Not to defend the officer at all..but..
The I-75 and the I-10 corridor are both major routes for drug smuggling N-S and E-W.

Many thousands or millions of pounds of drugs flow through the highway system every year.
The officers are probably under great pressure from above to perform.
Or there is just pure laziness.
This guy might have been vying for Desk Sargent and a cushy retirement at a very young age.

If he was planting evidence on innocent people, then the facts should play out, and consequences should be dealt out.
(but it would also presume that hundreds of lawyers/prosecutors/judges/laws did not perform their duties to seek the truth.)


One thing I do not like about this type of story is that it becomes "all vs. nothing".
There might have been many criminals and disrupted crimes mixed into that history.

This happened recently. Looks like the dogs are still being used here, and the article doesn't say anything about a warrant or PC. Obviously, we can rule out PC out because the dog was used. He's really screwed now, they hang'em in Williamson County. I don't watch the show Live PD, but the sheriffs are on it.

https://www.statesman.com/news/20190723/affidavit-austin-lawyer-found-with-multiple-illegal-drugs-in-traffic-stop

You are correct - thanks for the clarification. I looked into this and discovered that if a canine arrives on the scene of a "normal" traffic stop, they can go ahead and sniff around. The moment the cop hands you the ticket, and the "normal" traffic stop is concluded, you cannot be further detained to wait for the arrival of a dog. If the officer just stalls and delays, rather than completing the "normal" traffic stop in a timely manner, anything the dog subsequently finds is likely to be tossed.

Sorry, I did have the details wrong. In other words, law enforcement cannot just hold you indefinitely, waiting for someone with the dog to show up.

In California, an officer must have your consent to search your car, your home, or place of business unless they witness a crime or statement of a crime being made and have reason to secure the scene or evidence. They won't just barge in a start searching because they are going to be responsible for that evidence being tossed out in court.

I would say that Florida cop being investigagted suggests that the system in Florida is working to catch and prosecute a dirty cop, if he turns out to be one. If not, then it's good to know either way.

They invent probable cause.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rJqq6KCOkdM" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe

Money. If you look at the amounts these small municipalities collect from fines and processing fees, it would astound you.
No different than speed traps other than the possibility of it being on your record for life.
Small towns have lived off it for years.
Look at the video above. Collinsville Ohio doesn't even have enough residents to register on WIKI yet they have a cop. Who pays the cop?

My assumption ESPECIALLY with a dirtbag like the one in the article, if you refuse the search, then he's likely to make up probably cause and do it anyway. Most cops may not bother.

Interesting, I've been pulled over plenty of times (not as much now that I'm an old guy) when I was younger, and I don't think I ever had my car searched or was even asked.

I think that if they ask you if they can search your car, then they can do whatever. I think if they have "probable cause" then they can also do whatever. I think the situation that you describe is more about "I had pulled him over for speeding and could see a (gun, weed, syringe, etc...) laying in the (ashtray, floorboard, back seat, etc...) through the window, so I then had probably cause to go farther.

But I'm also not a lawyer and could be so far off base that I'm not even on the same ball field.

In this particular case, I've got a couple of ideas that are completely out of thin air.

1 "These people are dirtbags. I know they are guilty of something, but I can't prove it legally, so I'll make this up so I can clean up the world."

2 "If I have XX number of good arrests and convictions, it looks great on my resume and I get raises, promotions, bonuses, whatever.

3 All of the above.

Negative - Doesn't work that way.....

Whatever. The cop has stopped you to try to get you for something. He hasn't stopped you to be your friend. He's the enemy. Why help him by consenting.

Yes and no.

Every major metro PD that I know of tracks officer stats. If you are a street monster with a ton of drug arrests, it can/will make a difference if/when your file makes it in front of a selection board.
You would have more opportunities within specialty details as well. Of course, it (your stats) will typically only get you a foot in the door...

The reason these scumbags do it is to look like heroes.

We had a similar situation here where I live. The Deputy was fired but not thrown in jail a very wealthy local business owner is seeing to it the Deputy is brought to justice.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/01/30/he-was-jailed-days-having-heroin-it-was-only-detergent-part-wider-scandal/

The wealthy business owner (I will call him Bill) was detained and hot boxed by a different deputy.

Bill saw a bad accident unfold in front of him on the local interstate. He stopped and started helping people who were injured until EMS showed up.

He was actually doing CPR on one victim. Once relieved by EMS he was overwhelmed with emotion. He decided to take out his phone and snap a couple pics of the accident scene to show his wife.

A deputy who had just arrived saw him with his phone out and yelled at him to stop. He tried to explain what he was doing. The deputy would not listen, things went downhill fast.

Bill ended up in handcuffs and tossed in the back seat of amthe deputy's cruiser. Then the deputy reached up front and shut the car off with the windows up, in July in Florida.

Bill was left to sweat his ass off for 30 minutes in the cruiser before he was released.

Bill is a millionaire, the deputy screwed with the wrong citizen. Bill filed a lawsuit and after 2 years of court battles won. Judgement against the sherriff's office was a couple million. Which he donated to a local citizens rights group. He just wanted to teach the local sherriff's department a lesson.

Now he is crusading to get the cop in that article thrown in jail. Where he belongs.



Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

“You poisoned the wells of criminal justice, and set about it deliberately”

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Pilcher

Jeff - is this the dog case?

https://verdict.justia.com/2013/04/17/the-u-s-supreme-court-declares-warrantless-dog-sniffs-of-private-front-porches-unconstitutional-or-does-it

house, not car - if you have a car case, I'd like to take a look at it

BTW, a motor home is mobile like a car but can be like a house - fun for the legal analysis by the courts

one more tidbit: Oregon has a statute that specifically requires a cop to tell you why you were stopped and not delay you, etc. - they routinely ignore it (and a city cop here told me their "secret" police manual tells them what to do in a stop, and it violates the state law)

must be this one:

https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/supreme-court-police-drug-sniffing-dogs/

https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/11/05/man-seeks-millions-after-nm-police-force-colonoscopy-in-drug-search

Be glad you are not this guy. The probable cause was alleged clinched butt cheeks:rolleyes:

To top it off, the hospital sent him a $6000 bill for the colonoscopy

If they want to search, they will invent a reason

My dad is a retired police chief. He always told us if you
are stopped and they ask to search the car, ask the officer if they think they have a reason to and what it is. Friend and
I got stopped by one of his officers, under age with beer in
the trunk. I said no to the search. Officer said ok. Told my
Dad about , even the beer. He said I did the right thing. Of course
I still got in trouble for the beer

Every medical procedure I have ever had done, required me to sign a consent form. I would be telling every nurse and doctor I do not consent to anything, and I refuse to cooperate. There had to be a court order to do a colonoscopy, let the judge that signed it, pay the bill, and sue him to boot.