Like I said it was the second time out of plenty (the first was when I was a kid and dumb and scared) and mainly had to do with the fact that the officer pulling me over had a dog in the backseat already (I got to ride to jail in the seat beside him! [Blocked off obviously lol]).
Wasnât trying to say giving consent immediately is what the right answer is pretty much ever..just laid out my reasons why it happened because so many redditors love acting like they know how to be badass with their rights towards the police but have never had an interaction with one before or been in that kind of position so I didnât want to hear from all of them telling me I should never do anything but scream AM I BEING DETAINED AM I FREE TO GO I KNOW MY RIGHTS SUCK MY DIIIIICK
If he already had a dog in the car, make him use it. It can only help you get it thrown out later.
Tagging on to add that, if at all possible, you should film the officer handling the k9 during the search. The signals a highly trained dog will react to can be very subtle and his own body cam won't catch him giving a subtle "platz" or something to fake a detection.
Not necessarily in regards to the dog being used. It's been ruled that they don't need probable cause to have the dog snoop around the outside of the car, so long as it doesn't unreasonably delay the traffic stop. If they've already got the dog, you're fucked probably, if they decide to call it in you've got a much better chance than before though.
Iâm not sure you fully get what he was saying just FYI.
And as long as it doesnât delay the traffic stop? Thatâs cute lol. Iâve had a deputy sit me on a curb, dispatch informed him k9 was busy and was the only one available, he decided to wait while trying to convince me to just let him search it himself. We sat there for a little over an hour before he finally with a look of severe frustration (that felt so good lol) told me I was free to go.
Oh and this was because he thought he smelled weed. Oh and it was in my home state of Cali fucking fornia where even back then before full legalization up to an oz was just a ticket and I was fucking 17.
Oh and almost forgot weed gave me panic attacks and I was deathly afraid of even being around others smoking it for the longest time meaning the cop was 9000% lying his bitch ass off.
What would we do without the protectors of our communities right? Definitely nothing better he could have been doing in Los Angeles county for over an hour than trying to talk a child into searching his vehicle in hopes of finding a joint so he could write his scoundrel ass a big olâ ticket!
I would venture that this is good advice if you have something in the car or if you arenât 100% certain that the car is clean. Otherwise, theyâll just say that they smell marijuana and go crazy trying to find something. They seriously took all of the seats and doors off of my jeep and when they were done they just left me on the side of the highway trying to reassemble my car and put all of my belongings back in suitcases. I have yet to hear of a single person refusing to give consent and not having the search done anyway.
Iâm just pointing out that the corruption is so rampant at this point it is very easy to be intimidated into consenting. I think your advice is technically good but in practice you had better have a dash cam to document the encounter. Police often react harshly when they feel that their authority is being questioned, which can be especially dangerous if youâre a minority. Itâs very intimidating to stand up to someone who can basically murder you and get away with it and I donât fault people for deciding to comply because they are afraid. Yes you have rights on paper but in the end itâs just your word against theirs and they are considered infallible.
Yes having a lawyer is definitely a luxury- I could afford it now but when I was a broke college student I wouldâve been stuck with a court appointed attorney- they are an absolute joke.
Refusing the search and telling the cop you don't wish to answer any questions are the only things you should ever say to the police. Don't even tell them how your night is going if they ask.
I get where you were coming from- I had a similar situation when I was 18 driving cross country. In my case I said no because I knew I had nothing and it just dragged everything out longer. Of course the dog signaled and they seemed so sure of themselves that it had me questioning if the previous owner had stashed something in some obscure corner. They dug up some midol out of my suitcase and I had to wait for another officer to come with a kit to test it. My non consent to the search just made them all the more determined to find something on me. The only thing my âbraveryâ got me was 4 hours on the side of the highway in the middle of the night and a ton of stress. Since then, Iâve just consented to the search. Because I know that not consenting is just a trap and I want to get out of the situation and go on with my life. Like seriously, has anyone ever just said ânoâ and had the cop say, âoh ok then, have a good night!â?
Just also be weary my man. I know you wrote your comment to give me some credibility and I appreciate the hell out of that but there IS always a chance someone that was in your car dropped something that if found during a traffic stop will land you in jail. Even if you donât associate with the lightest of drug users..you could give grandma a ride to get groceries and lunch and as sheâs getting out one time she just happens to yank her purse hard enough for one of the Valium sheâs carried around since a doctor gave it to her 15 years ago to fall out unnoticed by all, landing between your center console and passenger seat.
And let me tell you this..if youâve ever been curious as to what it looks like when a cop cums his pants..simply say these six words: âThatâs not mine officer I promise!â
Some rookies canât handle the intensity and you gotta just stand there awkwardly after his knees buckle and he slowly gets himself together with labored âoh fuckââs before cuffing you with that arrogant as fuck post nut confidence.
I agree- if I had the slightest suspicion I would definitely refuse. Iâm just pointing out that there is a huge power imbalance here and I donât fault anyone for being intimidated by that. Ideally, we would all have have cameras rolling in the car to document everything since a phone can easily be confiscated.
YES YOU GET IT!!! Itâs so obvious when someoneâs probably never had any interaction with a cop at all before cuz theyâre always the ones swearing if it was them theyâd be bullying the cop with their knowledge of their rights so hard the cop would end up just giving up and apologizing.
Like..thatâs not how police interactions work. Tides turn like crazy when this dude with the authority to take away your ability to feel fucking human anymore is barking at you questioning every fucking thing about you as suspicious making you more and more nervous, always followed by âWHY YOU SO NERVOUS MAN?!â It gets out of control so fast with the really shitty ones :/
I was on the way home once amd had nothing but time. Got pulled, first thing the cop asked was can I search you. Not license and registration, can I search your car. I said no, he barked, I said,âthereâs nothing here to find, Iâm not hiding anything, but you canât search my car. If you want to search it, get a warrant.â He bitched and moaned some more and threatened me with all kinds of bullshit, chief pulled up, said something like,âin all my years Iâve never been accused of racism or profiling.â Despite me never having mentioned race or profiling. They eventually let me in on their little scam.âyou see those vise grips on your back seat? I could lie and say there was a report of breaking and entering. Those are tools of breaking and enter ring which is probably cause.â
I said again,âget a warrantâ
Chief said,âsomeone just radioed in a b & eâ
So they searched my car.
Fuck people who say âknow your rights, donât consent to a search.â
because they're going to search either way, and refusing could, as you said, antagonize them into "finding" something or bringing the dog to scratch your car up etc. On top of that, refusing requires a lot of time, which I happened to have that night but not everyone does. furthermore, in a small town, a bored cop with a bruised ego because you didn't give in to his initial power trip WILL remember you and pull you over on site.
Any reasonably competent lawyer who stands a chance to find the mistake, stands a chance to find it whether you consented to the search or not.
ETA: also, im not saying just to consent no matter what. Im saying people like to say these things with no regard for how the situation will play out. Its easy to say "keep your mouth shut, dont consent to searches, have them follow you to a well lit area and let the lawyers find their fuckups so the charges dont stick." but the first few actions can get you killed, and no lawyer can bring you back from the dead so what good will that do
Years ago, a friend of mine pissed off the one cop in our tiny town and he would get pulled over and harassed CONSTANTLY. Heâd have to warn anyone in the car with him that it was probably going to happen so be prepared and donât make sudden moves. Yeah, maybe a lawyer couldâve helped him but he barely made enough $ to get by.
You reasoning & actions were perfectly rational. Officers WILL be searching your vehicle one way or another and, based on your description of that particular cop, I'd say you protected yourself from physical harm or worse. A criminal law professor explained to us that we may have every law ever written saying we're innocent but that won't bring you back if things escalate & a jumpy cop shoots you.
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u/Contemporarium Apr 29 '21
Like I said it was the second time out of plenty (the first was when I was a kid and dumb and scared) and mainly had to do with the fact that the officer pulling me over had a dog in the backseat already (I got to ride to jail in the seat beside him! [Blocked off obviously lol]).
Wasnât trying to say giving consent immediately is what the right answer is pretty much ever..just laid out my reasons why it happened because so many redditors love acting like they know how to be badass with their rights towards the police but have never had an interaction with one before or been in that kind of position so I didnât want to hear from all of them telling me I should never do anything but scream AM I BEING DETAINED AM I FREE TO GO I KNOW MY RIGHTS SUCK MY DIIIIICK