What would make cops want to search your vehicle?

[stomachmonkey]

Got pulled over for speeding one night after a gig, guilty on the speeding.

Male and female trooper which was unusual, Troopers in NY are always solo.

The way they approached the car and their confrontational attitude told me this would not be a simple stop so I decided to play along. As the stop progressed it became apparent that she was a rookie and the guy was "showing her the ropes".

Anyway, she is checking the pockets on my leather jacket and pulls out a vial. Her entire face lit up and she yells to her partner, "I found some coke!"

I said, they're earplugs, I told you, I am coming home from a gig.

She opens it up and out drop my earplugs.

The disappointment on her face made every second of the hassle worth while.

I laughed my ass off the rest of the ride home.

[onlycafe]

because they had nothing better to do and you were there.

[Hugh R]

When I was 18 in the USMC, I had my old Aston Martin DB4. I was stationed for a while at Camp Lejeunne, NC, and I got pulled over at least once a week. I let them search my car every time, cause if I didn't I'd be sitting on the side of the road, or in the back of a patrol car for hours. In 1971 in NC, you basically didn't have any rights. They were SURE I was a drug dealer.

[Racerbvd]

In FL. a Grateful Dead decal on your car is probable cause


A few years back, I was coming back from a gig, it was around 2AM, driving my 90 Toyota truck. While driving down the 2 lane road towards home, a cop passes me, then in my mirror, I see him make a U-turn, and then he turns onto my street, I knew that I wasn't speeding, but when I got right in front of my house and he lit up the lights... Told me I had a tail light out then the regular Q&A BS, then he put me in the back of his car and WITHOUT ASKING searched my truck, which of course had nothing illegal or bad, but he rifled everything in the glove box, only change in the ash tray, sunglasses in the visor, and I'm thinking, if this SOB writes me up, I have him on illegal Search.. Of course, in my small town, the cops don't have dash cams, for a reason... In the end, he let me out and park my truck in my drive way. Of course, my tail light was fine, he lied about that. So, most likely the guy who pulled you over was like this clown, just fishing... This truck just looks like trouble and there are no steal your face decals on it, that was on my 911

[patssle]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

Total sheeple mentality. Go along, go along. Let the state have their way with you. Yoh papuhs pleeze.

The same folks think TSA is great. Because being sexually molested is ok in the name of security.

Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.

[fastfredracing]

They used to search cars here for dead stickers as well. As a matter of fact, we got pulled over on I 95 just outside of DC for this very reason. We were leaving the venue, and did have one steal your face on the back bumper. We were all long hairs at the time, and an hour long search with dogs ensued. They did not find anything and were the rudest bunch of a33holes I have ever run across. They did not thank us for being co-operative, or sober, and were making a bunch of wise cracks the whole time. They left us to pick up our mess( made by them, they had the spare tire out and everything) on the side of the road.
I will never consent to a search again either. Fuch them , I can sit on the side of the road as they want me to. I never travel with anything illegal, so they can have at it with a warrant if they want to.

[LSA]

Young, long hair, heavy metal playing and a flashy red sports car...

I generally try and stay under the radar though, haven't been pulled over yet.

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

Very bad advice. Why not let them into your house to make sure you're clean too? How about a phone tap? I mean, hey, you have nothing to hide, right?

Look up that old thread about what people here have found in their own cars that belonged to the previous owners or their kids' friends and then tell me you know a cop will buy that story WHEN he finds it in your car.

Exactly right.

Besides items left by a PO, an unscrupulous cop might drop something in your car and then "find it" -- this happens ALL the time, and can happen to perfectly law abiding citizens, not just those "who are guilty of something even if it ain't this"

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

* * *
It was a long time ago, but I still remember it. 40 years later, I'm richer, smarter, and know more lawyers. If a cop asked for anything more than license, registration, and proof of insurance, he can go F**k himself.

This is just one of the comments here and elsewhere on the same thing.

I know there are a number of police officers on these forums, and the long memory of those harassed can poison citizens - police relations for many years. So, if you know someone on your force that was a little too "assertive," please speak to them for everyone's sake.

[cashflyer]

"If you & your car are clean, let em search and be on you way as a cooperative citizen."

Exactly. You should always relinquish your rights as opposed to being inconvenienced.




Arizona v. Gant - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Arizona v. Gant, 556 U.S. ___ (2009), was a United States Supreme Court decision which held that the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution requires law enforcement officers to demonstrate an actual and continuing threat to their safety posed by an arrestee, or a need to preserve evidence related to the crime of arrest from tampering by the arrestee, in order to justify a warrantless vehicular search incident to arrest conducted after the vehicle's recent occupants have been arrested and secured.

The Supreme Court held that police may search the passenger compartment of a vehicle incident to a recent occupant’s arrest only if it is reasonable to believe that the arrestee might access the vehicle at the time of the search or that the vehicle contains evidence of the offense of arrest.

[doug_porsche]

Bad news. After the patriot act your car, and all of its contents, is mostly fair game.

They do need probable cause. You said: "I saw there was no traffic and blew the traffic sign". Well they now have probable cause because an offense has been committed.

A fun thing about the patriot act. Say you have a suitcase.
1) You get a knock on the door and they serve you a warrant looking for a stolen car. You allow them in your house and take them to the garage via the family room, they see the suitcase, but its too small to contain a car so they can not search/touch the suitcase. No probable cause.
2) same suitcase is in the trunk of your car and you get pulled over for not stopping at a stop sign. They can search your car and ANYTHING IN THE CAR. The suitcase is in the trunk so they can LEGALLY search the suitcase. Oh yea, you were in the car when the crime happened so they can search you also!

Best advice, don't give them probable cause to stop you in the first place.

[vash]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

Got pulled over for speeding one night after a gig, guilty on the speeding.

Male and female trooper which was unusual, Troopers in NY are always solo.

The way they approached the car and their confrontational attitude told me this would not be a simple stop so I decided to play along. As the stop progressed it became apparent that she was a rookie and the guy was "showing her the ropes".

Anyway, she is checking the pockets on my leather jacket and pulls out a vial. Her entire face lit up and she yells to her partner, "I found some coke!"

I said, they're earplugs, I told you, I am coming home from a gig.

She opens it up and out drop my earplugs.

The disappointment on her face made every second of the hassle worth while.

I laughed my ass off the rest of the ride home.

i would have blurted out.."that's not mine!"

[Rick Lee]

How screwed would this guy have been without the camera?

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by doug_porsche

Bad news. After the patriot act your car, and all of its contents, is mostly fair game.

They do need probable cause. You said: "I saw there was no traffic and blew the traffic sign". Well they now have probable cause because an offense has been committed.

A fun thing about the patriot act. Say you have a suitcase.
1) You get a knock on the door and they serve you a warrant looking for a stolen car. You allow them in your house and take them to the garage via the family room, they see the suitcase, but its too small to contain a car so they can not search/touch the suitcase. No probable cause.
2) same suitcase is in the trunk of your car and you get pulled over for not stopping at a stop sign. They can search your car and ANYTHING IN THE CAR. The suitcase is in the trunk so they can LEGALLY search the suitcase. Oh yea, you were in the car when the crime happened so they can search you also!

Best advice, don't give them probable cause to stop you in the first place.

Probable cause for a traffic stop doesn't even come close to probable cause for a vehicle search unless pot smoke billowing out the windows or the driver was waiving a gun at other cars was the reason for the stop. And how/why would the cops get a warrant on a stolen car if you were in no way tied to that stolen car? Anything they found as a result of a bogus warrant or going to the wrong address would be inadmissible. Of course, I wouldn't let the cops into my house and wouldn't answer the door for unexpected company anyway. If they want me, they'll have to find me outside the house or announce themselves at my door and show badges.

And has anyone been wrongly convicted or even prosecuted under the PATRIOT Act?

[doug_porsche]

"And has anyone been wrongly convicted or even prosecuted under the PATRIOT Act?"

Yep.

The owners of the Strip club Cheetahs in Las Vegas Nevada was convicted of money laundering because of all the cash in the safe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheetah%27s

As the old IRS pun says

Company motto: "We've got what it takes to take what you've got"

You can thank the fallout from Sept 11 for this little problem.

Just dont give them cause.

[Langers]

If you & your car are clean, let em search and be on you way as a cooperative citizen. It is way faster and you did not get a ticket because you were cooperative.



You can refuse the search and I would bet you would have have gotten a ticket for the turn.

Agree 100%. too many uncooperative nut jobs on this site.

Newsflash: the cops are not out to get you.

[AFC-911]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

Probable cause for a traffic stop doesn't even come close to probable cause for a vehicle search unless pot smoke billowing out the windows or the driver was waiving a gun at other cars was the reason for the stop.

That's exactly why I was so surprised!

I freely admit in blowing the stop sign, but the natural result from that is either a warning or a citation.

I wasn't expecting to be searched.

Either way, I came out of this one alright. No ticket, the cop didn't plant anything on the car and no bogus arrest happened.

Out of all the times I've been pulled over, this is the first time I've been searched.

PS - that video that cashflyer posted says not to answer the "do you know why I pulled you over" question...Every time I honestly answered that, I've gotten a warning. This last stop included.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by doug_porsche

....Just dont give them cause.

I've been pulled over plenty without cause unless being young with long hair and driving a nice car is justified.

[doug_porsche]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

I've been pulled over plenty without cause unless being young with long hair and driving a nice car is justified.

If the cop is in a bad mood then "driving" is cause. The best defense I found when being followed by the police and not wanting a ticket is to pull into the next parking lot I see and go into the business and/or just start walking away from the car.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by Langers

Agree 100%. too many uncooperative nut jobs on this site.

Newsflash: the cops are not out to get you.

Too many sheeple on this site too. Just go along, go along.

We're from the gov't. and are here to help you.