Police Damage Truck During Warrantless Search for Drugs

[30564U]

Originally Posted by Kanda444

the only reason he was within the law was because Florida (until recently...) didnt have legalized medical marijuana. in states with medical marijuana laws, what this cop did would be illegal since an odor in no way tells if a person is a medical user (protected by law and not to be prosecuted by the feds, per Eric Holder) or is illegally using the substance. now that florida has a medical marijuana law, cops will be limited in this type of action.

Also, if they searched the truck with a valid legal pretext, then everything illegal found in the truck is admissible. Meaning that any other drugs, weapons, evidence of other crimes, etc. are all going to be chargeable and the truck owner is screwed. This idiot took a huge risk. If you don't want police attention, then don't do stupid shit and bring attention to yourself. Be aware of the tools the police are using and act accordingly. Never give permission for an officer to search you or your vehicle...if they ask, say in a respectful way no. It's your right. We all need to stop the non-pretext searches or searches simply to protect the community from imaginary terrorist activity. A man who is willing to give up his freedoms in the name of security will have neither freedom nor security.

[30564U]

Originally Posted by Kanda444

with this case, however, it's a bit different considering that it was for a victimless crime, which is something warrantless searches are not meant to be used for. the point of a warrantless search is to allow police access to a potentially dangerous situation without having to risk lives by not acting swiftly due to bureaucracy.... not to bust through people's things because an officer claims they smelled weed (which could have been on a person walking by or could have been left over from people smoking previously...there was no evidence that a crime was currently taking place). it's about the same (imho) as a cop busting into a house because he hears a woman screaming. there could be a crime... or there could be a purely innocent reason for why there was screaming. screaming doesnt equal a crime... just like smelling weed doesnt equal a crime.

the 4th amendment is suppose to protect against these kinds of things.

You're dead on with this. It's only meant for emergencies and even then there are limitations. For example, if a cop hears a woman screaming inside a house, the cop can force entry into the house if other methods have failed, but not search the house for contraband in the process...the forced entry is only to help the potential victim and once she is safe, then a search warrant must then be obtained...the emergency is over once the woman is safe. If the officer sees a dog or baby inside a sealed vehicle on a hot day, the cop can force entry into the vehicle, but cannot search the vehicle specifically for contraband...a warrant must later be obtained to search since the emergency is over once the dog/child is safe. There are fairly narrow parameters regarding emergency searches. But you were thinking and you have made excellent thoughtful comments.

[Kanda444]

Originally Posted by 30564U

Good point, but it isn't really correct...it's smart, but not necessarily right. The smell of marijuana by either the officers or the K-9 is enough to establish the pretext for a search. Now the legality of the local or state wide marijuana laws might apply here, but only after the search. The officers would be obligated to search to determine the legal quantity of the marijuana and whether it was a legal amount or a larger "trafficking" amount...the smell would only work for the mere presence of marijuana. In this case, had the officers found marijuana, they would seize/impound the truck, wait for the owner to show up later looking for his truck, determine if he had a marijuana license/permit, then determine if the amount of marijuana found during the search was a legal amount, then the officers would deceide to release the truck (no crime), cite (infraction level), or arrest (misdemeanor or felony level). This is way too much work/risk for the potential reward. Like I said before, they would have been better off using the dog to roam around the concert's entrance and conduct business there with everyone present. The fact that they had to break into the truck (unless the door was open) to conduct the search isn't so much legally problematic as it is a pain in the ass.

i could be wrong but i dont believe that is the case in some states. the state i live in now has marijuana legal, so the law has changed but when i was working for a dispensary locally, i had many conversations with local cops and was told many times that they are not allowed to search a vehicle (specifically... residences are different, i was told) just because they smell marijuana. in a state like Washington, a medical marijuana patient is allowed up to 24 ounces of product by law. that has a very distinct smell.... thus, them acting legally would be 'probable cause' for a warrantless search.

under the new law, Seattle PD released a statement at a local marijuana gathering saying:

Under state law, officers have to develop probable cause to search a closed or locked container. Each case stands on its own, but the smell of pot alone will not be reason to search a vehicle. If officers have information that you’re trafficking, producing or delivering marijuana in violation of state law, they can get a warrant to search your vehicle.

in my state, since the med laws were enacted, smelling weed was no longer considered 'probable cause' for a warrantless search. instead, a cop will mention that he smells weed and will ask to get into your car, which you can refuse.

[Kanda444]

Originally Posted by 30564U

You're dead on with this. It's only meant for emergencies and even then there are limitations. For example, if a cop hears a woman screaming inside a house, the cop can force entry into the house if other methods have failed, but not search the house for contraband in the process...the forced entry is only to help the potential victim and once she is safe, then a search warrant must then be obtained...the emergency is over once the woman is safe. If the officer sees a dog or baby inside a sealed vehicle on a hot day, the cop can force entry into the vehicle, but cannot search the vehicle specifically for contraband...a warrant must later be obtained to search since the emergency is over once the dog/child is safe. There are fairly narrow parameters regarding emergency searches. But you were thinking and you have made excellent thoughtful comments.

thank you for your comments. i dont know the specifics of the law... i'd be lying if i said i understood it fully... but my father in law is a retired cop (and former swat member) and my step mother in law is a lawyer, so we have had this conversations many times and they have taught me a lot.

[Oswald2001]

Imma summit up fawya.

"Trouble is bad. Don't ask for trouble, M'kay?"


The pot smoking buffoon was giving his middle finger to one and all in a provacative gesture of defiance.

How'd that work out for you, genius?

[TheVrist]

Originally Posted by Kanda444

i could be wrong but i dont believe that is the case in some states. the state i live in now has marijuana legal, so the law has changed but when i was working for a dispensary locally, i had many conversations with local cops and was told many times that they are not allowed to search a vehicle (specifically... residences are different, i was told) just because they smell marijuana. in a state like Washington, a medical marijuana patient is allowed up to 24 ounces of product by law. that has a very distinct smell.... thus, them acting legally would be 'probable cause' for a warrantless search.

under the new law, Seattle PD released a statement at a local marijuana gathering saying:



in my state, since the med laws were enacted, smelling weed was no longer considered 'probable cause' for a warrantless search. instead, a cop will mention that he smells weed and will ask to get into your car, which you can refuse.

I didn't read everything so don't know if it was mentioned, but all states and local law enforcement currently have an Ace up their sleeves, commonly known as the patriot act, which is a federal mandate that trumps all state and local laws, and can be freely used by those local and state law agencies with federal backing.

And yes, even drug related offences falls under acts of terrorism.
Of course they play this game at their own discretion, and is seen to happen more in red states/counties/parishes/et. Than in blue for obvious reasons. But it is there, and can be used.

[TheVrist]

Originally Posted by rapeWhistle

The people around here that have them usually have a lotta horses and those big, fuck-off trailers for hauling them that have massive sleepers in the front half.

Pretty much a status symbol; being able to show up to a barrel-racing or roping event with one of those to haul your trailer with, instead of a regular-old $70,000.00 dually.

Here we have some that show up at boat shows in these things, "bumper pulling" boats even a f150 could pull with ease.