Illegal Search and Seizure Caught on Tape

Yes, this # happens all over the country, countless times each day. One black guy in one of my classes said he was pulled over 9 times in his first month of having his license, all for "routine traffic stops". My friend and I who got pulled over that one night are both white, and were dressed nicely...I was driving a buick lesabre

The cops have a simple 3 step process that they use.

1) They look for a car with at least 2 Males driving around after dark, usually teenagers or young adults. Extra points awarded for driving a flashy car, a really #ty car, being black or hispanic, playing rap music, etc. If you meet a few of these guidelines, the cop will usually pull out behind you and wait for you to do something wrong...anything like a seatbelt, loud music, slightly rolling through a stop sign, don't signal when you change lanes, etc. will be used to flash the lights.

2) Once they pull you over, they will go straight to asking you if you've had anything to drink that night...if they smell anything funny at all, they will ask you to get out of the car, if there's anything suspicious about license or insurance, same thing. They will even say you were "acting strangely" like they did the night I was pulled over (we both passed their dui tests easily). After you get out, they will test you for DUI.

3) After they get you out of the vehicle, and if you pass DUI tests, they will say, "well you dont have anything illegal in the car do you?" you of course say "no", they say "well then I guess you wont mind if I take a look"...then once you consent, they will go through your car until they find anything to use against you. The cops use these tactics, and wordplay, to make you think that you NEED TO let them search your car or else you are guilty of a crime...this is completely not true. Not consenting to an unlawful search is your right, and it doesn't legally give them any kind of suspicion that you are committing a crime. Usually at this point, most people will consent to the search and either get busted for something like weed, or else be let off with a warning for their traffic violation.

Originally posted by SpittinCobra
Here, if you tell them no, they will call for the dogs. To see if the dog can pick anything.

Legally, they can only call dogs if they have "reasonable suspicion", meaning they smell marijuana or soemthing...of course, plenty of cops can simply lie and say "i smelled cannabis", but at least if you say no to a search, they will end up wasting their time with the whole thing and it will hurt the cops and not you. Waiting for dogs is much better than letting the cops rummage through your private belongings. Most of the time, the cops won't waste their time waiting for a K9 Unit...they will just try lying to, harassing, and intimidating you to give in to a search...if that doesn't work, and they have no real probable cause (which they hardly ever do), they will usually just leave.