The presence of individuals who appear to be LGBT – whether because such individuals are displaying symbols such as a rainbow flag or pink triangle or for any other reason – should not trigger any special scrutiny by a police officer.
If an officer has “reasonable suspicion” that a crime has been committed or is about to be committed, they may briefly detain an individual, or stop the person for purposes of investigation (NH RSA 594:2. See also, State v. White, 119 N.H. 567, 571-572 (1979). Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 16 (1968)). According to the New Hampshire Supreme Court, such a detention is only permissible when the police officer can point to specific and articulable facts which, taken together with all rational inferences from those facts, warrant the intrusion. A hunch is not enough (see e.g. State v. Maya, 126 N.H. 390, 493 (1985) (three minute investigative stop in which officer did not more than preserve the status quo did not violate art. 19 since three minutes is the minimal time for establishing identity and assessing the plausibility of a person’s story)).
An arrest can only occur upon “probable cause” that a crime has been committed (see NH RSA 594:10 (police can arrest without warrant if probable cause to believe misdemeanor offense committed in officer’s presence, or if person will destroy evidence of misdemeanor crime, and may arrest if reasonable grounds to believe a felony has been committed). “Reasonable grounds” is the same as “probable cause.” State v. Vachon, 130 N.H. 37, 533 A.2d 384 (1987)).