Got pulled over and searched last night.

"Rainbow" (rainbeaux) 04/17/2014 at 12:00 • Filed to: None

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I was out for a drive just to be out for a drive, so when the officer pulled me over and asked where I was coming from, I had no answer. I just said I'd been driving around for a bit just for the sake of doing it, which wasn't a lie. It sure sounded like one, though, since I was apparently heading toward campus about a mile past a liquor store that is notorious for accepting fake IDs. (it's out of county, though, and they apparently don't care enough to shut it down, so this county's police just patrol that street every night) He took my license and asked all three of my passengers for theirs, too, which was odd. He then had me get out of the car and said that if I tell him whose alcohol is in the trunk, he would just confiscate it and write me a ticket; if I continued to "lie" about it, I'd be arrested. Of course, this prompted that horrible feeling of wondering whether, somehow, there actually was alcohol that had magically appeared in the car. I just told him that he wouldn't find any, and finally he told me to pop the trunk revealing ... absolutely nothing. He handed back our IDs and told me that my 3rd brake light was out, then just drove away. I'm really not concerned with anything that may have been illegal on his part, since he was nice (although terrifying) and I did consent to the search, but it does feel sort of fishy. I don't think I touched the brakes until his lights went on, so that would mean he pulled me over entirely on a hunch. Of course, I don't know for sure if that's what happened, so whatever. It made for a unique experience.

Also, 3rd brake lights should emit at least a bit of a glow into the cabin. There's really no way to know that it's out until someone tells you, and it can be a panicky situation as I have found out.

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > Rainbow 04/17/2014 at 12:04

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Yea even if i know i do not have anything in the car i would never let an officer search it. Its private property. And depending on where you live they actually have to ask for consent to search your car not just ask you to open the trunk etc.

Taking the passengers id's is weird, i haven't heard of that happening much. Should have gotten his badge number and reported it.

505Turbeaux > Rainbow 04/17/2014 at 12:04

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ugh, yeah he was wrong, but it sounded to me like he was too cheap to buy his own liquor. Must have been looking forward to a weekend party. That is why they sit there, free booze for all the fuzz!

ddavidn > Rainbow 04/17/2014 at 12:06

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That's pretty weird. What sheriff was it?

ttyymmnn > Rainbow 04/17/2014 at 12:08

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but it does feel sort of fishy.

It was fishy, because he was fishing. He used the lame excuse of a burned out taillight to pull you over and search your car. It's possible that he had a report of minors buying liquor and he thought you were the ones, but even that's sketchy at best.

I know you're not interested in anything he did that was illegal, but he requested a search for which he had no basis of suspicion. He was fishing. It's very hard to tell the officer (politely) to go fly a kite, please get a warrant, because he would have made your life miserable for a while. Ask him if you are being detained. Ask him why he thinks there is liquor in the back. I believe he should be able to answer those simple questions before you give up your 4th Amendment rights.

I'm sure there are some Constitutional scholars who will chime in on this one. I'd love to know the proper procedure.

Rainbow > TheD0k_2many toys 2little time 04/17/2014 at 12:08

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He took our IDs to see if we had fakes on us, I think. If there was booze and none of us were 21, that would have been a problem too.

I would have reported him if he handed me a ticket or anything, but it went smoothly enough (and he was gone too fast to get his car number anyway) so it's all good. Honestly, I kind of agree with what he's doing. There's way too much drinking on campus and I'm tired of needing to take detours in my dorm to avoid puke in the hallways.

MonkeePuzzle > Rainbow 04/17/2014 at 12:08

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I have always thought it would be nice to have a way to contact people in traffic to tell them about blown tail lights, because they obviously don't know, and how often do even we enthusiasts check

ttyymmnn > TheD0k_2many toys 2little time 04/17/2014 at 12:09

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They ask you to open the trunk, and when you do, you have given consent to search. It's the old, "Mind if I have a look?" line.

jkm7680 > Rainbow 04/17/2014 at 12:09

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At least you avoided the "Anal Probe"

Hehe, But I'm glad you didn't get busted for something

Crocket Bernet > Rainbow 04/17/2014 at 12:09

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I got pulled over over the summer the cop took all four of our licenses and then had us all take a sobriety check, which we all passed. He was really pissed off when he let us go.

The moral of that story is that cops can be dicks and may assume that just because you are kids you're doing something wrong.

Rainbow > ddavidn 04/17/2014 at 12:09

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Bulloch County, GA, I think. Might have been Statesboro. I didn't get a good look at the car or his badge.

CalzoneGolem > Rainbow 04/17/2014 at 12:12

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They had no probable cause to search your car but they probably would have looked really hard for if if you refused. That being said I'd totally pop the trunk and say, "Look, no booze."

ddavidn > MonkeePuzzle 04/17/2014 at 12:12

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You know what's really hard to figure out? When both your reverse lights are out. After a few people almost slam into you in parking lots, that's when you decide to check... which is also pretty difficult to do by yourself.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Rainbow 04/17/2014 at 12:12

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You got harassed, plain and simple. I get what he was trying to find, but the way he went about it is not the way to do that. He was being a dick for the sake of being a dick.

Diesel > jkm7680 04/17/2014 at 12:14

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But, that's how you get paid.

Reigntastic > Rainbow 04/17/2014 at 12:18

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Never consent to a search. You literally have nothing to gain from allowing an officer to search your vehicle.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Rainbow 04/17/2014 at 12:20

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Wow this is a mess of fishing. And I've been fished myself before.

A lot of people will tell you "no way no searches here, get a warrant". Sure it's "giving up your rights" sure he was being a douche (note no quotes around that one! lol).

But you know you were clean and it was a whole lot less of a hassle to just pop the trunk.

As for some of the comments I've seen you reply to about not even knowing the department he worked for - that's incredibly unprofessional of him. He should have started the conversation with "I'm Deputy XXXXXX of the XXXX Sheriff's Department, do you know why I stopped you this evening?" To which my Sheriff's Deputy sister has made very clear you NEVER ANSWER, haha. She said it's a blatant admission of guilt even if you do know why you're being stopped play stupid.

CAR_IS_MI > Rainbow 04/17/2014 at 12:21

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I grew up in a small college town. While 100% illegal, cops will, for no true reason, pull over a car with multiple young people in it, just to make sure they are not doing something stupid. I got pulled over all the time, even though I lived in town, and was from town, they were usually dicks about something when they realized I was from town and not some college kid here to party (I would get the whole "I saw you put your seat belt on as I was driving past" or " you have a license plate light out" or some BS excuse), which never ended in a ticket so I never did anything about it.

Although one time I had a cop overly harass me for no reason, calling me names, and being overly aggressive (literally no reason other than I was a young kid). I called the chief, who was a family friend, and he had that officer come to my house and apologize for his actions, which was severely rewarding for me.

Point being, if you live in or near a small town with a college and not much else to do, this kind of obnoxious cop behavior is almost to be expected.

PS9 > Rainbow 04/17/2014 at 12:21

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ttyymmnn > Rainbow 04/17/2014 at 12:23

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This is interesting. I checked with the ACLU on this issue, and found the following:

If an officer or immigration agent asks to look inside your car, you can refuse to consent to the search. But if police believe your car contains evidence of a crime, your car can be searched without your consent.

There's some interesting reading here . The bit about if the police "believe your car contains evidence of a crime" is pretty vague.

jaguarenvy > Reigntastic 04/17/2014 at 12:26

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Time. It is my most valuable asset and if I have an empty trunk; which is pretty much always the case, I'm going to pop it and be on my merry way.

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > ttyymmnn 04/17/2014 at 12:28

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Hmm in Michigan they are required to ask you for the right to search. That is how i understand it from when a police officer friend explained it to me.

jariten1781 > Rainbow 04/17/2014 at 12:29

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Hey, at least you now know about a burned out tail light.

When I was in HS I worked an overnight shift in a high drug area. I'd regularly get pulled over for fishing stops. The 'reason' would inevitably vary, but the funniest was 'weaving within the lane'. Eventually they learned my car and stopped bothering me.

It's a tough spot because you can either go all constitutionalist on them and refuse to talk, ask if you're being detained, and 'not consent to searches'. However that's likely to piss them off and you'll get your brake out ticket as a fine.

A good bet to avoid the whole situation entirely is to not travel routes where people routinely break the law unless you have a reason to do so. No, you shouldn't have to, but most people have no interest in being martyrs.

ttyymmnn > TheD0k_2many toys 2little time 04/17/2014 at 12:30

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Absolutely they are required to ask. In any state. And you have the Constitutional right to refuse.

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > ttyymmnn 04/17/2014 at 12:33

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I know that i am just saying in Michigan the officer i talked to made it seem like they had to announce it in a certain way, such as "Do i have permission to search the vehicle?" not just "pop the trunk". Im not trying to argue with you but i see what you are saying

ttyymmnn > TheD0k_2many toys 2little time 04/17/2014 at 12:37

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I'm not looking for an argument.

Frank Grimes > Rainbow 04/17/2014 at 12:37

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What a load of Bullochs!

yamahog > Crocket Bernet 04/17/2014 at 12:40

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Similarly, last year I was pulled over after I was just coming back from being a good DD and dropping off all my friends who'd been drinking. The officer claimed I smelled like alcohol (I was in the bar after all, just not partaking) and tried to check my eyes, but said it was too dark and I'd need to step out of the car.

Once I stepped down from my Explorer in 5" heels and walked to the curb with no problem, they realized a field test wouldn't be necessary. Turns out they pulled me over because the CA DMV hadn't put my new tags in the system, and if I didn't have the receipt for registration and all associated paperwork on me, that night could've gotten ugly quickly.

Reigntastic > jaguarenvy 04/17/2014 at 12:54

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Yeah, and then an officer decides he's sure you're carrying drugs, tears up your carpet and removes your seats, leaving you on the side of a highway for an hour or two, and then tells you to put it all back together when he finds nothing. Or, if you live in the south, he plants something in your car and you go to jail for a tiny baggie of coke/cannabis that mysteriously found its way into your trunk.

If you want to save time, make the officers follow the law like everyone else.

vdub_nut: scooter snob > Rainbow 04/17/2014 at 13:00

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I wonder if this was part of protecting or serving ?

Rainbow > Reigntastic 04/17/2014 at 13:44

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True, but refusing the search just causes more problems. A lot of the time, the difference between a fine and a warning is the cop's impression of you. Piss him off for any reason and you're more likely to get screwed over. So yeah, a thorough search is a violation of privacy and such, but I'll gladly show him my empty trunk just to cooperate.

Reigntastic > Rainbow 04/17/2014 at 13:56

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I've declined a search and been let go with a warning, it's ok to stand up for yourself. Whenever a cop wants to search your vehicle, he's angling to send you to jail, nothing more. If he can, he will, so don't give him any reason to. Declining a search does not constitute probable cause and permit an officer to hassle you or search your vehicle anyways, it instead asserts your rights and nullifies any evidence he might find in your vehicle that is obtained illegally.

I mean, even if you don't have anything illegal in your car to your knowledge, other passengers can easily try and push evidence off on you, and if they don't say it's theirs you will take the fall since it's in your vehicle. I'd take a ticket over a possible ride to jail any night, especially if it's for something like a broken taillight which can be dismissed simply by repairing the bulb and proving that you have repaired the issue to the court.

Philbert/Phartnagle > 505Turbeaux 04/18/2014 at 00:00

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Yup, living in a small town I have seen, heard about and even participated in the consuming of confiscated liquor ( a high school friend got to be a local cop after we got out of school and were old enough to drink of course. ). All the while laughing at the stories told by those who confiscated it. No I am not ashamed, I had it happen to me a few times too and I was just glad to be on the other side of it for a change.

Philbert/Phartnagle > Rainbow 04/18/2014 at 00:02

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Sorry man, I didn't know that was you and called it in because you were weaving down the road. ;)

Seriously, you didn't have to let him search as I'm sure you know, but I think you did the right thing because he could have caused you more grief than it was worth if you had not.

505Turbeaux > Philbert/Phartnagle 04/18/2014 at 08:30

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haha I have been on both sides. With liquor and weed...

plainnottoasted > jkm7680 04/18/2014 at 18:15

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Jesus, for real.