for which the arrest was made.”
Commonwealth
v.
Prophete,
443 Mass. 548, 552 (2005). Police may search “the arrestee’s person and the area ‘within his immediate control.’ ”
Chimel, supra
at 763. Such a search may precede formal arrest as long as probable cause exists for the arrest and
the arrest and the search are “roughly contemporaneous.”
Commonwealth
v.
Washington,
449 Mass. 476, 481 (2007). Thus, the motion judge properly denied the defendant’s motion to suppress evidence related to the search at the scene.
3.
The nature of the police station search.
In determining the legality of the search at the police station, we must consider the differences between three types of searches: strip searches, visual body cavity searches, and manual body cavity searches. “[A] strip search generally refers to an inspection of a naked individual, without any scrutiny of his [or her] body cavities.”
Prophete,
443 Mass. at 556, quoting from
Commonwealth
v.
Thomas,
429 Mass. 403, 407 n.4 (1999). A strip search also may occur “when a detainee remains partially clothed, but in circumstances during which a last layer of clothing is moved (and not necessarily removed) in such a manner whereby an intimate area of the detainee is viewed, exposed, or displayed.”
Commonwealth
v.
Morales,
462 Mass. 334, 342 (2012). A visual body cavity search involves “a visual inspection of the anal and genital areas.”
Prophete, supra,
quoting from
Thomas, supra.
A manual body cavity search “involves some degree of touching and probing of body cavities.”
Thomas, supra
at 408.
To conduct a strip or a visual body cavity search, police must have probable cause to believe that “they will find a weapon, contraband, or the fruits or instrumentalities of criminal activity that they could not reasonably expect to discover without forcing the arrested person to discard all of his or her clothing.”
Prophete, supra,
quoting from
Commonwealth
v.
Ramirez,
56 Mass. App. Ct. 317, 323 (2002). “This is so because strip or visual body cavity searches, by their very nature, are humiliating, demeaning, and terrifying experiences that, without question, constitute a substantial intrusion on one’s personal privacy rights protected under the Fourth Amendment and art. 14 [of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights].”
Morales,
462 Mass. at 339-340, quoting from
Prophete, supra
at 553.
Manual body cavity searches constitute an even greater intrusion on a person’s privacy rights and, as such, additional protections are required. See
Thomas, supra.
Under
Schmerber
v.
California,
384 U.S. 757, 770 (1966), searches that intrude into a
person’s body require a warrant unless exigent circumstances exist. In Massachusetts, a judicially authorized warrant based on “a strong showing of particularized need supported by a high degree of probable cause” is required for a manual body cavity search.
Rodriques,
410 Mass. at 888.
The defendant claims that he was subjected to a warrantless manual body cavity search when Officer Green observed and removed the bag of drugs from the cleft of the defendant’s buttocks. The motion judge found, however, that the bag could be observed and removed ‘“[wjithout manipulating the defendant’s body,” and ‘“without any touching or probing of [his] body cavities.” The judge also found that when Officer Green “grabbed the bag and pulled it out from between the defendant’s buttocks,” it “came out easily without any significant pulling force.”
According to Green’s testimony, credited by the motion judge, the bag was in the “cleft” of the defendant’s buttocks, and not lodged in his rectum.
We conclude that the search, on these particular facts, is best characterized as a ship or visual body cavity search, not a manual body cavity search, as there was no touching or probing or otherwise opening or manipulating of the defendant’s anal cavity, and the bag of drugs was easily removed without in any way endangering the defendant’s health or safety. See
Thomas,
429 Mass. at 405, 407-408 (strip and visual body cavity searches, not manual body cavity search, occurred where defendant was
stripped and asked to bend over, and drugs in plastic bag protruding from his buttocks were removed without endangering his health or safety). See also
Prophete,
443 Mass. at 551, 555-557 (where defendant’s pants but not underwear were removed and drugs immediately fell out from his buttocks, no strip search or visual or manual body cavity search occurred);
Morales,
462 Mass. at 338, 341 (officer’s action of lifting back defendant’s waistband to retrieve bag of drugs from his buttocks, thus publicly exposing his buttocks, constituted strip search). Contrast
Commonwealth
v.
Amado,
474 Mass. 147, 148 (2016) (“pulling the defendant’s clothing away from his body, shining a flashlight inside the clothing, and removing an object from his buttocks” deemed unlawful strip search because search occurred after police had dispelled safety concerns and no probable cause to believe defendant concealing drugs).
Because the search did not constitute a manual body cavity search, the officers only needed probable cause to believe that the defendant had concealed drugs in his buttocks area to justify the search. See
Prophete,
443 Mass. at 556. Probable cause existed because (1) Officer Green felt an object in the cleft of the de
fendant’s buttocks during the search, which Green surmised from his thirty years of experience was drugs; (2) the defendant tightened the muscles of his buttocks and pulled away when Officer Green touched the object; (3) the defendant resisted forcefully during the remainder of the search at the scene; (4) the defendant attempted to reach the object in the cruiser; (5) the defendant was with a known drug user, recognized by all three officers, who had what they believed to be a crack pipe on his person;
(6) the defendant was in an area known for illegal drug activity, where Officer Cazeau had made numerous drug arrests in the past; and (7) a drug-sniffing dog alerted in the defendant’s vehicle.
4.
The reasonableness of the police station search.
Even when probable cause exists to support a strip or a visual body cavity search, the search must also “be reasonably conducted.”
Morales,
462 Mass. at 342. Strip searches and visual body cavity searches may be unconstitutional notwithstanding lawful arrest “because they involve inspections of such a highly personal nature, or are conducted in such a manner, as to constitute an unreasonable intrusion on an individual’s privacy.”
Prophete,
443 Mass. at 554. “Courts must consider the scope of the particular intrusion, the manner in which it is conducted, . . . and the place in which it is conducted.”
Bell
v.
Wolfish,
441 U.S. 520, 559 (1979). “How a search is conducted is of the utmost importance, with the least amount of intrusion constituting the better practice.”
Morales, supra
at 343.
The defendant further argues that the search was unreasonably conducted because the officers used force to effectuate the search without a warrant, in violation of the written policies of the Boston police department. Rule 318D of the Boston police department rules and procedures provides, in relevant part: “In no event shall force be applied to accomplish a strip search and/or visual body cavity search unless authorized by a warrant.” A violation of a police department’s written policy, however, is not determinative in the reasonableness of a search; it is only one factor in the analysis.
Id.
at 343 n.9 (“While developing a written policy concerning when and how to conduct a visual body
cavity search and a strip search may be helpful to police officers and may serve to guard against unnecessary intrusions, compliance with such a policy is not determinative on the issue of reasonableness but, rather, serves only as one factor in the equation”).
See Prophete, 443 Mass. at 557;
Ramirez.
56 Mass. App. Ct. at 319.
In the present case, the other factors in the reasonableness analysis outweigh the officers’ failure to obtain a warrant before using force to effectuate the strip and the visual body cavity searches. First, as previously discussed, there was a high level of probable cause that the defendant was concealing drugs in his buttocks. See
Morales,
462 Mass. at 342 n.8. Despite the obvious presence of the bag, however, the defendant twice denied concealing anything in his buttocks. See
Amado,
474 Mass. at 156 (‘“[A] denial, especially an absurd one, may heighten an officer’s suspicion”). The defendant also made continuous attempts to reach the bag and was found with a handcuff key on his wristband, thereby revealing his intention and determination to secure the drugs himself.
The search was also conducted in a manner designed to preserve as much as possible the defendant’s privacy and dignity. Officer Green gave the defendant the opportunity to remove the plastic bag himself, which would have avoided the strip search. The search was conducted in a private holding cell at the police
station, with no other suspects in the cell. See
Morales,
462 Mass, at 342-343 (“a private room is preferable”). The officers did not touch, probe, otherwise open, or even peer into the defendant’s body cavity. Initially, there were only three officers involved in the search, and their presence was likely necessary due to the defendant’s previous resistance to the search. See
Thomas,
429 Mass, at 409 n.5 (“[T]he searches should always be done where no one, other than the investigating officer or officers, can see the person being searched”). All of these officers were male — the same gender as the defendant. See
Morales, supra
at 343 (“Whether a person of the same gender conducts the search should be given consideration”). Additional officers only rushed into the cell due to the defendant’s continued resistance. The officers also used no more force than necessary to safely obtain the drugs. Officer Green merely “flicked” or “brushed” the drugs out of the defendant’s buttocks. The entire struggle only lasted “a minute or two.”
Although there were no exigent circumstances excusing the failure to obtain a warrant, a warrant was not constitutionally required. See
Schmerber,
384 U.S. at 770;
Prophete,
443 Mass. at 556. Moreover, the use of force was not excessive to the point of rendering the search unreasonable. See
Commonwealth
v.
Garner,
423 Mass. 735, 738 (1996) (execution of searches subject to “general strictures against unreasonable searches”);
Commonwealth
v.
Williams,
439 Mass. 678, 686 (2003) (“[L]aw enforcement personnel are authorized to use reasonable force, and no more, to execute warrants and carry out lawful orders”). See also
Michenfelder
v.
Sumner,
860 F.2d 328, 336 (9th Cir. 1988) (“the legitimate penological purpose of strip searches — to discover hidden weapons and contraband — justifies using force necessary to induce compliance by difficult inmates”);
Craddock
v.
Commonwealth,
40 Va. App. 539, 550-551 (2003) (removal of drugs from resisting arrestee’s anal cavity — without having to pull on bag — did not render strip search unreasonable). We therefore conclude that the manner of the strip and the visual body cavity searches was reasonable. As such, the motion judge properly denied the defendant’s motion to suppress evidence resulting from the police station search.
Judgment affirmed.