et2 wrote:
gemert wrote:
I do not believe that an officer has a right to enter your MH to look around the driver's area anymore than they could go over to the passenger side and get in your car with you. Everyone has the right to look in your windows anytime they want to if not on private property, including LEOs. Thats where we get our authority, in other wards none, on a traffic stop, it's open to plain view anyway. Also I ask drivers all the time if they have anything illegal in their car? When they say no, I say "then you won't mind if I search it, right?" I'm fishing! If I saw something illegal I would search whether you wanted me to or not. Believe it or not, some answer yes to that question. When I go on to search, about 90% of the time I find illegal drugs. Now having said this, I don't ask Mom and Dad with the kids heading to Church on Sunday morning! I ask if I already have a suspicion or call it a gut feeling. If they say no, then I go about my business. They will screw up again. In 35 years I've developed a pretty good "Spidy Sense"! Everybody does something to get pulled over for within a mile or two. I can legally stop just about anyone, any time if I want. Notice I said legally. When my Spidy sense goes off, it's for a good reason and I am rarely wrong. Bottom line is that most LEOs don't want to bother law abiding folks going about their business. If I do stop and you have a crappy attitude, you arouse my competitive spirit! If you have a good attitude I'd rather be at Duncan Donuts!!
Here is the very problem I have. One, I now understand which is the best procedure for the basic stop and what to expect. However, you would be pulling me over for a traffic violation or a equipment issue. I can most certainly assure you there is nothing illegal in my vehicle or anything about me. But I don't need to prove that to any LEO first. I certainly hope I'm being pulled over for some legitamate reason.So let's get that established and the basis for my rights in this country.
Then comes the issue were the LEO claims he can legally pull you over (above post) for any reason "he feels appropiate". So there is the issue, they already feel you are a target for something they have no idea at the time. Now, if your a nice person ( which I'am) you might invite them up the step to get out of the rain or road. This in my opinion gives them a reason to visually snoop and see what's up, unknown by you they want to search you to please their spider sense no matter what, it seems you will be asked.
Thus the reason I will never invite one into my MH or willingly allow them to search it. What happens after that discussion is totally up to the officer and subject to legal ramifications in the court if not done correctly. Things can be planted and you have no control over it.
I would assume and believe it's mandatory a officer needs to tell you why you being stopped. If you're going to be detained you need to be told why. My dash cam will be recording the whole thing.
1. I made it a point to put "legally" in there to say for a valid violation of the law. It could be as simple as failure to maintain a single lane if you go over the center line just once. That makes it a legitimate stop in the eyes of the law. What I was trying to express, badly I guess, is that someone can be "legally" stopped at almost any time. I'm not saying I make it a practice to do that. I have a lot more important things to do with my time. What I was trying to illustrate is that if I suspect someone of committing a more serious crime, I can legitimately do that for any small reason. I've never known an officer that uses tactics like that just for the heck of it. They would literally not be able to go more than a couple feet at a time without a new traffic stop.
2. You have to understand that I am giving you an idea what I do and what I see other LEOs do over the last 35 years. All are not perfect, all are not honest and some lie, some will plant evidence. It's just a fact some are in the business for the wrong reasons.
3. Put your self in a LEOs shoes. Would you randomly stop honest law abiding people to give them tickets for nothing or to plant evidence on them when there are legitimate violators/criminals going by every second? It just doesn't make sense. There are traffic cops that would literally give their own Mother a ticket. To get stopped for speeding by me you have to be doing 15 over, in the city. To get a ticket for speeding you have to be going 20 over. I'm not the exception, I'm pretty much the rule. We have better things to do than go after good people for BS.
3. Personally I would not go in your MH even if invited because I would be too vulnerable going up the stairs and trying to look under and behind every chair for a threat.
4. If I had probable cause to search, I would search because I had the legal right and authority to do so. To resist would not be a good thing.
5. We are on your side. I'm pretty sure I'm conversing with good people which is why I've taken the time to do so. I'm trying to help as are the vast majority of LEOs you may run in to out there.
6. Treat us like you want to be treated and it is more likely than not that you will be treated fairly and politely.
7. Yes it is mandatory for the officer to tell you why you are stopped.
8. No they can not legally keep you for an unreasonable amount of time to call a drug dog. The Courts have generally agreed that they can only keep you long enough to complete the law enforcement action that they stopped you for such as writing the ticket. Yes if you piss them off they can use their discretion to also write for every violation that they observed and can find by looking around. No we don't usually do that. Remember I'm anxious to get back to my cooling coffee at DD.
When I was a young cop I remember my Sergeant going nuts when someone wrote more than two tickets to any one driver. As a Sgt I did the same thing. As a Lieutenant I hold every Sgt in my division to the same standard. For 8 more months and then I will be out there with y'all 6 months at a time.
