Texas Road Blocks

Hi,

Back a few years ago I was driving and saw a cop standing in the road. I didn't think anything of it cause he was standing in front of a school (which trees blocked my line of sight to) so I assumed he was directing traffic (buses and stuff). I've been out of school for many years so it slipped my mind that it was summer and there was no traffic to direct.

So the car in front of me passes him then he flags me down and points me to the school parking lot. Now that the trees aren't blocking my view I can see they got a few other cars pulled over and are writing stuff down on a clip board.

These things are important to note :

-I don't "look like trouble"
-It was the middle of the day
-I wasn't breaking any laws
-All of the cars stickers were up to date
-I was (as I always do) wearing my seatbelt
-This car isn't a `hot rod`
-I wasn't (as I almost never do) speeding

Moving on... I pull into the parking lot and put the car in park. I had to wait for a minute cause the cop doing the "processing" was still working w/the person behind me. This situation sucks for me because :

-my license was expired
-I was in a friends car
-I had an outstanding warrant for some traffic tickets

The cop comes up and I'm trying to be cool and ask him why I've been stopped. He tells me it's an "insurance check". I admitted to him that "I guess I'm going to get a ticket" (or whatever) cause my license is expired. *HE DIDN'T EVEN RUN MY LICENSE*. He just made me 'promise' to take care of it. Never have I been pulled over where they didn't run the license. He took down my info on some clipboard (not his police ticket pad) and let me go. No ticket, no license check, no nothing.

Fast forward to recent history.

Several people I know and trust have told me that the same police force has been setting up more random road blocks for "information checks" recently (within the past week).

Same deal, pull people over at random, take down their info ("papers please, papers please..") and let them go.

Anything like this happening in your area ?

The city I'm talking about is right outside of a MAJOR city in Texas. We're not talking backwoods country cops here.

[edit on 22-7-2007 by NoobieDoobieDo]

[edit on 22-7-2007 by NoobieDoobieDo]

[edit on 22-7-2007 by NoobieDoobieDo]

We have those up here in Ottawa every once and a while..I see them on many holidays.

It is usually either for alcohol/insurance/seatbelt, but they will set up on a road (or at an on/off ramp for the highway) and pull everyone that passes by and check their info. They do not, from my experience, ever actually run licenses in the system, just make sure you have one. They will just check you out, make sure your not drunk/high, have the proper docs, and send you on your way.


Don't remember if they wrote down any of my info, since it has been awhile since I've been pulled over..

[edit on 7/22/2007 by pstiffy]

Happens here on Long Island with the Suffolk County Police Department and the Suffolk County Sheriff's Office (its complicated why we have 2 county police forces so dont ask me to explain lol). It also happens on a lesser scale with the numerous town and village police forces as well. The state troopers pretty much dont exist on Long Island so I cant speak for them.

Like you these also almost always take place in the summer and like where both of you live this is also a major metropolitan area as well. They also seem to occur on major roads that have alot of traffic accidents as well.

They often set these things up in areas of known drug trafficking. It's incredibly unconstitutional, but they will tell you that driving is a privelege not a right.

If this happens to me, I will file a lawsuit against whatever agency performs the act. More citizens need to stand up and file suit.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. The road I was on was a low traffic road which I've drive on for many years. To the best of my memory I've *never* seen an accident on this road. Also, since it was the middle of the day I doubt it'd be an effective check for much of anything, hardly anyone was on the road since it was ~2pm or so during the work week.

My understanding is that "road blocks" in America are SUPPOSE to be illegal because they are an "unreasonable search". The idea behind a road block or "random road block" is that everyone _may_ be guilty there for we need to search/question everyone. Innocent until proven guilty anyone?

Question :
if road blocks are legal why don't they do them more ?
if road blocks are legal why don't they do them outside of clubs/bars where 90% of the people leaving are drunk drivers ?

Answer :
road blocks _are not legal_ and their random use is meant to condition you/us to a police state where the cops have the right to do whatever they want, whenever they want, for whatever reason they want.

This is not how our "justice" system is suppose to work !

You can't just pull people over for no reason !

edit : these were the same cops that told me (on many occasions) when I was 16/17 "if I see you on the road tonight you're going to jail". Never mind that when they pulled me over I wasn't doing anything wrong. How do I know this ? Because they NEVER gave me a ticket !

Amerika, land of the free, home of the brave.

[edit on 22-7-2007 by NoobieDoobieDo]

Originally posted by NoobieDoobieDo
Answer :
road blocks _are not legal_ and their random use is meant to condition you/us to a police state where the cops have the right to do whatever they want, whenever they want, for whatever reason they want.

This is not how our "justice" system is suppose to work !

You can't just pull people over for no reason !
[edit on 22-7-2007 by NoobieDoobieDo]

Yes, you can. Roadblocks are constitutional if operated in a limited scope of ways. Looking for drugs? Illegal. Looking for drunk drivers? Legal. Checking IDs, insurance and tags? Legal. In fact, these "sobriety checkpoints" have been found to significantly decrease alcohol-based fatalities in the areas they are instituted.

You were inconvinienced for a few moments and haven't heard a thing about it since, don't worry.

Of course in all these instances racial and economic profiling is never an overt or sanctioned policy, but can and does occur. This is not something we can blame the infrastructure, or procedure for; the blame should go to the individual law enforcement agents who are not doing their job properly.

Ok, if these things are legal why aren't they happening more often ?

Why don't they do them outsides of bars ?

I see drunk drivers _all the time_ but no police check points.

Police check points in the middle of the day on a work week on a low traffic road that isn't in a bad neighborhood for an "insurance check" ?

I had a freaking warrant and they didn't even run my license !

Police road blocks don't get setup by a few rouge cops, if those kinds of resources are in play surely their superiors had something to do with it.

These road blocks are common.

First of all, I'd bet that most police departments don't have the resources to operate them as often as they would like.

If you notice, they're usually around a major holiday and then those holidays that involve a lot of drinking, 4th of July, Labor Day Weekend, etc.

There's no conspiracy here, they simply check for Drunk Drivers and since you were honest with them up front, just decided to send you on your way, especially since you were not drinking.

Yes, a little suspicious that they didn't run your license, but there could have been other circumstances at that moment that you do no know about.

It was my understanding that the US Supreme Court ruled that they were only allowed to conduct sobriety checkpoints that checked the driver ONLY. These checkpoints had to be announced in advance. I usually run into one early Sunday morning on my way back from a dart tournament that I play in. Last St. Patrick's Day I was stopped at one and got to spend three hours sitting in the back of a Police car because I blew a .01. I hadn't had any alcoholic drinks for the past three days, but they get to hold you for three hours to see if your blood alcohol increases. Second time around I blew a .009 and recieved a written warning for DUI. These checkpoints are funded by Federal and State grants as well as grants from insurance companies. Mostly they are just ways for the local Police to pad their paychecks with overtime. It has been proven that roving patrols catch more drunk drivers and do more for safety than these checkpoints. The American Motorists Association has alot more information on this subject.

Originally posted by elevatedone
These road blocks are common.

First of all, I'd bet that most police departments don't have the resources to operate them as often as they would like.

If you notice, they're usually around a major holiday and then those holidays that involve a lot of drinking, 4th of July, Labor Day Weekend, etc.

Says you.

Been to MANY 4th of July celbrations in this town, NEVER saw a road block. Do you think if road blocks were common where I'm from I'd bother to come post it here ? I've lived here for all of my adult life and _never_ saw a road block here OR in any of the outlying areas.

field safety check and its intended to catch, YOU, but for whatever reason that day you got lucky.

It is to catch the very same person that fits your description, just an average car, average driver, not speeding, wearing their seat belt etc.

Yet YOU WERE DRIVING ON AN EXPIRED LICENSE, YOU WERE AVOIDING TRAFFIC TICKETS FOR WHICH YOU ADMIT YOU HAD A "BENCH" WARRANT.

The officer should have both written you a citation for expired license and possibly taken your expired license and given you a writ citation that says you promise to appear in court the following date to appear for your bench warrant. Being a total.... #$#$% he could have opted to remove you from your vehicle and put you in custody to go on the fast track the next morning before the judge.

The whole purpose of these "information checkpoints" is to try and catch the lawbreaking, but off the radar, rule breaker....

(I am not without shame in the above scenario although my car was less then discrete and I had my fair share of FTA/FTP/suspension issues as a teen and early 20's... thankfully all of that is behind me)



[edit on 23-7-2007 by robertfenix]