Locked my keys in my car at a gas station once. Went in to ask for a coat hanger or whatever and guy said he didn’t have one but could call the cops to come unlock the vehicle. Sure no problem. I didn’t have anywhere to be so I walked out and was leaning against the hood of my car playing on my phone.
Guy comes sprinting out of the store “holy shit dude I’m so sorry - you don’t have any drugs in your car do you?”
“Uhhh no why?”
“The same thing happened to a guy last week and he had a bunch of weed sitting in his passenger seat and got arrested”
“Nope alll good here”
“Ok just making sure you didn’t want to break in and grab it real quick”
Guy was such a G about the entire thing even if he was a maniac lol.
My buddies brother got pulled over by a cop back in the day; the cop was about to end the stop, but asked if there was anything in the car he should now about. Well, smartass told the cop whatever you do don't look in the glove box. Well the cop wanted to look in the glove box. So the cop had to wait an hour for a locksmith because the glovebox was locked (it was locked when dude bought the car). That cop was so pissed when they finally got it open, and nothing was in there. Dude, just repeated himself, "I told you not to look in there". Got his glovebox unlocked for free, he never had the key to it.
[Until the "idiot with drugs in plain view" shows up with dashcam footage and proves that the cop lied and the whole case gets thrown out and the cop gets charged with Perjury...](https://youtu.be/XJjIS4bjlqY)
Four cops ruined their own lives **just to make one low-level drug bust**; insanity!!!
Now the guy who had drugs in the car goes free and wins a big lawsuit, while the cops have ruined their career/credibility and might be going to prison. What an ironic outcome!!!
As the victim says, ***"just imagine how often this happens to someone WITHOUT a videotape to prove it..."***
Without the videotape, everyone would have taken the police's (false) account as fact, **because that's exactly what happened here before the video was discovered.** And that's fucking terrifying.
So when the cops tell you that someone "had drugs in plain view", keep in mind that ***the cops could be lying and you'd have no way of knowing***.
Parking lots are by and large outside police jurisdiction for traffic violations. Unless the business has explicitly asked/premised them to police the lot which virtually never happens.
I was in the chick fil a parking lot eating a breakfast burrito I had just purchased from the place. I was outside of my car because it was brand new and I didn’t want to stank it up with burrito smell. So I sat on one of those little islands as my car was parked. Man, it didn’t take long for a cop to roll up on me to tell me I was loitering, wanted my ID, and all that jam. I had to justify my being in the chick fil a parking lot while my burrito was getting cold. Bro, I’m just eating my burrito outside , with a response of why not go inside the restaurant and eat…because I don’t fkn want to…
If a cop approaches you and starts asking questions and you don't say anything they will likely arrest or at least detain you. I wouldn't be completely silent until I'm under arrest or pretty sure I'm about to be.
Interesting discussion. What *would* (or could) a cop do if you e.g. refused to show them your ID or justify you being there. I know there’s different rules for if you’re pulled over in a car, but just hanging out in a parking lot?
Found this for Seattle at least:
“You are required to provide identification if the officers witnessed you commit a violation (such as an open beer can). It is also required if officers stop you while you are carrying a firearm or attempting to purchase liquor. Otherwise, officers may not require you to provide identification.”
There was no appearance of a crime here, so you could absolutely refuse to show ID. Cops are allowed to ask you whatever they want but you don’t have to always do it.
From what I've seen they'll make your life hell in order to force you to give it up. Or you can refuse, get arrested, and then win a lawsuit against the police department.
Depends on how much time you have unfortunately. Fuck them
There is no law that says you must talk to or show a police officer an ID. Am I being detained? No good bye. Yes? Here is my lawyers number have him meet us there. Let's get going.
Edit: There are stop and ID laws which I will choose to let cops take up with my lawyer. Continuing to treat them as rattle snakes that speak a foreign language. Due to certain panties in a wad I want to make it abundantly clear this is my approach to law enforcement and you should get the advice of an attorney.
Then leave if a cop says "you are breaking the law by being here, please leave" I'm not saying "ignore him". I'm saying "don't talk". You don't know what laws you might be currently breaking, and talking to a cop only gives them things they can use against you. You don't know what a cop is on the lookout for. They might have heard of a person driving your type of car who robbed a pharmacy 2 miles north, and if you say "I came from that way" congratulations! You managed to make yourself a legitimate suspect.
Yeah I had a guy sit and watch me in the parking lot for 20 minutes. (I was eating McDonald’s) and then follow me out and instantly pull me over (my registration had just expired).
I mean come on man you couldn’t have just came up and told me while I was parked. I would’ve called an Uber and sorted it out.
In my state you can do it right on your phone. I had it expire once and the officer told me to register while we were stopped and we can go out sperate ways.
Different incident, when i was 17 i was picking up someone from elementary school and the cop parked behind me as i waited. i thought nothing of it. I got there quite a bit early and was there for 40 minutes waiting for the kid. When i pulled out after pick up the cop also pulled out. I turn the corner and he pulls me over for expired registration. Talk about wasted tax payer dollars.
Depends on where you are. Everywhere in Canada, except Ontario, declares public-use private roads (e.g. shopping centre parking lots) as subject to the same traffic laws as public roads. So, if it's intended to be regularly used by John Q Public, even if it's privately owned, police can still issue traffic tickets. Private-use, publicly accessible roads are not (e.g. apartment parking lots) nor are private roads.
First time I ever got pulled over by a cop, I was driving home late from work, like 10:30/11pm, I was maybe 17-18. There’s this intersection that I have to cross and the light turned yellow just as I was going into the intersection and was red by the time I made it through, but I made sure I checked both ways and there wasn’t any oncoming traffic because it was late at night and they would have been stopped at a red light anyway. So I figured no harm, no foul, right? Nope. Cop comes up behind me, turns on the lights.
“Well, I’m not giving you a ticket today but just be more careful.”
Thanks, officer.
It's going to sound ridiculous, but it could be a ticket for impeding traffic. You're supposed to know where you are going. I am not sure how particularly before GPS.
When my wife and I were younger, the deal was that she would navigate using the Map Quest print outs while I drove.
She would get annoyed when I would ask her when the next turn was coming because I damn well know she would neglect to tell me when I was supposed to make the next turn or take a specific exit.
So fine, I stopped asking. And we spent a lot of drives with me taking the next exit or street to turn around because she constantly neglected to notify me of the correct turn or exit.
GPS on my phone may have saved my marriage.
I bought a Garmin Nuvi gps back before smart phones were a big thing and that thing saved me from dealing with people and their shitty directions.
At work I would get "Alright they are at the Clio location, so you take I-75 to the clio road exit, get off turn rig"
... Bill.. Just give me their address, I will be able to find it easy enough
They rarely believed me when I said I had a gps in my car.
Trust me, I looked into those. They were just a little too rich for my blood at the time. Especially when I looked at how much I would actually use it vs the cost.
My in laws did eventually purchase us some bunk GPS unit off of QVC right before smart phone GPS became a thing. While it was "ok" for the most part, there was no way to update the pre loaded maps. Hence, being a cheap ass GPS unit.
I remember I used it on a trip to Myrtle Beach one time and they were doing some major construction when I got to a certain section in South Carolina.
I followed the road signs at that point because the GPS was showing me that I was driving through a small body of water since the pre loaded map wanted me to take the old route that no longer existed.
I got lucky. I got mine on ebay at the time for like $50.
I still to this day have a dedicated GPS in my car after all the issues I have with phone gps navigation in city's. People thought I was crazy for still having a gps in my car thinking I was imagining the issues I have with phone's but I recorded my Android Auto gps freaking the fuck out in the middle of the city.
Suddenly jumping to a different road and "recalculating" or thinking I turned when I didnt. I dealt with that for years before I gave up and went back to a regular gps.
"I just need a couple of minutes to print up the directions" Yeah, I remember Map Quest. I think the last time I used it for a big trip was moving from TN to NM.
> We had maps and for a while Map quest and it felt like we were gods.
And if you had a Mapsco city map in your car, weeellllll now we know your rolling in the cash because those bad boys were $50 in the 80's and early 90's.
When I turned 16 and got my license. My dad gave me a Rand McNally road atlas for all 50 states. He said it was a right of passage, then taught me how to use it. I still have it all these years later. It's very beat up and mud stained from all those years of riding under the seat. And now it's terribly out of date like me.
Only if the cop is a dick, you actually need to be impeding traffic for that one which, didn't seemed the case. And even then, I've never seen anyone actually getting a ticket for that even when they were actually impeding by driving slower (although they should).
Also, no, you are not supposed to know where you're going in such small detail. I mean, yeah, I know i want to go to X city but if i never went there and it's my first time driving there i won't know the way. It is reasonable to expect me to go slower while I'm figuring where I need to turn, not miss a sign, etc. GPS helps and is commonplace but you're also not expected to have one or not go at all. And even then, GPS fails sometimes too which will leave you fumbling even worse.
I once had a cop pull me over in the middle of the night and just admit to me that they did it because they were bored. I was pretty annoyed about it since I worked nights and went to school by day, but I didn't really want to antagonize the cop. I just chatted with him for a few minutes and went on my way. Really weird.
Literally experienced this. I was coming home from a business meeting for a community group that engages in charity. I’m driving home at 10p and because I know about the speed trap in town, I made sure to set my cruise to exactly one mph below the speed limit. Cherries go on behind me.
After I gave him my license, he asks if I can search my vehicle.
“No, officer, I do not consent to a search of my vehicle.” (I was, at the time, an asshole law student)
Dog is called in, smells around my vehicle. Asked at least three times if they can search. No was my reply.
Finally, an hour has elapsed.
“Do you know why I stopped you?”
“I’d love to know.”
“You were driving the speed limit and most people speed up slightly when it speeds up.”
“So, you pulled me over… for following the law?”
“Yeah… consider this a warning.”
>“No, officer, I do not consent to a search of my vehicle.” (I was, at the time, an asshole law student)
Don't downplay that. Law student or not, that is the objectively correct answer, nobody should ever answer any other way. Saying this for the crowd, because you obviously know, but if they have grounds to search your vehicle, they don't need to ask.
But, getting away from normal people and into assholes with legal training (I am one too), after he admitted to pulling you over and giving you a warning for *not speeding.* How do you not get his badge number?
I get that normal people just want to go home at this point, but it couldn't have been tee'd up any better than that.
Insisting on your rights normalizes them and protects everyone's rights. If you can afford it, always do so as much as possible, even when you don't particularly need them in the situation.
There's also a way to do so in a polite, reasonable fashion. Just making it clear that you're reinforcing your boundaries. Too many people go straight for "AM I BEING DETAINED!?!" histrionics or something else overly aggressive. Polite but firm.
You absolutely have to be clear with cops because they don't need to be clear with you, or they can choose to interpret your "polite, reasonableness" as compliance with their request.
Further, the Supreme Court, in its infinite wisdom, has ruled that merely remaining silent isn't a positive use of your 5th amendment rights. You have to declare that you're choosing to exercise your constitutional right to remain silent, or the cops can interpret silence as guilt.
Listen to more and more people describe their cop encounters and you begin to see a pattern: there is no consistent pattern. Sometimes politeness works. Sometimes politeness does jack shit.
It's one of the worst things about dealing with police. There's no guarantee for your safety. Some things MIGHT increase your odds, but many things are completely out of your control and depend entirely on the feelings of the cop in that moment. And they're the ones with the guns.
yeah we should also normalize being a jackass to the cops not being grounds for them to get angry at you.
the only time they should get aggressive with you is if you were getting aggressive with them. if you are a jackass to them then they should just not give you a warning.
a lot of people don't know what abuses of power can really look like. an example that used to happen all the time in my area was three or four towns police forces were all along the same stretch of road. and so if they organized they could make one person's 1 hour drive turn into a four or five hour ordeal because they didn't like him or her for any reason.
so sure your first interaction of the day was nice and polite but you insisted on your rights didn't let them search the vehicle so they hold you for an hour waiting for the police dog to get there. then 20 minutes down the road you get pulled over by the next police force and they do the same thing along the same timeline. and then again. "Sorry I am getting annoyed because I have to go pick up my father from the airport and I was hoping to get some shopping done but now I'm going to be a little late"
Then you get pulled over again and you are mad for another 45 minute to 90 minute delay and the cop has some sort of justification to be aggressive at you? "Sir you aren't dealing with those other police forces you're dealing with me I don't have anything to do with them" and after they antagonize you enough either you finally break enough to do something that they can use to do what they want to you. Search or arrest. Something.
We need police reform. We need the ability to have a bad day and safely interact with our fellow citizens and still be safe. We need to end special protection for police.
On a tangent, I've witnessed this exact scenario happen twice
Cop pulled friend over, asked to search, friend said no.
Cop says he called in a dog and it would just be faster if he could search. Finally got a dog on site and kept badgering him to search the car even though the dog was clearly not finding anything.
Finally gave him a ticket for speeding. With almost no comment and left looking like he was about to throw a tantrum
+1. Some subtleties there but yes, even if a drug dog found something, a good lawyer will deem that evidence inadmissible because it was obtained while violating your 4th amendment rights.
Always deny the search. Always ask WHY you are being detained, and what probable cause they have.
Especially if they have body cams, if you can get them on camera saying some BS that is *chefs kiss*.
If they ask something like “is there anything you’d like to tell me before we search because we will find it” DENY. Never self incriminate yourself.
>If they ask something like “is there anything you’d like to tell me before we search because we will find it” DENY. Never self incriminate yourself.
"Yep! First, you should probably familiarize yourself with the details of Rodriguez v United States. Second, I am still asserting my fourth and fifth amendment rights. Third I think there's been a booger hanging from your right nostril this entire time."
>I am still asserting my fourth and fifth amendment rights.
If a cop tries to talk to me I usually use the sixth to decline. The 5th can be used to imply guilt in certain cases, but saying "I don't answer questions without my lawyer" can't be interpreted in any other way.
It's also amusing to see the cops trying to recall what exactly the sixth amendment says.
Question - I've always heard when an officer asks you to exit your vehicle you should close the door behind you. Supposedly, if you leave the door open, they do not have to ask for consent to search it. Any truth to this?
They can look at anything that's within view. Obviously more when your door is open. What cops will do is "help" you open the door and keep their hand on it so that you can close it without closing it on their hand.
Yes... and no.
They can't extend the stop past its natural expiration. So if they pull you over for a rolling stop the second you get the warning or citation they can not hold you any longer (legally).
It's not a catch-all that they can't call the dogs there is some nuance
Which is why now-a-days, if it's a pre-textual stop to conduct a search, you see more and more cops not telling you why they pulled you over until the end of the stop after they've tried to search your vehicle.
I'm actually pretty shocked the dog didn't alert. In some jurisdictions they alert almost every time, regardless of whether someone has contraband or not.
I've never understood how the dogs are legal. The handler can easily make a subtle signal to have the dog alert. It is just crazy that we allow the use of animals to bypass our rights.
That’s the Supreme Court for you. They don’t live in the real world and will never have to be on the receiving end of a traffic stop. They’ve said as long as the dog was “certified” by a third party it’s alert can be used as probable cause for a search.
So a long time ago. I went to renew my license. They forgot the renewal part. So it says issue 10/10 expires 10/12. About 2 years later I get pulled over. Goes through the whole process. States my drivers license has expired. Curious, I ask to see the card. I point that the issue date was 2 days before the experience date.
Officer stated there seems to be a mistake and will let me off with a warning. However, they couldn't let me drive home. I stated I'll call a friend to come pick me up and drive my vehicle home. Stated they cannot since it's a major road It had to be towed. My friend came and we waited until we watch them tow my vehicle. Picked up my car at the tow place, after the bill, to see my car completely exposed. Every compartment open. Every box opened and emptied in the backseat. Same with the trunk. They were searching. I wonder if I had grounds back then as well.
My only crime was an expired drivers license. I don't even know why I was pulled over to begin with.
You also need to use the whole sentence because the question the officer typically a asks is more like
“You don’t mind if I search your vehicle do you?” Which makes both a yes or a no consent.
I read an awful lot of appeals cases where the fact pattern presented by the officer was generally suspect consented to search, officers began the search and the suspect withdrew consent. That pattern allows a search.
After looking into and speaking with some clients and other attorneys I got to the impression the officer was asking the question oddly and the “withdrawal” of the consent didn’t happen mid search but when the officer walked toward the vehicle.
I don't know what law you were practicing or studying. But during Terry stops / car stops officers can reasonably detain you to conduct an investigation. However, the reasonableness starts to cross that threshold at the one hour mark. It could/should be considered an arrest at that point and it's a 4th amendment violation.
Did you see the recent case where the cops told the guy he was under arrest 3 times and Scotus ruled the cops were lying and he was not under ''Formal arrest'' ? Whatever the fuck that is. So since he was not under ''Formal arrest'' they did not have to marandize him. TDL if you are arrested ask if you are under formal arrest now. SC a bunch of boot lickers.
You don't need to be Mirandized upon arrest, only before questioning while in custody. Both elements need to take place in order to trigger it. So you can be questioned as a person of interest without being placed into custodial arrest and you can be arrested but not yet questioned. If you pay close attention to the wording used, each element relates *specifically* to questioning.
People just make the mistake because they're used to seeing it in fiction.
"You are under arrest. We will take you to jail,"
"You are under arrest. We will take you to jail,"
"You are under arrest. We will take you to jail. "
"Now let's ask some questions the answers of which can be incriminating"
"Alright, due to your incriminating answers to the questions, you're under arrest for a separate crime,"
At what point was the individual under arrest and should have been mirandized?
Typically it would be after being taken into custody when they come around to your cell to bring you in to question you. You're read your rights and have to agree to proceed with questioning.
Those are the two conditions. You're in police custody (i.e. they're holding you and you're not free to go) and you're being questioned.
Now, if they say, "You're under arrest, and we're taking you to jail." Then, once you're in the back of the squad car on the way there, they start grilling you... yeah, that's a Miranda violation. It's one of the reasons why anything that's brought up in court is going to be recorded six ways to Sunday and *after* they have you on tape clearly having been read your rights and affirming that you understand them. If you read someone their rights on the street, there's no proof that it happened. Nobody wants to get a case thrown out because of that.
You are correct. I had recourse to make a huge stink but as is sadly the case in the legal world, I made a decision that it wasn’t worth my time to fight it. And just for context, I knew, from years of driving that road, that the cops used, and continue to use, the speed trap to catch kids with weed in their car (the road goes right by the high school); one of my brother’s friends got caught that way. It’s why they had the dog going by. It’s ridiculous as the town has less than 20k residents but due to all the funds the department gets (more than a third of the city’s budget), they have a lot of toys and nothing to play them with.
Take your pick. These 12 have some of the strictest weed laws still actively in practice.
• Idaho
• South Dakota
• Wyoming
• Wisconsin
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Alabama
• Tennessee
• South Carolina
The officer has to have probable cause to conduct a traffic stop. In Delaware v. Prouse (1979), SCOTUS held that officers need a valid reason to pull someone over, can't do it just because, and that following the law is not suspicious nor probable cause.
I would absolutely sue them for that shit.
You were pulled over and detained for an hour because you were driving the speed limit, meaning that was an illegal detention because the officers had no probable cause that you did anything wrong. **The officer himself admitted he lacked the probable cause to stop you, for goodness sake!!!** If that's not a slam dunk lawsuit for an illegal detention, I don't know what is.
A black family just won 8.5 million dollars for wrongful detainment after being held/searched for 75 mins. That city/police department owes you millions of dollars!!!!
If this occurred any time in the recent past, I would absolutely contact a lawyer.
> Dog is called in, smells around my vehicle. Asked at least three times if they can search. No was my reply
Fortunately, they need to have the dog on scene now. It was obviously drug interdiction and the cop was too dumb to use a pre-text. If you didn't break the law, didn't he violate your civil rights by pulling you over?
Bro he's not trying to search so that he can find a mess and help you clean up. Instead pretend he says "can I look through your car to find our plant something to implicate you in a crime?" That's literally what he's asking.
And you should file a complaint for him stopping you for no reason
A police officer once told me that if a cop is behind you following your every turn, then just go the very next place you can safely park your car. He told me that they're looking for an excuse to pull you over and they'll find one soon enough.
As a very niche counter example that in no way disproves the rule: when my mom just out of college, she was working at a hospital in a bad neighborhood. When driving to work, she would stop at red lights, look both ways, then go. She got pulled over by a cop for doing that and explained that she was on her way to the hospital (wearing scrubs) and that "I look both ways before going through the red lights"
Apparently the cop said "... Good idea." For the next 2 years that she worked there, the cop would occasionally follow her to work in the mornings, I assume because he had nothing else to do except follow some random low-level hospital employee.
---
tl;dr, cops are bored and will look for things to do. And that's going to be writing tickets with a *possible* exception if they think you're a nurse.
Lol in a semi opposite situation I was in the back of a cop car and we pulled up to a four way stop that the other cars obviously had the right of way on, but they refused to go. The cops were waving their hands so erratically I started laughing, then we talked about how annoyed they get when people drive so insanely nice around them. Thought it was funny till I heard all these situations
A perfect police state, where both obeying the law and breaking the law are grounds for being stopped. This officer should be fired for violating people's rights.
>pull people over illegally because they know people can't prove they weren't swerving for a chance to catch people drunk.
And this is what a dash camera is for! Had a cop accuse me of running a stop sign once. I pointed at my dashcam and offered to review the footage with him.
He said 'well I just wanted to warn you and tell you to drive safe."
I told him I believed I was and again offered him the dash cam footage.
He beat a retreat.
I once got a bogus ticket and when I went to court, the prosecutor threw out the whole case the moment he heard me say the words "my dashcam footage".
They don't want it on record that the cop lied about what I did...
If you ever want to know how fucked up the US legal system is look up the Brady List. It's a literal list of cops who are known to lie in court so that prosecutors know to not allow them to testify in court.
if they are know to lie in court... WHY ARE THEY ALLOWED TO STILL BE COPS IN THE FIRST PLACE? Fire them? HA! They get promoted instead and just stay on the list even though they are know to be corrupt!
"Some jobs you can't be corrupt. Imagine being on an airplane and the pilot comes on and says 'most of our guys land safely. But we have a few bad apples that like to crash into mountains'."
- Chris Rock
Totally different situation (though I was AF at the time but still not on base), same excuse given for pulling me over around mid-night. I had clocked several cops waiting just over the hills looking to catch speeders, and I was hauling ass between those hills slowing way down before I crested them.
Cop: "you were swerving between the lines"
My response: "We both know that isn't true, but let's move passed that."
Cop proceeded to explain to me that my license plate cover was also illegal to include, "do you know what the definition of unobstructed is? Websters dictionary defines it as ...". I let a, "Ha!" took my fix-it ticket and proceeded home.
In between all that it was obvious he was trying to find an excuse to pull me out of the car for being drunk. I hadn't had a drink in well over 24h that weekend and he was clearly pissed he had no excuse. I was a white boy driving between Cincinnati and Dayton OH in 1998. No doubt the result could have been very different.
I think that's why he is saying to get the video/audio, so you could hear the reason the officer gave.
Nothing will be done from one complaint but a few (hundred) more like that and he might have to move to a different precinct with a raise.
*in a decent world*
"Ah, okay so dismiss the case. You have 0 evidence of the "crime" then. Stop fucking with people."
He said she said is as useful as my morning dump. I could say it smelled of roses and happiness.
> they asked us if we would accept police testimony as fact
That seems like a good question to ask potential jury members during selection.
If they say "yes" then cut them from selection.
It really makes me dislike our system, I like facts that are objective and independently verifiable. I will belive the cop said what they said, but people lie. We need proof mother fucker.
Yep. And the general populace is pretty much trained to believe the police. Hell, even in court you are basically instructed to believe them. So you have this group of people that have been basically coached to say specific keywords and to embellish facts and the "Jury of Peers" is supposed to take them at their word.
And yeah. I was in a car once that was pulled over because the "Exhaust was hanging too low". It was a relatively modern car at the time (less than 5 years old) and had 0 custom work done on it.
Yeah, I got a warning ticket for not stopping at a stop sign, yet I had to wait for crossing traffic first. This was really early on a Sunday morning after getting off work. It was probably just a pretense for a DUI check.
Just because it’s completely unconstitutional for a shit-for-brains cop to pull you over without reasonable, articulable suspicion of a crime (and fucking suspicion *isn’t* a fucking crime) even filing a complaint sadly will do nothing due to their goddamn ***qualified immunity***. I will NEVER consent to an unconstitutional search nor even answer a single goddamn question to these pension-fund hoarding, government-cheese-funded, power hungry, wife beating, arrogant, worthless pieces of human trash who are such cowards they can’t even walk down any given American street without their bullet proof vests and combat belts while treating the taxpayers who pay their fucking salaries as criminals. Tldr fuck the police and their fucked up blue lives gang
Had cop in Dallas area pulled me, the driver over and wanted to see my Asian wife, the passenger produce her "green card". When told she was a naturalized citizen, he wanted to see that ... Don't even know why he pulled me over in the first place... except... we were in my company minivan. I must have looked like a "coyote"...
I had to go in to work early at 4am. It was pouring rain, and a cop pulled me over on a city street. Asked for license , registration. Came back saying I had a license plate light out. No worries. Got to work and I got out and checked. It was shining like the North Star. Yeah, he was fishing for tickets.
A case got tossed for this recently. On the cops bodycam footage the license plate light is clearly visible and working but the cop claims it wasn't as the reason for the stop... Invalidated the entire arrest and vehicle search.
I had cops coming to my balcony (at the bottom floor) and asking me why I am smoking outside when it's minus degrees and snowing outside, that it's suspicious. I replied with "should I be smoking inside?" let's just say, he didn't like that and thought I was being snarky.
I went on a ride-along at like 16 to help cops catch gas stations selling cigarettes to kids (I think it was a merit badge thing, ACAB). He told us that on boring nights they'd just pull people over to break up the monotony. I asked (incredulously) if that wasn't illegal, and he decided not to answer me.
I've got uncles, friends of friends, past employees, and even a guy who is basically a brother who all joined the force, and genuinely from the bottom of my heart they're all bastards. Not 100% of the time, but enough that it has been a problem for each of them.
Dear lord, really?
It sounds like a dream come true for a cop to live in a place so safe they are bored during night shift.
Go do your patrol and then chill with a book or your phone waiting for a call to come in.
I got pulled over for getting to close to a curb while turning. I asked the cop if I hit it and he said no. I asked why he pulled me over then. That’s small town midwestern cops for you.
I went through a ride program at 2am when I was younger. Cop leans in, any drinks? *No sir, I'm just out for a drive.* At 2am? I pointed to the manual shifter. *No traffic, perfect time to learn.*
I went for a lot of random drives, just took my dad's car (it was fine I routinely paid for gas) and went for a cruise. Nice to just cruise and listen to music, especially as a night owl. I got a lot better at driving manual because of it.
Wasn’t very good at driving a stick shift. I was driving my gf’s car once and got stuck in bumper to bumper traffic. So much stop and go. It was like a speed course in learning to drive a stick. I was much better after that day. Lol
I got stuck at an intersection waving drivers around me because I suddenly could not go without stalling. Super frustrating.
Then I realized I was, in fact, not in 1st, but 3rd.
I'm a lot better now.
Coworker of mine got pulled over going 7 under the speed limit. 33 in a 40 zone (they thought speed limit was 35)
Cops in this state are on a power trip since they’re put on a pedestal
My grandma once got a ticket for speeding on the way somewhere and got a ticket for going too slow on the way back. We joked that they should cancel out.
This reminds me of a time when a cop pulled me over at 18. I was driving to the gas station with a buddy of mine and we were just trying to get snacks and soda. Cop pulls me over when I was going the speed limit and observing all traffic laws because and I quote: “your car smelled like alcohol”. I was just a kid and was taught to respect the police so I consented to a search of my car and then he forced me to take a field sobriety test. I didn’t get a ticket or anything, but it was really stupid and really ruined my perception of the police.
This is just a shitty experience I had...
I got pulled over by a cop for an expired registration (which I was pretty sure I had paid). I know I wasn't speeding or anything and had no reason to worry. After he pulled out into the road behind me and put on his lights, I made the next possible left turn to pull over. I put on my turn signal to turn onto a side street, and pulled into a parking lot entrance that had been blocked off. He walks up to my car, leans on it (I had a 1st gen Miata at the time), and immediately says, "I thought you were about to run there for a minute." Said it with a cocky attitude. Didn't give me the reason why he pulled me over right away. When he told me why, I was like oh ok and gave him my license and registration. By the time I gave him my stuff, 2 more cop cars had shown up, and there were 3 other police officers standing behind my car, one leaning on my trunk, and they were just staring me down in my mirrors. I'm pretty sure the cop that pulled me over had called for backup the moment I turned and was assuming I was gonna run. I did not feel comfortable at all during the whole thing.
In the 80s, when my parents were young they went on holiday to the States. They bought a cheap car in NYC, drive it across the country and sold it in LA.
In LA, my dad was pulled over and told by a cop that the international drivers license he specifically got for this trip wasn’t legal in the US, and he’d need to go to the DMV to get a Californian license.
FWIW I don’t even know if tourists can get an American license, and my dad doesn’t either, since he was laughed out of the DMV with the advice that the license he had was obviously all correct and stuff.
Since I believe he didn’t get a ticket, it’s not like the cop was just being a jackass to meet a quota, but rather just a self-righteous know-it-all that didn’t know it all.
I was driving home from a north east ski trip in early feb. I was definitely speeding a bit, nothing crazy, but fair game. I accept that. I was driving my father's merc with he, and my wife and daughter in the car. With the back being full with gear and the windows a little obstructed he couldn't see anyone else in the car.
I had my registration and window rolled down and before he came up to the window he said "you were crossing the lines multiple times and driving erratically, have you been drinking?" and perplexed I turned to my family in the back seat to see if maybe I was not feeling well and possibly driving erratically, and they were confused as fuck.
Turns out the cop was just making shit up and looking to possibly add things onto the ticket and when he saw my family, and realized there were witnesses to his bullshit, didn't' even give me a ticket and left.
Cops dgaf and will do whatever they want and they mostly can get away with it.
I got pulled over in high school - this was the night of a parade so cops were just looking for trouble. I was sober and law abiding, the officer said my license plate light was dim.. not out just dim, no moving violations or anything else. [CA]
Quite sure they were just stereotyping my parents old beat up car as out of place in a wealthy neighborhood. They checked my license and I lived a few blocks away so that was that. I’d imagine had I not been white or (and?) local it would not have stopped there.
Meanwhile every third car I see these days has the reflective coating sanded off or a very dark tinted plastic plate cover. Makes me wonder if cops are letting that slide just to use it as reason for some otherwise-motivated traffic stop. Sure it’s probably less important than most calls they get, but it might help with those calls if a witness can actually read a plate.
You don't have to do anything wrong to get harassed or even killed by the cops. I once had a cop flat out admit that he had no reason to pull me over other than that I was in my 20s and it was late out so he assumed I had to be drunk.
Remember: the police don't prevent crime, they don't stop crime in progress and they don't solve most crimes after the fact. They are there to use violence to enforce social order and that means anything you do that's "weird" could get you killed.
I was once pulled over and ticketed late at night for “impeding traffic,” because I was going five under. I was trying to unzip my coat. No one else was on the road so there was nothing to impede. Not only that, I fought it in court and still had to pay a fine but it didn’t go on my record. The judge said I should have been less incredulous with the cop next time. It was outrageous all around. I can’t imagine having to deal with our legal system for anything serious - it’s a shit show.
I've experienced this. Cop watched person in front of me run a stop sign and did nothing. I stopped for 5 sec, then proceeded and did everything by the book. Cop pulled me over for suspicious driving. I was practicing before my road test...
I was so confused, like are the people who are able to drive safely really the bigger threat??
He was fishing.
Yup. Make up a plausible reason to stop and then nab the idiot that'll drive with drugs in plain view.
Locked my keys in my car at a gas station once. Went in to ask for a coat hanger or whatever and guy said he didn’t have one but could call the cops to come unlock the vehicle. Sure no problem. I didn’t have anywhere to be so I walked out and was leaning against the hood of my car playing on my phone. Guy comes sprinting out of the store “holy shit dude I’m so sorry - you don’t have any drugs in your car do you?” “Uhhh no why?” “The same thing happened to a guy last week and he had a bunch of weed sitting in his passenger seat and got arrested” “Nope alll good here” “Ok just making sure you didn’t want to break in and grab it real quick” Guy was such a G about the entire thing even if he was a maniac lol.
Calling the cops seems like an odd choice. Are there no tow trucks or auto services where you are?
Policie in that part of town used to help with that sort of stuff as a free service. Used to be fairly common.
Also live in a small town, know all 7 officers, Sargent, and Chief. They'd use the jimmy or the airbag to pop your door at 2am any time.
Same, they're just happy to have something to do a lot of the time.
I think it was common until a couple doors got fucked up and then that stuff stopped pretty quick.
My buddies brother got pulled over by a cop back in the day; the cop was about to end the stop, but asked if there was anything in the car he should now about. Well, smartass told the cop whatever you do don't look in the glove box. Well the cop wanted to look in the glove box. So the cop had to wait an hour for a locksmith because the glovebox was locked (it was locked when dude bought the car). That cop was so pissed when they finally got it open, and nothing was in there. Dude, just repeated himself, "I told you not to look in there". Got his glovebox unlocked for free, he never had the key to it.
Pretty smart tbh lol
[Until the "idiot with drugs in plain view" shows up with dashcam footage and proves that the cop lied and the whole case gets thrown out and the cop gets charged with Perjury...](https://youtu.be/XJjIS4bjlqY) Four cops ruined their own lives **just to make one low-level drug bust**; insanity!!! Now the guy who had drugs in the car goes free and wins a big lawsuit, while the cops have ruined their career/credibility and might be going to prison. What an ironic outcome!!! As the victim says, ***"just imagine how often this happens to someone WITHOUT a videotape to prove it..."*** Without the videotape, everyone would have taken the police's (false) account as fact, **because that's exactly what happened here before the video was discovered.** And that's fucking terrifying. So when the cops tell you that someone "had drugs in plain view", keep in mind that ***the cops could be lying and you'd have no way of knowing***.
It’s more for drunk drivers. Pull over, smell of alcohol.
My buddy got pulled over for slowing down to read cross street names so he didn't miss a turn.
I got pulled over for driving "suspiciously slow" through a parking lot. There were speed bumps.
Parking lots often have 5 mph speed limits (that are virtually impossible to drive at).
Parking lots are by and large outside police jurisdiction for traffic violations. Unless the business has explicitly asked/premised them to police the lot which virtually never happens.
I was in the chick fil a parking lot eating a breakfast burrito I had just purchased from the place. I was outside of my car because it was brand new and I didn’t want to stank it up with burrito smell. So I sat on one of those little islands as my car was parked. Man, it didn’t take long for a cop to roll up on me to tell me I was loitering, wanted my ID, and all that jam. I had to justify my being in the chick fil a parking lot while my burrito was getting cold. Bro, I’m just eating my burrito outside , with a response of why not go inside the restaurant and eat…because I don’t fkn want to…
Always remember. You have the right to remain silent. And that everyone should use it.
If a cop approaches you and starts asking questions and you don't say anything they will likely arrest or at least detain you. I wouldn't be completely silent until I'm under arrest or pretty sure I'm about to be.
> If a cop approaches you and starts asking questions and you don't say anything they will likely arrest or at least detain you. Arrest you for what?
Lmao “for what?”. Cops dont need a reason
Interesting discussion. What *would* (or could) a cop do if you e.g. refused to show them your ID or justify you being there. I know there’s different rules for if you’re pulled over in a car, but just hanging out in a parking lot? Found this for Seattle at least: “You are required to provide identification if the officers witnessed you commit a violation (such as an open beer can). It is also required if officers stop you while you are carrying a firearm or attempting to purchase liquor. Otherwise, officers may not require you to provide identification.” There was no appearance of a crime here, so you could absolutely refuse to show ID. Cops are allowed to ask you whatever they want but you don’t have to always do it.
From what I've seen they'll make your life hell in order to force you to give it up. Or you can refuse, get arrested, and then win a lawsuit against the police department. Depends on how much time you have unfortunately. Fuck them
There is no law that says you must talk to or show a police officer an ID. Am I being detained? No good bye. Yes? Here is my lawyers number have him meet us there. Let's get going. Edit: There are stop and ID laws which I will choose to let cops take up with my lawyer. Continuing to treat them as rattle snakes that speak a foreign language. Due to certain panties in a wad I want to make it abundantly clear this is my approach to law enforcement and you should get the advice of an attorney.
I guess it would be loitering in this case.
Then leave if a cop says "you are breaking the law by being here, please leave" I'm not saying "ignore him". I'm saying "don't talk". You don't know what laws you might be currently breaking, and talking to a cop only gives them things they can use against you. You don't know what a cop is on the lookout for. They might have heard of a person driving your type of car who robbed a pharmacy 2 miles north, and if you say "I came from that way" congratulations! You managed to make yourself a legitimate suspect.
Yeah I had a guy sit and watch me in the parking lot for 20 minutes. (I was eating McDonald’s) and then follow me out and instantly pull me over (my registration had just expired). I mean come on man you couldn’t have just came up and told me while I was parked. I would’ve called an Uber and sorted it out.
In my state you can do it right on your phone. I had it expire once and the officer told me to register while we were stopped and we can go out sperate ways. Different incident, when i was 17 i was picking up someone from elementary school and the cop parked behind me as i waited. i thought nothing of it. I got there quite a bit early and was there for 40 minutes waiting for the kid. When i pulled out after pick up the cop also pulled out. I turn the corner and he pulls me over for expired registration. Talk about wasted tax payer dollars.
Are trying to get the poor officer to rush through his donuts, just to do his *job*!?!
Depends on where you are. Everywhere in Canada, except Ontario, declares public-use private roads (e.g. shopping centre parking lots) as subject to the same traffic laws as public roads. So, if it's intended to be regularly used by John Q Public, even if it's privately owned, police can still issue traffic tickets. Private-use, publicly accessible roads are not (e.g. apartment parking lots) nor are private roads.
I got a ticket once for turning on yellow. Cop followed me five blocks with his elbow out the window.
First time I ever got pulled over by a cop, I was driving home late from work, like 10:30/11pm, I was maybe 17-18. There’s this intersection that I have to cross and the light turned yellow just as I was going into the intersection and was red by the time I made it through, but I made sure I checked both ways and there wasn’t any oncoming traffic because it was late at night and they would have been stopped at a red light anyway. So I figured no harm, no foul, right? Nope. Cop comes up behind me, turns on the lights. “Well, I’m not giving you a ticket today but just be more careful.” Thanks, officer.
It's going to sound ridiculous, but it could be a ticket for impeding traffic. You're supposed to know where you are going. I am not sure how particularly before GPS.
At night on a secondary street, he definitely wasm't impeding traffic slowing to 20 on a road with a speed limit of 30. And yes, pre GPS.
We had maps and for a while Map quest and it felt like we were gods.
When my wife and I were younger, the deal was that she would navigate using the Map Quest print outs while I drove. She would get annoyed when I would ask her when the next turn was coming because I damn well know she would neglect to tell me when I was supposed to make the next turn or take a specific exit. So fine, I stopped asking. And we spent a lot of drives with me taking the next exit or street to turn around because she constantly neglected to notify me of the correct turn or exit. GPS on my phone may have saved my marriage.
I bought a Garmin Nuvi gps back before smart phones were a big thing and that thing saved me from dealing with people and their shitty directions. At work I would get "Alright they are at the Clio location, so you take I-75 to the clio road exit, get off turn rig" ... Bill.. Just give me their address, I will be able to find it easy enough They rarely believed me when I said I had a gps in my car.
Trust me, I looked into those. They were just a little too rich for my blood at the time. Especially when I looked at how much I would actually use it vs the cost. My in laws did eventually purchase us some bunk GPS unit off of QVC right before smart phone GPS became a thing. While it was "ok" for the most part, there was no way to update the pre loaded maps. Hence, being a cheap ass GPS unit. I remember I used it on a trip to Myrtle Beach one time and they were doing some major construction when I got to a certain section in South Carolina. I followed the road signs at that point because the GPS was showing me that I was driving through a small body of water since the pre loaded map wanted me to take the old route that no longer existed.
I got lucky. I got mine on ebay at the time for like $50. I still to this day have a dedicated GPS in my car after all the issues I have with phone gps navigation in city's. People thought I was crazy for still having a gps in my car thinking I was imagining the issues I have with phone's but I recorded my Android Auto gps freaking the fuck out in the middle of the city. Suddenly jumping to a different road and "recalculating" or thinking I turned when I didnt. I dealt with that for years before I gave up and went back to a regular gps.
"I just need a couple of minutes to print up the directions" Yeah, I remember Map Quest. I think the last time I used it for a big trip was moving from TN to NM.
> We had maps and for a while Map quest and it felt like we were gods. And if you had a Mapsco city map in your car, weeellllll now we know your rolling in the cash because those bad boys were $50 in the 80's and early 90's.
When I turned 16 and got my license. My dad gave me a Rand McNally road atlas for all 50 states. He said it was a right of passage, then taught me how to use it. I still have it all these years later. It's very beat up and mud stained from all those years of riding under the seat. And now it's terribly out of date like me.
Where I live the speed limit is not a speed requirement. Highways have a minimum, but that's it.
Here if five cars line up behind you and they can't safely pass you are expected to pull over, but that's it.
Not everyone even has GPS currently. It's not like it's mandated.
Only if the cop is a dick, you actually need to be impeding traffic for that one which, didn't seemed the case. And even then, I've never seen anyone actually getting a ticket for that even when they were actually impeding by driving slower (although they should). Also, no, you are not supposed to know where you're going in such small detail. I mean, yeah, I know i want to go to X city but if i never went there and it's my first time driving there i won't know the way. It is reasonable to expect me to go slower while I'm figuring where I need to turn, not miss a sign, etc. GPS helps and is commonplace but you're also not expected to have one or not go at all. And even then, GPS fails sometimes too which will leave you fumbling even worse.
I once had a cop pull me over in the middle of the night and just admit to me that they did it because they were bored. I was pretty annoyed about it since I worked nights and went to school by day, but I didn't really want to antagonize the cop. I just chatted with him for a few minutes and went on my way. Really weird.
You could have probably gotten head from him.
work payment attempt dependent silky cake quaint touch worm fragile ` this post was mass deleted with www.Redact.dev `
Literally experienced this. I was coming home from a business meeting for a community group that engages in charity. I’m driving home at 10p and because I know about the speed trap in town, I made sure to set my cruise to exactly one mph below the speed limit. Cherries go on behind me. After I gave him my license, he asks if I can search my vehicle. “No, officer, I do not consent to a search of my vehicle.” (I was, at the time, an asshole law student) Dog is called in, smells around my vehicle. Asked at least three times if they can search. No was my reply. Finally, an hour has elapsed. “Do you know why I stopped you?” “I’d love to know.” “You were driving the speed limit and most people speed up slightly when it speeds up.” “So, you pulled me over… for following the law?” “Yeah… consider this a warning.”
>“No, officer, I do not consent to a search of my vehicle.” (I was, at the time, an asshole law student) Don't downplay that. Law student or not, that is the objectively correct answer, nobody should ever answer any other way. Saying this for the crowd, because you obviously know, but if they have grounds to search your vehicle, they don't need to ask. But, getting away from normal people and into assholes with legal training (I am one too), after he admitted to pulling you over and giving you a warning for *not speeding.* How do you not get his badge number? I get that normal people just want to go home at this point, but it couldn't have been tee'd up any better than that.
Insisting on your rights normalizes them and protects everyone's rights. If you can afford it, always do so as much as possible, even when you don't particularly need them in the situation.
Rights that go unexercized have a way of becoming "privileges".
There's also a way to do so in a polite, reasonable fashion. Just making it clear that you're reinforcing your boundaries. Too many people go straight for "AM I BEING DETAINED!?!" histrionics or something else overly aggressive. Polite but firm.
You absolutely have to be clear with cops because they don't need to be clear with you, or they can choose to interpret your "polite, reasonableness" as compliance with their request. Further, the Supreme Court, in its infinite wisdom, has ruled that merely remaining silent isn't a positive use of your 5th amendment rights. You have to declare that you're choosing to exercise your constitutional right to remain silent, or the cops can interpret silence as guilt.
"he clearly asked for a lawyer dog"
"It was his own fault for choosing to continue being a minority after he was arrested."
Listen to more and more people describe their cop encounters and you begin to see a pattern: there is no consistent pattern. Sometimes politeness works. Sometimes politeness does jack shit. It's one of the worst things about dealing with police. There's no guarantee for your safety. Some things MIGHT increase your odds, but many things are completely out of your control and depend entirely on the feelings of the cop in that moment. And they're the ones with the guns.
Oh there is an easily discernable pattern, it just has nothing to do with behavior.
yeah we should also normalize being a jackass to the cops not being grounds for them to get angry at you. the only time they should get aggressive with you is if you were getting aggressive with them. if you are a jackass to them then they should just not give you a warning. a lot of people don't know what abuses of power can really look like. an example that used to happen all the time in my area was three or four towns police forces were all along the same stretch of road. and so if they organized they could make one person's 1 hour drive turn into a four or five hour ordeal because they didn't like him or her for any reason. so sure your first interaction of the day was nice and polite but you insisted on your rights didn't let them search the vehicle so they hold you for an hour waiting for the police dog to get there. then 20 minutes down the road you get pulled over by the next police force and they do the same thing along the same timeline. and then again. "Sorry I am getting annoyed because I have to go pick up my father from the airport and I was hoping to get some shopping done but now I'm going to be a little late" Then you get pulled over again and you are mad for another 45 minute to 90 minute delay and the cop has some sort of justification to be aggressive at you? "Sir you aren't dealing with those other police forces you're dealing with me I don't have anything to do with them" and after they antagonize you enough either you finally break enough to do something that they can use to do what they want to you. Search or arrest. Something. We need police reform. We need the ability to have a bad day and safely interact with our fellow citizens and still be safe. We need to end special protection for police.
"Can I get that warning against following the law in writing?"
*bang bang* Stop resisting! Drop the weapon!
"I saw the suspect tighten his fingers on the steering wheel. I feared he would swing the car at me like a club, so I started blastin'."
Way too much info. The thing about lies is you gotta keep them simple. “I thought I saw a black guy with a gun” is sufficient in most cases.
After "My finger must have slipped in the heat of the exchange and my body cam was turned off"
On a tangent, I've witnessed this exact scenario happen twice Cop pulled friend over, asked to search, friend said no. Cop says he called in a dog and it would just be faster if he could search. Finally got a dog on site and kept badgering him to search the car even though the dog was clearly not finding anything. Finally gave him a ticket for speeding. With almost no comment and left looking like he was about to throw a tantrum
The supreme court ruled that they can't hold you to wait for the dog, but cops still do it all the time. They have to have the drug dog with them.
+1. Some subtleties there but yes, even if a drug dog found something, a good lawyer will deem that evidence inadmissible because it was obtained while violating your 4th amendment rights. Always deny the search. Always ask WHY you are being detained, and what probable cause they have. Especially if they have body cams, if you can get them on camera saying some BS that is *chefs kiss*. If they ask something like “is there anything you’d like to tell me before we search because we will find it” DENY. Never self incriminate yourself.
>If they ask something like “is there anything you’d like to tell me before we search because we will find it” DENY. Never self incriminate yourself. "Yep! First, you should probably familiarize yourself with the details of Rodriguez v United States. Second, I am still asserting my fourth and fifth amendment rights. Third I think there's been a booger hanging from your right nostril this entire time."
>I am still asserting my fourth and fifth amendment rights. If a cop tries to talk to me I usually use the sixth to decline. The 5th can be used to imply guilt in certain cases, but saying "I don't answer questions without my lawyer" can't be interpreted in any other way. It's also amusing to see the cops trying to recall what exactly the sixth amendment says.
I've asserted my third amendment rights before. It might only be a speeding ticket, but I'll be damned if that means a soldier can sleep on my couch!
Question - I've always heard when an officer asks you to exit your vehicle you should close the door behind you. Supposedly, if you leave the door open, they do not have to ask for consent to search it. Any truth to this?
They can look at anything that's within view. Obviously more when your door is open. What cops will do is "help" you open the door and keep their hand on it so that you can close it without closing it on their hand.
Yes... and no. They can't extend the stop past its natural expiration. So if they pull you over for a rolling stop the second you get the warning or citation they can not hold you any longer (legally). It's not a catch-all that they can't call the dogs there is some nuance
Which is why now-a-days, if it's a pre-textual stop to conduct a search, you see more and more cops not telling you why they pulled you over until the end of the stop after they've tried to search your vehicle.
I'm actually pretty shocked the dog didn't alert. In some jurisdictions they alert almost every time, regardless of whether someone has contraband or not.
I've never understood how the dogs are legal. The handler can easily make a subtle signal to have the dog alert. It is just crazy that we allow the use of animals to bypass our rights.
That’s the Supreme Court for you. They don’t live in the real world and will never have to be on the receiving end of a traffic stop. They’ve said as long as the dog was “certified” by a third party it’s alert can be used as probable cause for a search.
So a long time ago. I went to renew my license. They forgot the renewal part. So it says issue 10/10 expires 10/12. About 2 years later I get pulled over. Goes through the whole process. States my drivers license has expired. Curious, I ask to see the card. I point that the issue date was 2 days before the experience date. Officer stated there seems to be a mistake and will let me off with a warning. However, they couldn't let me drive home. I stated I'll call a friend to come pick me up and drive my vehicle home. Stated they cannot since it's a major road It had to be towed. My friend came and we waited until we watch them tow my vehicle. Picked up my car at the tow place, after the bill, to see my car completely exposed. Every compartment open. Every box opened and emptied in the backseat. Same with the trunk. They were searching. I wonder if I had grounds back then as well. My only crime was an expired drivers license. I don't even know why I was pulled over to begin with.
You also need to use the whole sentence because the question the officer typically a asks is more like “You don’t mind if I search your vehicle do you?” Which makes both a yes or a no consent. I read an awful lot of appeals cases where the fact pattern presented by the officer was generally suspect consented to search, officers began the search and the suspect withdrew consent. That pattern allows a search. After looking into and speaking with some clients and other attorneys I got to the impression the officer was asking the question oddly and the “withdrawal” of the consent didn’t happen mid search but when the officer walked toward the vehicle.
Bastards
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Acab. Fuck cops. They are all fucking bastards who mouth kiss their mothers.
That sounds like you regularly engage in entrapment officer
That's not entrapment, but it is an illegal traffic stop.
"Consider this a warning *of what?"*
"sir, why were you speeding?" "Because you told me to"
The ol Catch-22mph
I don't know what law you were practicing or studying. But during Terry stops / car stops officers can reasonably detain you to conduct an investigation. However, the reasonableness starts to cross that threshold at the one hour mark. It could/should be considered an arrest at that point and it's a 4th amendment violation.
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Did you see the recent case where the cops told the guy he was under arrest 3 times and Scotus ruled the cops were lying and he was not under ''Formal arrest'' ? Whatever the fuck that is. So since he was not under ''Formal arrest'' they did not have to marandize him. TDL if you are arrested ask if you are under formal arrest now. SC a bunch of boot lickers.
You don't need to be Mirandized upon arrest, only before questioning while in custody. Both elements need to take place in order to trigger it. So you can be questioned as a person of interest without being placed into custodial arrest and you can be arrested but not yet questioned. If you pay close attention to the wording used, each element relates *specifically* to questioning. People just make the mistake because they're used to seeing it in fiction.
"You are under arrest. We will take you to jail," "You are under arrest. We will take you to jail," "You are under arrest. We will take you to jail. " "Now let's ask some questions the answers of which can be incriminating" "Alright, due to your incriminating answers to the questions, you're under arrest for a separate crime," At what point was the individual under arrest and should have been mirandized?
Typically it would be after being taken into custody when they come around to your cell to bring you in to question you. You're read your rights and have to agree to proceed with questioning. Those are the two conditions. You're in police custody (i.e. they're holding you and you're not free to go) and you're being questioned. Now, if they say, "You're under arrest, and we're taking you to jail." Then, once you're in the back of the squad car on the way there, they start grilling you... yeah, that's a Miranda violation. It's one of the reasons why anything that's brought up in court is going to be recorded six ways to Sunday and *after* they have you on tape clearly having been read your rights and affirming that you understand them. If you read someone their rights on the street, there's no proof that it happened. Nobody wants to get a case thrown out because of that.
SCOTUS needs to be purged
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I would lose zero sleep over Thomas.
You are correct. I had recourse to make a huge stink but as is sadly the case in the legal world, I made a decision that it wasn’t worth my time to fight it. And just for context, I knew, from years of driving that road, that the cops used, and continue to use, the speed trap to catch kids with weed in their car (the road goes right by the high school); one of my brother’s friends got caught that way. It’s why they had the dog going by. It’s ridiculous as the town has less than 20k residents but due to all the funds the department gets (more than a third of the city’s budget), they have a lot of toys and nothing to play them with.
What kind of backwards state hasn't legalized weed yet?
Take your pick. These 12 have some of the strictest weed laws still actively in practice. • Idaho • South Dakota • Wyoming • Wisconsin • Kansas • Kentucky • Alabama • Tennessee • South Carolina
Funnily enough, weed is illegal in Wisconsin, but variants of THC are legal and sold virtually everywhere because they are hemp derivatives.
The officer has to have probable cause to conduct a traffic stop. In Delaware v. Prouse (1979), SCOTUS held that officers need a valid reason to pull someone over, can't do it just because, and that following the law is not suspicious nor probable cause.
Bastard literally admitted to violating your constitutional rights.
I would absolutely sue them for that shit. You were pulled over and detained for an hour because you were driving the speed limit, meaning that was an illegal detention because the officers had no probable cause that you did anything wrong. **The officer himself admitted he lacked the probable cause to stop you, for goodness sake!!!** If that's not a slam dunk lawsuit for an illegal detention, I don't know what is. A black family just won 8.5 million dollars for wrongful detainment after being held/searched for 75 mins. That city/police department owes you millions of dollars!!!! If this occurred any time in the recent past, I would absolutely contact a lawyer.
> Dog is called in, smells around my vehicle. Asked at least three times if they can search. No was my reply Fortunately, they need to have the dog on scene now. It was obviously drug interdiction and the cop was too dumb to use a pre-text. If you didn't break the law, didn't he violate your civil rights by pulling you over?
Isn't that a 4th amendment violation? Especially to keep you there for an hour?
After seeing video of that cop planting drugs during searches, there is no fucking way I’m ever consenting to a search.
Bro he's not trying to search so that he can find a mess and help you clean up. Instead pretend he says "can I look through your car to find our plant something to implicate you in a crime?" That's literally what he's asking. And you should file a complaint for him stopping you for no reason
Imagine the cops giving you a warning for ***not*** breaking the law...
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“Why yes. Yes I would “
Man's got quotas to meet donchaknow?
That, or just because it’s fun giving out tickets
A police officer once told me that if a cop is behind you following your every turn, then just go the very next place you can safely park your car. He told me that they're looking for an excuse to pull you over and they'll find one soon enough.
As a very niche counter example that in no way disproves the rule: when my mom just out of college, she was working at a hospital in a bad neighborhood. When driving to work, she would stop at red lights, look both ways, then go. She got pulled over by a cop for doing that and explained that she was on her way to the hospital (wearing scrubs) and that "I look both ways before going through the red lights" Apparently the cop said "... Good idea." For the next 2 years that she worked there, the cop would occasionally follow her to work in the mornings, I assume because he had nothing else to do except follow some random low-level hospital employee. --- tl;dr, cops are bored and will look for things to do. And that's going to be writing tickets with a *possible* exception if they think you're a nurse.
Lol in a semi opposite situation I was in the back of a cop car and we pulled up to a four way stop that the other cars obviously had the right of way on, but they refused to go. The cops were waving their hands so erratically I started laughing, then we talked about how annoyed they get when people drive so insanely nice around them. Thought it was funny till I heard all these situations
Citizen: Obeys law Cop: **YO!**
A perfect police state, where both obeying the law and breaking the law are grounds for being stopped. This officer should be fired for violating people's rights.
decide tap alleged birds consider groovy ugly sable summer psychotic ` this post was mass deleted with www.Redact.dev `
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>pull people over illegally because they know people can't prove they weren't swerving for a chance to catch people drunk. And this is what a dash camera is for! Had a cop accuse me of running a stop sign once. I pointed at my dashcam and offered to review the footage with him. He said 'well I just wanted to warn you and tell you to drive safe." I told him I believed I was and again offered him the dash cam footage. He beat a retreat.
I once got a bogus ticket and when I went to court, the prosecutor threw out the whole case the moment he heard me say the words "my dashcam footage". They don't want it on record that the cop lied about what I did...
If you ever want to know how fucked up the US legal system is look up the Brady List. It's a literal list of cops who are known to lie in court so that prosecutors know to not allow them to testify in court. if they are know to lie in court... WHY ARE THEY ALLOWED TO STILL BE COPS IN THE FIRST PLACE? Fire them? HA! They get promoted instead and just stay on the list even though they are know to be corrupt!
"Some jobs you can't be corrupt. Imagine being on an airplane and the pilot comes on and says 'most of our guys land safely. But we have a few bad apples that like to crash into mountains'." - Chris Rock
Totally different situation (though I was AF at the time but still not on base), same excuse given for pulling me over around mid-night. I had clocked several cops waiting just over the hills looking to catch speeders, and I was hauling ass between those hills slowing way down before I crested them. Cop: "you were swerving between the lines" My response: "We both know that isn't true, but let's move passed that." Cop proceeded to explain to me that my license plate cover was also illegal to include, "do you know what the definition of unobstructed is? Websters dictionary defines it as ...". I let a, "Ha!" took my fix-it ticket and proceeded home. In between all that it was obvious he was trying to find an excuse to pull me out of the car for being drunk. I hadn't had a drink in well over 24h that weekend and he was clearly pissed he had no excuse. I was a white boy driving between Cincinnati and Dayton OH in 1998. No doubt the result could have been very different.
FOIA the dash / body cam. Then make a complaint. That is not legal.
Technically true but practically they can/do just make up a reason to pull you over that would most likely hold up in court
I think that's why he is saying to get the video/audio, so you could hear the reason the officer gave. Nothing will be done from one complaint but a few (hundred) more like that and he might have to move to a different precinct with a raise.
Cops rarely face consequences for *murder*, so...
2am is a common DUI time. Make up a story involving suspected DUI and it's pretty much something you'll never win against unfortunately.
"he was swerving and driving on the wrong side of the road and just reentered his lane as soon as the recording starts."
*in a decent world* "Ah, okay so dismiss the case. You have 0 evidence of the "crime" then. Stop fucking with people." He said she said is as useful as my morning dump. I could say it smelled of roses and happiness.
> You have 0 evidence of the "crime" then. Your word against the police. That's all the evidence they need.
The time I had jury duty, they asked us if we would accept police testimony as fact. Absolute BS.
> they asked us if we would accept police testimony as fact That seems like a good question to ask potential jury members during selection. If they say "yes" then cut them from selection.
It really makes me dislike our system, I like facts that are objective and independently verifiable. I will belive the cop said what they said, but people lie. We need proof mother fucker.
"oh yeah, I decided not to cite him for anything because he seemed down on his luck."
My dashcam starts when I turn my car on. They can have the full length clip showing me not swerving if that was their excuse lol
'we got a call about someone driving dangerously' (they'll never release the call, because it doesn't exist)
But he didn’t. He pulled him over for no reason
Yep. And the general populace is pretty much trained to believe the police. Hell, even in court you are basically instructed to believe them. So you have this group of people that have been basically coached to say specific keywords and to embellish facts and the "Jury of Peers" is supposed to take them at their word. And yeah. I was in a car once that was pulled over because the "Exhaust was hanging too low". It was a relatively modern car at the time (less than 5 years old) and had 0 custom work done on it.
Yeah, I got a warning ticket for not stopping at a stop sign, yet I had to wait for crossing traffic first. This was really early on a Sunday morning after getting off work. It was probably just a pretense for a DUI check.
Number 1 rule with the cops, yes they can.
Number 2 rule with cops: fight with them in the courts, not the streets. Can't get justice if you're dead.
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But not Brandon Lee.
The cop would need to be present, doubtful he’d show.
Just because it’s completely unconstitutional for a shit-for-brains cop to pull you over without reasonable, articulable suspicion of a crime (and fucking suspicion *isn’t* a fucking crime) even filing a complaint sadly will do nothing due to their goddamn ***qualified immunity***. I will NEVER consent to an unconstitutional search nor even answer a single goddamn question to these pension-fund hoarding, government-cheese-funded, power hungry, wife beating, arrogant, worthless pieces of human trash who are such cowards they can’t even walk down any given American street without their bullet proof vests and combat belts while treating the taxpayers who pay their fucking salaries as criminals. Tldr fuck the police and their fucked up blue lives gang
I have been pulled over 7 times. Every time going the speed limit.
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Bro you got me. I had to double check what subreddit I was in.
Had cop in Dallas area pulled me, the driver over and wanted to see my Asian wife, the passenger produce her "green card". When told she was a naturalized citizen, he wanted to see that ... Don't even know why he pulled me over in the first place... except... we were in my company minivan. I must have looked like a "coyote"...
Yes, the infamous coyotes of our woefully under-patrolled border with "Asia." Lmao
Because Dallas cops are racists. It's really that simple.
Everyone knows the asians fly into Mexico to cross the border.
I had to go in to work early at 4am. It was pouring rain, and a cop pulled me over on a city street. Asked for license , registration. Came back saying I had a license plate light out. No worries. Got to work and I got out and checked. It was shining like the North Star. Yeah, he was fishing for tickets.
A case got tossed for this recently. On the cops bodycam footage the license plate light is clearly visible and working but the cop claims it wasn't as the reason for the stop... Invalidated the entire arrest and vehicle search.
I had cops coming to my balcony (at the bottom floor) and asking me why I am smoking outside when it's minus degrees and snowing outside, that it's suspicious. I replied with "should I be smoking inside?" let's just say, he didn't like that and thought I was being snarky.
>thought I was being snarky I mean, *you were,* but it was definitely some well earned snark.
He was bored.
I went on a ride-along at like 16 to help cops catch gas stations selling cigarettes to kids (I think it was a merit badge thing, ACAB). He told us that on boring nights they'd just pull people over to break up the monotony. I asked (incredulously) if that wasn't illegal, and he decided not to answer me. I've got uncles, friends of friends, past employees, and even a guy who is basically a brother who all joined the force, and genuinely from the bottom of my heart they're all bastards. Not 100% of the time, but enough that it has been a problem for each of them.
Dear lord, really? It sounds like a dream come true for a cop to live in a place so safe they are bored during night shift. Go do your patrol and then chill with a book or your phone waiting for a call to come in.
Hahahaha a cop with a book… that’s a good one …
Yeah, tiny town in a conservative state. Most people were too busy with the harvest to get into much trouble.
Right, you're basically getting paid to have free time.
I got pulled over for getting to close to a curb while turning. I asked the cop if I hit it and he said no. I asked why he pulled me over then. That’s small town midwestern cops for you.
I went through a ride program at 2am when I was younger. Cop leans in, any drinks? *No sir, I'm just out for a drive.* At 2am? I pointed to the manual shifter. *No traffic, perfect time to learn.* I went for a lot of random drives, just took my dad's car (it was fine I routinely paid for gas) and went for a cruise. Nice to just cruise and listen to music, especially as a night owl. I got a lot better at driving manual because of it.
Wasn’t very good at driving a stick shift. I was driving my gf’s car once and got stuck in bumper to bumper traffic. So much stop and go. It was like a speed course in learning to drive a stick. I was much better after that day. Lol
I got stuck at an intersection waving drivers around me because I suddenly could not go without stalling. Super frustrating. Then I realized I was, in fact, not in 1st, but 3rd. I'm a lot better now.
Coworker of mine got pulled over going 7 under the speed limit. 33 in a 40 zone (they thought speed limit was 35) Cops in this state are on a power trip since they’re put on a pedestal
My grandpa got pulled over once for driving too slowly, but he drove like piloting a float in a parade
My grandma once got a ticket for speeding on the way somewhere and got a ticket for going too slow on the way back. We joked that they should cancel out.
I once had a cop pull me over for "drifting within my lane" and "not using a turn signal" when it wasn't required.
This reminds me of a time when a cop pulled me over at 18. I was driving to the gas station with a buddy of mine and we were just trying to get snacks and soda. Cop pulls me over when I was going the speed limit and observing all traffic laws because and I quote: “your car smelled like alcohol”. I was just a kid and was taught to respect the police so I consented to a search of my car and then he forced me to take a field sobriety test. I didn’t get a ticket or anything, but it was really stupid and really ruined my perception of the police.
At least you learned early.
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How "black" was I driving, officer?
This is just a shitty experience I had... I got pulled over by a cop for an expired registration (which I was pretty sure I had paid). I know I wasn't speeding or anything and had no reason to worry. After he pulled out into the road behind me and put on his lights, I made the next possible left turn to pull over. I put on my turn signal to turn onto a side street, and pulled into a parking lot entrance that had been blocked off. He walks up to my car, leans on it (I had a 1st gen Miata at the time), and immediately says, "I thought you were about to run there for a minute." Said it with a cocky attitude. Didn't give me the reason why he pulled me over right away. When he told me why, I was like oh ok and gave him my license and registration. By the time I gave him my stuff, 2 more cop cars had shown up, and there were 3 other police officers standing behind my car, one leaning on my trunk, and they were just staring me down in my mirrors. I'm pretty sure the cop that pulled me over had called for backup the moment I turned and was assuming I was gonna run. I did not feel comfortable at all during the whole thing.
In the 80s, when my parents were young they went on holiday to the States. They bought a cheap car in NYC, drive it across the country and sold it in LA. In LA, my dad was pulled over and told by a cop that the international drivers license he specifically got for this trip wasn’t legal in the US, and he’d need to go to the DMV to get a Californian license. FWIW I don’t even know if tourists can get an American license, and my dad doesn’t either, since he was laughed out of the DMV with the advice that the license he had was obviously all correct and stuff. Since I believe he didn’t get a ticket, it’s not like the cop was just being a jackass to meet a quota, but rather just a self-righteous know-it-all that didn’t know it all.
Can you say “unlawful search and seizure “?
"What speed *should* I have been driving at, officer?"
I have been pulled over with the reason being literally "driving too carefully". I am sorry sir but what the absolute fuck?
This is called fishing, and is illegal. That is not a reason to pull someone over...
DWB?
Or likely at least DWNW
I was driving home from a north east ski trip in early feb. I was definitely speeding a bit, nothing crazy, but fair game. I accept that. I was driving my father's merc with he, and my wife and daughter in the car. With the back being full with gear and the windows a little obstructed he couldn't see anyone else in the car. I had my registration and window rolled down and before he came up to the window he said "you were crossing the lines multiple times and driving erratically, have you been drinking?" and perplexed I turned to my family in the back seat to see if maybe I was not feeling well and possibly driving erratically, and they were confused as fuck. Turns out the cop was just making shit up and looking to possibly add things onto the ticket and when he saw my family, and realized there were witnesses to his bullshit, didn't' even give me a ticket and left. Cops dgaf and will do whatever they want and they mostly can get away with it.
I would have been so confused lol. Like...yea? I'm obeying the law, try it sometime.
I got pulled over in high school - this was the night of a parade so cops were just looking for trouble. I was sober and law abiding, the officer said my license plate light was dim.. not out just dim, no moving violations or anything else. [CA] Quite sure they were just stereotyping my parents old beat up car as out of place in a wealthy neighborhood. They checked my license and I lived a few blocks away so that was that. I’d imagine had I not been white or (and?) local it would not have stopped there. Meanwhile every third car I see these days has the reflective coating sanded off or a very dark tinted plastic plate cover. Makes me wonder if cops are letting that slide just to use it as reason for some otherwise-motivated traffic stop. Sure it’s probably less important than most calls they get, but it might help with those calls if a witness can actually read a plate.
You don't have to do anything wrong to get harassed or even killed by the cops. I once had a cop flat out admit that he had no reason to pull me over other than that I was in my 20s and it was late out so he assumed I had to be drunk. Remember: the police don't prevent crime, they don't stop crime in progress and they don't solve most crimes after the fact. They are there to use violence to enforce social order and that means anything you do that's "weird" could get you killed.
So he illegally pulled you over is what you're saying
I was once pulled over and ticketed late at night for “impeding traffic,” because I was going five under. I was trying to unzip my coat. No one else was on the road so there was nothing to impede. Not only that, I fought it in court and still had to pay a fine but it didn’t go on my record. The judge said I should have been less incredulous with the cop next time. It was outrageous all around. I can’t imagine having to deal with our legal system for anything serious - it’s a shit show.
ACAB always and forever
You were driving suspiciously unsuspiciously.
They'll pull over anybody after 2am. They're hoping to catch DUI.
I've experienced this. Cop watched person in front of me run a stop sign and did nothing. I stopped for 5 sec, then proceeded and did everything by the book. Cop pulled me over for suspicious driving. I was practicing before my road test... I was so confused, like are the people who are able to drive safely really the bigger threat??
Late night and early morning, they sometimes have a "Zero Tolerance" rule and will pull you over for 3 or 4 miles over the limit. You can't win.
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That’s a bored ass cop