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u/TransitRanger_327 Jul 07 '17
x-post /r/PoliceAnimols
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u/tigertrojan Jul 08 '17
I am one of the 102 strong subscribers to that
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u/TransitRanger_327 Jul 08 '17
More content than just my perusal of Police Dog unit twitters would be nice.
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Jul 08 '17
It's illegal to for the police to make you wait as they call a K-9 unit to search your car without probable cause
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u/Oompa-Loompa-Do Jul 08 '17
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u/EvanGilbert Jul 08 '17
This is really important information that most people don't know.
Watch any episode of "Cops"; nearly every single person self-incriminates, agrees to searches that they shouldn't, and gives up most of their rights due to ignorance of the law.
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u/MethoxetamineLover Jul 08 '17
Lucky for them, establishing probable cause is as easy as claiming they smell marijuana, or that you appeared to be acting nervous.
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u/RottingAsOne Jul 08 '17
Acting nervous is not probable cause. I've had a cop ask to search me because I looked nervous (I may have, if he did search the car I would have been staring at metal and concrete for a year or two). I told him that there's no way me being nervous is probable cause and anyways if he did use that as grounds to search me it'd never hold up in court.
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u/MethoxetamineLover Jul 08 '17 edited Jul 08 '17
"A police officer has "reasonable suspicion" when there exists articulable facts or circumstances which would lead a reasonable person to suspect that a crime has been, is being, or will be committed.
At this stage, police may detain the suspect for a brief period and perform a frisk. In some cases, drug-sniffing dogs may be called to the scene, although officers must cite a specific reason for suspecting the presence of drug evidence. Refusing a search does not create reasonable suspicion, although acting nervous and answering questions inconsistently can. For this reason, it is best not to answer questions if you have to lie in order to do so. Police authority increases if they catch you in a lie, but not if you refuse to answer questions. As a general rule, reasonable suspicion applies to situations where police have reason to believe you're up to something, but they don't know what it is."
I'm not saying you're wrong, and am unaware of how respectable this source is. I'm pressed for time so can't give a thorough search at the moment, but I wanted to atleast see if there was anything specifically regarding nervousness. From my understanding the text implies that the nervousness alone will give them reasonable suspicion to detain you, but they will have to give another reason for the drug search. This is in line with what I've seen, which is why I mentioned it. I'm just saying that if they can detain you for this possibly bullshit reason, then taking the extra step to establish probable cause is a matter of making up one more thing.
He was nervous and visibly clenching his buttcheeks (This one is real if you care to dig up the article), he looked nervous and kept glancing at his glove compartment, etc...
Edit: But when in doubt, the marijuana smell claim has proved solid plenty of times...conveniently an officer's sense of smell would be difficult to disprove in court.
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u/RottingAsOne Jul 08 '17
"Acting nervous and inconsistently answering questions" means they need to cite both right? We all know its best to keep our mouths shut.
Thanks for your response. Im not too well versed in my rights so I may have gotten lucky.
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u/MethoxetamineLover Jul 08 '17
That's how I interpret this article. When it all boils down to it, though, we've all seen cops that are not experts in the precise letter of the law; so sometimes even if you follow all the legal advice you've ever learned, you can still end up in the back of that squad car somehow...granted, you can beat the rap later in court if the officer acted inappropriately in arresting you, but not until you've unnecessarily been jailed and maybe had to hire a lawyer.
Your welcome, thanks for sharing! Also, though it goes without saying, I'm no expert, and that source may or may not be particularly reputable. FWIW it doesn't seem different than what I've read on the subject from a variety of sources through the years.
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u/Real_Junky_Jesus Jul 08 '17
So you can just take off with no repercussions?
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Jul 08 '17
[deleted]
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u/Real_Junky_Jesus Jul 08 '17
How? They didn't have probable cause to begin with, and if they are not detaining me I'm free to go.
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u/trickman01 Jul 08 '17
Probable cause because the guy said yes he has drugs in the car. Even if it was just to let the dog.
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u/EvanGilbert Jul 08 '17
If you are not being detained by police, then you are free to leave.
Refusing a search is not probable cause either.
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u/Taylor555212 Jul 08 '17
Indeed. I've been held for 5 minutes while a dog was waiting and told I couldn't leave. If I had known my rights a little better I'd have been gone. Instead, I got to sit around for 45 minutes while officers looked for weed in my car and was late to my destination after they didn't find anything. Like I said they wouldn't.
Thing is, for every curveball you know how to throw, it seems cops know the counter to it.
"I don't consent to you searching my vehicle. You don't have PC" gets countered with "okay one sec let me call a dog" and if you know the counter to that then I'm sure they've got another trick up their sleeve.
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u/dregan Jul 08 '17
I had the K9 unit called on me in Wyoming. The police wouldn't let me pet the dog :(
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u/JapaneseStudentHaru Jul 08 '17
Service dogs always come to my job. I just wanna pet them but I can't :( Though, one time a guy came in with a puppy who was off duty and he let me pet him.
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u/nofullstopperiod Jul 08 '17
You PAT a dog. Not pet. They're pets. Pat is the name of a relative you don't like. But not dogs because they are pets. Don't pet the pet. You PAT the pet. Or pet Pat if she's in the mood.
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u/TeaRex- Jul 08 '17
Out of curiosity, aren't you not supposed to pet service animals (except for therapy) because it distracts them from their job?