Niece pulled over in MD

Yup...and I think you'll find that the majority of the cops out there will try to give you the benefit of the doubt, ESPECIALLY if you show some amount of respect for their position.
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Last time I got pulled over it was for 42 in a 25 zone. I was running around getting some last minute shopping done before we left for vacation in about an hour. I was distracted and wasn't paying attention and was driving too fast.

I apologized to the officer and told him that I was getting ready to go on vacation and wasn't paying attention. The fact that my fishing rods and travel box were on top of my SUV probably helped show that I wasn't BSing him.

He gave me a warning.

I've dealt with a number of police officers over the years and have found that if you treat them with respect and don't give them a bunch of attitude then they'll probably treat you with respect in return. And they also just might give you a break. I'm sure there are some that are over the top, but I haven't run into them.
 
Talk to some of my Russian emigre friends. They'll tell you what a police state is.
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Funny you should mention that, since such immigrants regularly do make the note this is not a police state. Rather it is merely well on its way to becoming one. Seems they are the most likely to recognize that path, eh?
 
Well, they do have experience. However, they would also be the first to mention that their perceptions of ehat could make a police state are colored by that same experience. Sort of like once bitten, twice shy.:)
 
Remember all a cop needs is probable cause to search a vehicle.
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Correct, but not complete.

You are correct in that "All a cop needs is Probable Cause", however the details of that Probable Cause have to be attached to a search warrant application.

If the Judge decides you do indeed have Probable Cause, then he grants the search warrant, and you get to search the car.

If, upon being stopped, you simply roll the window down far enough to slide your license, registration, and proof of financial responsibility through, and roll the window back up after he takes it, you have fulfilled your entire responsibility as an arrested driver.

You have no more duty as an arrested driver to acknowledge his presence on this earth than he does to protect you from any crime. You do not have to answer any question he poses to you. You, in fact, do not have to look at him.
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All true, however under Pennsylvania v. Mimms the officer does have the power to tell you to get out of the car. The officer also has the power to tell you where to stand after you have been ordered out of your vehicle, even so far as to order you to sit in his vehicle.

Also, I would suggest that when you are presented with the ticket to go ahead and sign it, rather than continuing to ignore the officer.

Just some friendly advice, though.

LawDog
 
Also, I would suggest that when you are presented with the ticket to go ahead and sign it, rather than continuing to ignore the officer.
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Agreed. There's no reason to be anything other than polite to a peace officer if you are a law abiding citizen.

So you got caught. Shame on you for doing whatever, twice as much for getting caught. You'll never notice the number of police officers that see you break a traffic law or commit a moving violation and simply turn the other way.

On that thought, you WILL notice when YOU see someone break a traffic law and you see the cop, and he/she does nothing. :D

Stew
 
Also, I would suggest that when you are presented with the ticket to go ahead and sign it, rather than continuing to ignore the officer.
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I didn't say that you shouldn't accept the ticket. I just didn't carry the scenario to that end.

What you would do in that case would be to roll the window down sufficiently to accept the book and then hand it back through the same narrow opening.
All true, however under Pennsylvania v. Mimms the officer does have the power to tell you to get out of the car. The officer also has the power to tell you where to stand after you have been ordered out of your vehicle, even so far as to order you to sit in his vehicle.
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If they tell you to exit the vehicle, simply lock the doors before closing them. If you have an alternative manner in which to open the doors -- such as a Hide-A-Key or hidden button -- leave your keys in the ignition when you lock the door. Oops!
 
leave your keys in the ignition when you lock the door. Oops!
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Don't do this.

If you have an "Oops, I locked the keys in the car, silly me" moment, the officer should/can (depending on the department) arrange to have your car towed to a garage, locksmith, or dealership to get it of the public right-of-way.

Tow-truck drivers are not government employees or agents, thus are not covered under the 4th Amendment restriction against unreasonable search and seizures.

They are not, however, prevented from mentioning anything they find to the nice officer.

Just a heads up.

LawDog
 
Tow-truck drivers are not government employees or agents, thus are not covered under the 4th Amendment restriction against unreasonable search and seizures.
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Not to mention the fact that most departments have an inventory policy in place. If I impound your vehicle for whatever reason, I'm required to inventory every item in that vehicle.

SCOTUS has ruled that an inventory is NOT a search, but evidence or contraband discovered during such is fully admissible in court.
 
If you have an "Oops, I locked the keys in the car, silly me" moment, the officer should/can (depending on the department) arrange to have your car towed to a garage, locksmith, or dealership to get it of the public right-of-way.
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If possible, I always try to park on private property away from the public right-of-way. Pulling into the parking lot of a market, etc., and parking in a space takes away that option for them. They now have to get the permission of the property owner to take the car off of the property as a trespass; but that can be very hard to do on property that has usual and customary public access. To tow it without a complaiant they would have to have an arrestable crime and then they would have to be able to link the vehicle to that crime.

Not saying its impossible though because the cops make up "cause" every day. "There was a burglary near here wherein the suspects were described as two Black women in a chartreuse yellow mini truck. The witness could have been mistaken and thought your bright red, crew cab, one ton, dually truck was chartreuse yellow; and even though you are a white male there might have been shadows from the trees that confused them. So we're taking you in for suspicion of burglary and impounding your truck to look for items taken during the burglary."
 
This is kind of like when I had a cop pull me over the other day after seeing me put a dip in. He gives me the usual opening lines (liscense, reg., insurance) then says "Can I see whats in your lip there?" And I kindly (though possibly a little smartly) reply, only if there is a search warrant issued for my persons. He said "you do understand that I am an officer of the law right?" to which I replied "yes, and you do understand that I am a us citizen protected by the constitutional rights that you are payed to protect right?" and he gets a little steamed so I ask if there are any valid issues and he says "no, just didn't think you looked old enough to be driving". As he starts to walk off I grab a can of that jerky chew stuff that my little brother had left in my floor-board (he tries to get my dip so I buy it for him) and say "ooh officer, would you mind throwing this in the back for me?"...He got pretty pissed and just walked off...
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I bet you did:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
 
Not saying its impossible though because the cops make up "cause" every day.
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Please elaborate, and give specific examples that happened to you. Not, "I heard...". Stuff that happened to you, or in your presence that exemplifies this statement.
 
Powderman

Please elaborate, and give specific examples that happened to you. Not, "I heard...". Stuff that happened to you, or in your presence that exemplifies this statement.
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Fine.

I was hitchhiking to L.A. from San Diego one night and the last ride had dropped us off in Encinitas. This car came down the road and swerved toward the shoulder so we jumped back into the Eucalyptus trees as we thought it was a drunk driver. It was a San Diego sheriff.

What we thought was erratic driving on his part was apparently his pointing his car at us to illuminate us with his headlights. When asked why we jumped into the treeline we told him and he called us liars. He then stated that there had been a burglary "nearby" wherein the alleged perps were Mexicans. Neither of us were Mexicans.

He asked me if I "knew any Mexicans" to which I replied that I had several friends in L.A. who were Mexican. That was good enough for this bigot to arrest us on suspicion of burglary. We were taken to the substation in Encinitas where his favorite name for me was "puke". He also backhanded me across the shoulder when I got wise in return. I didn't like being called "puke", you see, and that didn't set well with him.

We ended up being transported to San Diego County Jail where we sat for three days -- the legal limit -- and were then released. Luckily, the first ride I caught hitchhiking out of that Hellhole was a guy who was driving to L.A.

The fact was that the driver that dropped us in Encinitas was a very nice older lady named Beth Paine. I remember her name to this day. She picked us up in SD and took us to dinner and gave us each $2. She was the nicest ride I have ever gotten hitchhiking; and one of only three women who has ever picked me up hitchhiking. She gave us her phone number and told us to call and stop in if we were ever in the area again.

We told the sheriff this and even gave him the phone number and told him that we were in a car or at a restaurant with this lady for the past hour and a half. Do you think he called her? Hell no. He just wanted to make the "puke's" life miserable so he abused his authority by making up a "cause" to do so.
 
OK. So far, you seem to have valid complaints for false arrest, unlawful imprisonment, even possibly assault. If you're a minority, you can also possibly claim racial profiling.

Did you call that department's IA division, and press a complaint?
 
Powderman

If you're a minority, you can also possibly claim racial profiling.
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I am White and so was the sheriff, so that doesn't apply. His bigotry was directed at Mexicans and apparently anyone who would have one as a friend. There is a lot of bad opinion on Mexicans in San Diego as it is a border town with Mexico and they get a lot of the illegal traffic through there.

Also, this was when I was nineteen which would have been in 1966 long before racial profiling became an issue. I have no problem with profiling of any type by the way. Profiling is simply a buzzword for those who do the crimes wanting to make up something to make the cops sound as bad as they are in the minds of the public.

Did you call that department's IA division, and press a complaint?
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I hit the nearest onramp and stuck out my thumb and haven't been back since.

The rest of the story is that I had gone to San Diego with three drunken friends two nights before. I was the only sober one so I was driving. I also didn't have a license.

We were driving a car that had accident damage and when we got to SD we were almost immediately pulled over. The cops wanted to know about the damage to the car and the drunks started making up these wild stories because they thought it would be funny. They said a truck hit us and ran which was totally untrue.

I took the cop aside and told him that they were being idiots and that there was no "truck" and never had been. They were just f---ing with him. He said "Why don't you just sit in the car while I talk to them." I knew it was all over at that point and we were all going to jail on suspicion of something. This, however, was not without merit. They had a bunch of clowns claiming there was an accident -- which never happened -- so there was sufficient suspicion that something had occurred.

One by one, they brought the other three back to the car.

They impounded the car which again had merit as they could connect the car to a possible crime. We were all booked for suspicion of hit and run.

So the initial contact was valid. The arrest was valid. I sat in jail for two days until Monday so I could go to court for the ticket I got for driving without a license. In the meantime, the other three, who got us in there in the first place, were released Saturday and they bailed out the car and drove home. That's why I ended up hitchhiking in the first place.

So, no, I didn't lodge any complaints. I just wanted to get the hell out of there and go home. In addition, I truly felt that if I showed up at the Encinitas station and tried to complain that I would be taking a ride right back to SD. There wasn't a whole lot of trust going on at that point.

Catching that ride straight through to where I was going was the best luck I had had for seven days and I wasn't going to pass it up. (I arrived in SD on Friday night; sat in jail until Monday; was rearrested and was rereleased on Thursday morning)
 
Lol, I was waiting for someone to say something...The can was there, and I did think about it real hard, but I'm pretty sure he could have found probable cause (something like shells in the cup holder or somethin)...The rest was pretty accurate though (with the regular dramatical effect of course)...
 
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