This is why you should NEVER NEVER Talk To police....

Your first response to the "alcohol in the trunk" by a minor, did not mention probably cause. That is what I was saying was not true. Like how borderguards must use dogs to sniff trunks first. no?

anyhow, we're in agreement. sorry for the misunderstanding.

 

Hahaha

 

Plus, most officer are busy taking reports on things.

Traffic stops are a small part of the job.

It's usually when we're burning the midnight oil when we're pulling cars over or stopping fools walking down the street searching pockets.

 

Are you saying Janitors are more likely to steal than police officers?


I would be just as shocked if a janitor stole from our office as I would a police officer.

To me, they are both human and corruptable.

As for what I do, I own a company that makes video games.....

So, yes, I am a janitor....among other things.



DD

 

I still don't know where that is as I am not a resident in the Houston area, or Texas at all for that matter but cool.

 

huh? The vast majority of stops are routine traffic stops. The majority of those have zero probably cause of any other crime other than the traffic stop.

so, when I mentioned the Supreme Court ruling of Knowles v Iowa in 1998 (less than ten yrs ago), it's a ruling that covers the far majority of cases involved a traffic stop.

In a 9-0 ruling, the Supreme Court said that the majority of cases of police stopping a car cannot include a search. Thus, in the context a minor with alcohol in his trunk (the original question in this thread), it can't be searched, even if he looks nervous.

 

From SaveOurRockets.com.....

Here is one of my best experiences as a Rocket fan and it involves the police

One of the best moments I ever had as a Rockets fan was when I was in College in the mid to late 80's. The Rockets were playing the Denver Nuggets in the playoffs and I could not get them on TV or radio anywhere.

Living in San Marcos, I knew the station the Rockets were broadcast on in Houston. So, I got in my run down old Pontiac Phoenix, and drove around town until I could pick up the game on radio. I could not get it to come in clearly on KTRH (the Flagship at that time), so out of desperation I searched the AM channels by hand.

Low and behold, I was able to pick up the NUGGETS broadcast in the SWTSU stadium parking lot. I went to the 7-11, bought a 6 pack of Dr. Pepper and proceeded to listen in my car in the parking lot.

A police car pulled up, as I was the lone car in the parking lot, got out and came up to the car. He obviously thought I was suspicious, being the only car in the lot. He tapped on the window, and I told him what I was doing. It turns out he was a Rockets fan too. He jumped in the passenger seat, opened a can of Dr. Pepper and we rooted our buns off for the Rockets.

It was a tight game, and both Hakeem and Ralph fouled out. Behind Lewis Lloyd and a few other reserves the Rockets won the game in overtime. The cop and I were hooting and hollering our guts out.

One great memory out of many the Rockets have provided over the years.

Oh yeah... I got pulled over for a ticket later on that year, and guess who the officer was, YEP, you got it. He let me off with a warning. So being a Rocket fan pays in many ways.

DD

 

I don't trust the po-po...

One time I got pulled over and before I even opened my mouth, he started beating me.

 

Take 100 janitors and 100 police officers.

0 of those officers are going to have a criminal history.
Several of those janitors are going to have a history.

It's obvious you'll never think we're held to a higher standard.


A officer in a nearby town got in to a wreck not long ago. He was DWI and killed the girl. It made the paper and he will never have another job in law enforcement.

You think if that janitor drives drunk and kills someone that it will make headlines? Do you think he will have a hard time finding another janitor job?



For the record, I am not downgrading janitors.

 

And I think that an officer who uses a person's exercising his rights under the Constitution of the United States of America as a signal to treat a driver to a different level of scrutiny might should rethink his positions vis-a-vis his sworn duty to uphold the laws of the land.

And yes, the 5th Amendment is a right against self-incrimination and with officers, investigators and prosecutors often finding innocuous statements as proof of some dastardly deed, the best course of action when one is a suspect is often to simply say nothing or else end up having one's words twisted or misinterpreted. Even innocent people have had their statements used against them.

I'm sure that's true, and that's why I am more likely to be co-operative than not. However, it would behoove police officers and their departments to perhaps think about throwing in a punishment here and there when their officers violate the law or the civil rights of those they come into contact with. I think that would go a long way toward easing the minds of that percentage of the public who see abuses but fail to see anything done about them.

It just seems like an officer practically has to be running down the street carrying a severed head in one hand before anybody with any authority says "Maybe we ought to take a look at that guy."

 

QFTMFT

 

I totally support that officer's decision.

 

This just isn't a fair representation though. If a cop asks you "Mr. Paige, do you have anything in your car that I need to be aware of?" and you say "I'm invoking my Constitutional right to remain silent," you expect him to say "OK HAVE A GREAT DAY?"

Of course he is going to be suspicious. That doesn't mean he is going to beat you up or something, but he is going to wonder what's going on.

Fair enough.

 

He can wonder all he wants, but if he uses the invoking of a Constitutional Right to treat the citizen any differently, then he's stepped over the line and, in my opinion, engaged in a civil rights violation.

It would be akin to being suspicious of someone because they just voted.

And I realize there's a difference between the practical situation and the lofty ideals of our Constitution. But I do think the simple exercise of one's Constitutional rights should not subject a citizen to greater scrutiny.

So yes, unless there is something else that would provoke suspicion, the officer should say "OK, have a great day."

 

WWR,

You never acknowledged the point/question on other officers breaking the law. What are your thoughts on that?

When I used to work in EMS, I saw how police officers, firefighters, and EMS peronnel all treated each other... there is a mutual respect. But at the same time, they don't want to "hurt" one of their own. So they are willing to look the other way.

I even had a police officer that I worked with tell me that if I ever got stopped by him in his area, I had 1 free pass.




That's one of the things DD is talking about, I think. Yes, cops *should* be as ethical as you say. But people are fallible. There is always corruption.

In the government industry, the security process is MUCH more thorough. And yet, moles/spies are caught from time to time...some much bigger than others. Some have done a ton of damage to the country.

So if it can happen there, it can certainly happen in the police department. And I think the fact that it is SO easy for any officer to make 1 simple lie ("I smelled pot") in order to conduct a search...is a little too much power. Mostly because there's no way anyone can ever catch someone in that lie. He very well may have thought he smelled pot, and no one can say otherwise.

 

Why am I not suprised a defense attorney is telling people not to talk to the police?

I can understand if you got arrested for something serious and didn't want to talk but for minor traffic offenses it is ridiculous to be silent or ask for an attorney. Well, unless you have weed in the car.

 

WWR,

So, basically what you have been saying is that the only thing keeping you from wrongfully invading someone privacy and/or wasting long amounts of their time is your own integrity.

You don't find anything wrong with that? What other profession is that acceptable in?

 

I would venture to bet that 98% of the time, you're going to get the ticket whether you admit it or not.

 

Actually the 2nd part of the video saying don't talk to the police is an actual police officer.

DD