my latest DUI checkpoint experience

[2strokeYardSale]

Cliff Notes for the TL;DNR crowd: Corrupt cop contrives phony probable cause at DUI checkpoint


Driving home from a fantastic day of dirt riding, I got a bad feeling about the short return trip. It was Superbowl Sunday and I was on the highway the local law enforcement use to set up their DUI checkpoints on days like Memorial day. It has been some time since my previous (unpleasant) encounter with them. (In a nutshell, they are illegal and I think any person conducting such a stop and detainment should suffer severe consequences.)

There was no checkpoint on the main highway. However, on the road to my house I soon saw a DUI Checkpoint Ahead sign. Aw fuck, here it comes, I thought. They had a big trailer, lots of police officers, a sheriff's deputy, lots of lights, and a side area with a canopy, more cops, and more lights. I cracked my window down a few inches.

The first police officer went into his spiel which ended with him asking me to lower my window. I remained silent. He told me to lower my window. I lowered it a fraction of an inch.

- Sir, please lower your window so I can hear you.
- I can hear you just fine.
- How much have you been drinking tonight?
- (silence)
- Lower your window so I can hear you.
- No.
- No?!
- How much have you been drinking tonight?
- No questions.
- No questions?! Alright, pull over there.

So I pulled over into the double secret probation area. He demanded my papers. I handed my license through the window crack.

- I have to get the registration and insurance proof from the glove compartment.
- OK, fine.

Uh huh, he can hear just fine now. Because he wanted to smell my breath not hear the words I wasn't speaking.

- Keep your hands on the steering wheel.

Fine with me. I had a gun and he'd shit bricks if he saw it. Just kidding, I had two guns. Other officers and the deputy shined flashlights into my truck interior looking for an excuse to screw me over. They also looked at my my motorcycle and gear in the back. I listened to the cop talk to the supervisor as he presented him my papers. The word uncooperative was repeated and there was mention of my window.

I was ordered out of my vehicle. I thought of my gun. Naaah. I locked the doors and shut my door quickly. On the way to the sidewalk I put my hands in my pockets because it was cold. They didn't like that so I put my hands in my armpits. I had five cops arranged around me in a semi-circle. None were within reach. All were within reach of ASP or Taser. They had Glocks.

The supervisor was an older guy with a greying cop mustache. He started asking questions. I think the first one was, what's the problem. I remained silent. He brought out a penlight and said something about following it with my eyes. I never looked at it. This angered supervisor cop. He mentioned some other tests then said I'd probably not do them. Well, someone's finally catching on! No wonder he's big man on campus. Then, he says, mostly to himself:

- OK, I can smell alcohol on your breath.

Fucking ay. Either he's supercop and could smell the last drink I had, a margarita at Xmas (how many weeks does it take to metabolize tequila anyway) or he's a corrupt son of a bitch who invented probable cause to adminster a blood-alcohol test. Alex, I'll take corrupt swine for one thousand! I couldn't help but smirk when he said that.

Supervisor cop went into his bad cop routine about the breathalyzer. He went on and on about how it was required by the NRS and how he would enjoy taking me to jail to adminster the test.

- If you refuse I will take you to jail and I will take that to jail and that to jail (pointing to truck and bike)

I think he expected me to say, sir, yes, sir. I remained silent. Remaining silent is not refusing.

- Blow into this.

Wow, what a night of firsts. Out of the vehicle and now a breathalyzer. After I expelled my dirt-biking-depleted asthmatic lungs into the device, he looked at the reading. I couldn't see it but I knew it was zero or as close to zero as the minimum bidder equipment can register for someone who's been drinking water from a Camelbak all day.

Supervisor cop just deflated when he looked at it. It was like I told him his puppy had died. Then he perked up, back into the bad cop routine again.

- What's your problem? We're just trying to do our jobs and we don't need you making it hard for us.
- Perhaps you should seek a new line of work.
- If you have a problem with what we're doing why don't you write a letter to the editor of the Reno-Gazette Journal?
- Really? Are they the ones who set up this checkpoint?

Supervisor cop then turned his attention to my paperwork. If he couldn't get me for DUI then by god he was going to get me for not having my papers in order!

- Do you still live at (address) ?
- All of the information I gave you is current and correct.
- <agitated> Is this your current address?
- The address shown on my license, registration, and insurance ... is ... my ... current ... address.

After a while...

- OK, get back in your car and don't ever let me see you here again. I should arrest you for obstruction.
- In order for me to leave I'm going to have to put my hand in my pocket to get my car key. You said to keep my hands out of my pockets.

And I was gone, my property intact but my freedom diminished.

Oct. 13, 2011 visit to Sparks P.D.:

[youtube]nZSIY6IzGQc[/youtube]

 

[Marlowe]

Thank you.

Few people are willing to do what's right.

Do file a complaint, please. At least about the alcohol bit...invented PC is

 

[2strokeYardSale]

If he would have arrested me for obstruction, I would be talking to the P.D. about overturning his DUI convictions for which he used "smelled alcohol on the suspect's breath" as cause to investigate for DUI.

 

[Rel]

The first police officer went into his spiel which ended with him asking me to lower my window. I remained silent. He told me to lower my window. I lowered it a fraction of an inch.

- Sir, please lower your window so I can hear you.
- I can hear you just fine

So, you don't think that you set the tone? Why no just lower it all the way down, let them get a good sniff and move on? Any reason Other "because I can"?

I was ordered out of my vehicle. I thought of my gun. Naaah. I locked the doors and shut my door quickly.

Interesting, about the gun.

I wasn't there, but from what you posted, you were acting very suspicious, and because of it the Officer's kept digging, and conducting the investigation.

You set the tone, not the officers.

However, this will rapidly devolve into a cop bashing thread.

 

[Kim]

why not just lower your window and be done with it? sounds like you were asking to get hassled IMO.

 

[Rel]

Thank you.

Few people are willing to do what's right.

Do file a complaint, please. At least about the alcohol bit...invented PC is

Marlowe, I expect more from you....

A: What invented PC? The part where the officer lied and said he smelled the alcohol? We get to lie. People lie to cops. I'll ask someone if they've been drinking, and they say "NO." Then I tell them I can smell it on their breath, and they change their tune. Not invented BS. It's called a bluff.

B: What is there to complain about?

C: The OP, VOLUNTARLY drove into a DUI checkpoint. The OP did not have to drive into the checkpoint. The OP could have taken another route. There was a sign stating "Checkpoint ahead."

 

[Marlowe]

So, you don't think that you set the tone? Why no just lower it all the way down, let them get a good sniff and move on? Any reason Other "because I can"?

Rel, I see your point, and for the record I wouldn't have given them that hard of a time about the stop.

Interesting, about the gun.

I wasn't there, but from what you posted, you were acting very suspicious, and because of it the Officer's kept digging, and conducting the investigation.

You set the tone, not the officers.

However, this will rapidly devolve into a cop bashing thread.

I assume the gun comment is just because he was trying to figure out how to exit the vehicle without exposing it or causing a panic. That seems reasonable. Certainly, when carrying, it's a factor you want to consider.

And on your last point, I agree with you there... I don't want to engage in cop bashing.

But I have a real problem with invented PC to force a test. That's maybe a step and a half from outright evidence tampering/planting.

So, yeah, he set the tone for this, but it sounds like they may have crossed a line there.

Then again, we weren't there.

 

[CABilly]

I wonder, can I communicate through the sun roof, or does it have to be through the window? What about a wind-wing window? Does it have to be the big one?

 

[Lester Green]

So, you don't think that you set the tone? Why no just lower it all the way down, let them get a good sniff and move on? Any reason Other "because I can"?

wow, only took you two minutes to chime in and defend the cops no matter what BS they tried to pull i.e smelling alcohol that didn't exist. . .

are you gonna recommend that he leave Barf next?

 

[tuxumino]

why not just lower your window and be done with it? sounds like you were asking to get hassled IMO.

yeah only the guilty have anything to fear from the police.
In fact not allowing the cops to violate your rights should be probable cause to be searched.

 

[Rel]

wow, only took you two minutes to chime in and defend the cops no matter what BS they tried to pull i.e smelling alcohol that didn't exist. . .

are you gonna recommend that he leave Barf next?

I was just making a statement.....

Why is it BS?

As for leaving BARF, those are other threads.

 

[Lester Green]

I was just making a statement.....

Why is it BS?

As for leaving BARF, those are other threads.

because bluffing as you call it is just another word for

 

[Kim]

if an officer asks you to roll down your window why not just DO IT? especially if you have nothing to hide. he would have gotten stopped asked if he was drinking answered no and been on his way. instead i felt he decided to make the situation more complicated then it had to be..and made the officers question him the way they did.

 

[CABilly]

if an officer asks you to roll down your window why not just DO IT? especially if you have nothing to hide. he would have gotten stopped asked if he was drinking answered no and been on his way. instead i felt he decided to make the situation more complicated then it had to be..and made the officers question him the way they did.

Because he was stopped and investigated with no probable cause, after having committed no crime. Why not mess with them? As the old saying police officers love to toss around goes, "if you're not doing anything wrong..."

I understand that checkpoints are "legal" and "optional." I've also seen plenty of people chased down and pulled over for opting out.

 

[Rel]

because bluffing as you call it is just another word for

So, if someone breaks into your vehicle and steals your shit, and I tell the person who I think did the crime, that I have a witness, even when I don't and they confess to the crime, is it still BS?

Cops use deception. Its a tool to do our job.

We solve many crimes with deception, including auto (mc) thefts, hit and runs, assaults, and the raping of children.

 

[Ray]

 

[Marlowe]

Marlowe, I expect more from you....

A: What invented PC? The part where the officer lied and said he smelled the alcohol? We get to lie. People lie to cops. I'll ask someone if they've been drinking, and they say "NO." Then I tell them I can smell it on their breath, and they change their tune. Not invented BS. It's called a bluff.

B: What is there to complain about?

C: The OP, VOLUNTARLY drove into a DUI checkpoint. The OP did not have to drive into the checkpoint. The OP could have taken another route. There was a sign stating "Checkpoint ahead."

I understand you get to lie, and bluffing is part of the game...trying to force an admission you can use, and this is a big part of how your job gets done.

I'm not arguing that or trying to take that away from you.

But, part of the rules, at least as far as a checkpoint is concerned, is that it has to be minimally intrusive...the Supreme Court interpreted this to require that unless you have established suspicion they HAVE been drinking, you can't ask them to step out of the car, or take an FST.

So, yes, saying "It smells like you've been drinking tonight" (even if it doesn't)... is okay.

Using it to get him out of the car and administer an FST when it's not true, is not. That endangers any arrest or conviction based on that evidence.

The complaint is that the checkpoint wasn't being administered in accordance with those rules...

If they aren't done correctly, it can result in a lot of very guilty people getting off.

Also, in practice, every time I've turned around to avoid a checkpoint, I've been stopped anyway. I'm not saying you do this, Rel, but in practice, the voluntary basis for the checkpoint isn't truly voluntary in some parts of the country. Some of us that don't have the high standards for LE that CA does, observe it on an all too regular basis.

 

[Rel]

Because he was stopped and investigated with no probable cause, after having committed no crime. Why not mess with them? As the old saying police officers love to toss around goes, "if you're not doing anything wrong..."

I understand that checkpoints are "legal" and "optional." I've also seen plenty of people chased down and pulled over for opting out.

Again, the OP VOLUNTARILY drove into the checkpoint. If he did turn away, an officer would be required to find PC to make a stop. IE: no front plate, no license plate light, tinted windows, lighting, ball hitch to name a few.

 

[KennyMonster]

(In a nutshell, they are illegal and I think any person conducting such a stop and detainment should suffer severe consequences.)

Too bad the Supreme Court disagrees with you.

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution states that: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” Thus the Constitution would appear to prohibit people from being stopped without a search warrant or at least without probable cause that they have committed a crime; however, the warrant requirement only attaches should the search be unreasonable and the Supreme Court, as shown below, decided that such stops are not unreasonable under certain circumstances.

The Michigan Supreme Court had found sobriety roadblocks to be a violation of the Fourth Amendment. However, by a 6-3 decision in Michigan Dept. of State Police v. Sitz (1990), the United States Supreme Court found properly conducted sobriety checkpoints to be constitutional. While acknowledging that such checkpoints infringed on a constitutional right, Chief Justice Rehnquist argued the state interest in reducing drunk driving outweighed this minor infringement.

 

[mikev]

So, if someone breaks into your vehicle and steals your shit, and I tell the person who I think did the crime, that I have a witness, even when I don't and they confess to the crime, is it still BS?

Doesn't that open a big can of worms though?

I mean, in that specific instance, what if the person you think did the crime actually didn't and confessed because they were scared or intimidated or insert any other adjective here, because of the deception/lie/etc.

If it were to come out later, like in court, that the confession was only given because of the false statements you made, wouldn't that nullify the confession?