So, my 20 yo daughter told me about a run-in she and several of her friends had with a local LEO and a state patrolman this week. Now, I am pretty
darn exhausted and cannot recall ALL of the deets right at the moment, but I am kind of hung up on a couple of things she told me that happened...
First, I feel like I need to let you know she's open about things with me and I know she would tell me what happened, what they were REALLY doing,
etc...But these kids were all on their way home, the driver wasn't drinking, they didn't use marijuana in the car, etc. She just happened to catch a
ride with them and then her night got really twisted, at the hands of law enforcement.
The state LEO pulled behind the vehicle her friend was driving and started riding their bumper, very closely, so he sped up a bit. Moments later, the
red and blues are on and it's time to pull over. So,
the original reason for stopping the vehicle was for speeding.
Without going into too much detail, well at least until I can sit and talk to her and write it all down, the cop was one of THOSE types...The Nazi/SS
type. So much so that things escalated pretty quickly because this "cop" and the local one trampled ALL OVER these 19-20 year old kids' rights,
like legit stomped all over 'em. Good thing I've drilled the 5th amendment into my daughters head since she was old enough to understand it.
My daughter was a restrained passenger in the back seat, has NO warrants and has only had one brush with the law a couple of years ago because she did
something REALLY, REALLY stupid and got caught (shoplifted a stupid $10 tee shirt, SO stupid! The shame!!). She did her com service and paid the fines
and has gone on with her life...She is also VERY aware that she is on probation until she is 21 years old because they always throw the proverbial
book at you in this county, especially when is comes to probation time. She is an education/english major in college, so she's cognizant of the fact
if she wants to be a HS English teacher, she's gotta keep it on the straight and narrow.
Anyhow, the cop sees a bunch of kids in the car and after being stopped for speeding he immediately goes the "I smell marijuana in the car, everyone
out!" route (according to the state patrol and the majority of local PD's, EVERYONE'S car around here smells like weed, bc weed smell=probable
cause to root thru your stuff).
No one had smoked marijuana in the car and they were all heading home for the evening...The driver hadn't used marijuana, alcohol, etc.
The thing that is really bothering me right now is the fact that a MALE LEO "frisked" my DAUGHTER who is obvi a FEMALE and paid "special"
attention to her chest/bra area...To me, this is gross and a TOTAL disregard for her rights, the law, and, quite possibly, could be considered sexual
battery...She is completely creeped out about this and I plan to call our attorney on Monday to discuss it and get advice.
Just because a police officer has a lawful basis to make a Terry Stop does not mean that they are thereby justified in frisking that individual.
For example, a police officer can stop your car because he witnessed you speeding. That would satisfy the reasonable articulable suspicion requirement
that I spoke of earlier, but the officer would not then be justified in frisking you subsequent to the stop based on the speeding violation alone.
The United States Supreme Court has held that a police officer must have additional reasonable articulable suspicion that the individual to be
searched is armed with a dangerous weapon and is presently dangerous. In other words, not only must the officer have a reasonable articulable
suspicion that the individual is armed with a weapon, but must also have a reasonable articulable suspicion that the individual may use that
weapon.
Source
So, according to that nice bit of info from the USSC, he had NO REASON, or right to frisk my daughter.
ATS, am I right?? Shouldn't this MAN have at, the very least, called a FEMALE LEO to the scene if all these kids (3 guys, 2 girls) needed to be puled
out of the car, frisked, searched, all phones taken away, put in cop cars, etc. because the driver went SLIGHTLY over the speed limit??
The kids all said to each other that they should tape it when the cop started in on all of them, accusing them all of doing all sorts of drugs,
drinking, etc. They only thing they turned up was around 4 grams of marijuana in a jar that they pinned on the driver, who also ended up with a DUI
because of the jar being in his vehicle...The cop tried to pin it on my daughter (I have no doubt her info came back that she is on probation for her
stupid mistake) but she basically laughed in his face and then shut her mouth again. Good girl.
But, hey, way to go LEO! Way to possibly ruin a kids future/life, making sure he suffers for years when all he LEGALLY should have gotten was a simple
traffic type ticket, for the speeding and the marijuana. Possessing less than an ounce is not even a misdemeanor here, it is SUPPOSED to be a pay out
ticket, just like a speeding ticket, that doesn't go on your record because it has been decriminalized. It isn't legal, we don't even have medical
MJ here, but small amounts & some MJ paraphernalia are supposed to be decriminalized.
It seems LEO's are giving DUI's out left and right for possessing small amounts of decriminalized dried plant matter, regardless if there is
evidence of it being consumed in the vehicle, without seeing them partake in said plant material, etc...My 19 year old nephew got a DUI for the EXACT
same thing. He was stopped for a burned out license plate bulb and ended up with a DUI. He said his GF's marijuana was his, to save her from any
trouble and that's what he got for being a really good BF. Isn't that some BS?
Whew, I am really tired and rambling so, in closing, I just have to say that I AM PROUD of my girl for actually LISTENING TO ME and taking my
advice...She SHUT HER MOUTH and, after asking in a round about way if she was being detained, was cleared and given her new iPhone 6 back to call her
boyfriend who picked her up and took her to her apartment.
I am still reeling from this story. I feel SO bad for the kid who got the DUI, for my daughter who was felt up by a creepy SS type cop, but mostly
because their rights were just OBLITERATED and the only one who knew (kind of) how to handle the creeps was my girl.
I'll get more exact info from her after I wake up and get our Christmas on. But now, I finally am good and tired and ready for some ZZzzzzz's!
Feels great to get this off my mind tonight, so thanks for that.
Byt the way Merry Christmas, ATS! Hope you and yours have a wonderful, fun filled and safe holiday!