How to Refuse a Police Search (USA only)

I am not going to buy into this insinuation part of the conversation of what I think or feel according to you. The fact is, when there is no incriminating evidence of breaking the law, there is no case. Probable cause may not been seen directly from the outside perspective because law enforcement officers not only have to deal with regulations, but also investigating other criminal activity that hopefully no one here ever has to deal with personally, such as; kidnapping, murder, child pornography rings and sex rings, illegal drugs...the whole sick world. Yes and for myself, because the world is bigger than me and the issues are larger than my log book, if an officer asked me to search the truck I would let him. We may not disagree on things here and that is fine. But unless I talk to someone here who has been unduly thwarted by the system when they are innocent, I am really not going to change my mind.

 

To each their own. I for one will refuse to grant my permission. If they move to search my vehicle anyway, I won't try to prevent it. I will request that they tell me what probable cause they think they have.

 

I saw a cop show, police women of cincinati, (I think). And these two cops saw one guy give another guy a bunch of money, then walk off.

So they stopped the guy who received the money, and questioned him. And he swore up and down that he did not know the guy who gave him the money, and never saw him before in his life.

The other guy said the same thing. And both stuck to their stories. So basically they cops have nothing to charge them with drug sale. And the cops had to let them slide on that.

But while questioning the one guy, he said that he just drove up in his car. And they asked him if he had a license, and he said "it is suspended".

so at the end of the whole thing, he gets a ticket for telling them something he should have just kept quiet about.

He should have never told them he was driving, or that he had no license. Just shows what talking to the cops can do to you. It was just kind of a slip of the tounge for him.

 

good point...

dense and clueless...

Brilliant...

nothing...

brilliant...

Brilliant...

Interesting observation...

 

Brilliant...but obviously some people don't care whether your innocent or guilty...they just want to lock you up, throw away the key, and pretend like they've done something for the day...

You wouldn't have a hard time convincing a 'smart' noble, upright cop of that...are there any left? That are interested in the truth? and not just throwing handcuffs on you for a power trip...just cause they can...

brilliant...

Duh...

brilliant...

Thanks...

Very useful information...thanks for shareing...

 

Just was reading this thread. After the first 2 or 3 I decided to skim to see if anyone really know what the actual laws were regarding this. Jumping to this last post I find the quote by tscottme. Yep at least he does have a firm grasp of reality.

I was fortunate or not, (depending on your point of view) of being a cop before and after all this current motor carrier enforcement. Our local agency received training concerning all these regulations and laws. One thing that was pointed out in this training, was a CMV is not personal property, like a car. Therefore the probable-cause to search does not apply. If you want to search, or inspect the interior of that truck, the driver can not refuse. He/she may say they are not going to allow you to, but just like the restaurant, you can not prohibit this, even if you own the rig. Now days, with all the regulations, DOT has pretty much free reign. There used to be a couple of local LEOs that were certified as DOT inspectors, and only they were permitted to act as such, all others were not. I think that is due partly to department policy. After all a CMV can be stopped just because it's a CMV, no PC needed for traffic violations, nothing. I used to have a saying, this is for cars, "You can't drive for more than a few miles without committing a traffic violation". There's so many regulations and laws that it is near impossible to do. Not saying that it can't be done, but stop and think. From there, then well... hope everything else is on the up and up..

Thank you tscottme..

 

hmm, sounds like some public school indoctination

 

The other side is that the sleeper meets all the qualifications of being my home. As such it is protected by the 4th amendment. I am not a jerk to officers, but your invitation to the interior of my truck is as a guest and only extends to the cab area. In fact I have had officers in my truck twice. The first time I was rear-ended and the officer writing the accident report was burning up in the summer Georgia sun, as well as he was a big guy in uniform with a vest on. I had the apu going with the air going full blast and it is a lot roomier in my truck than all of us trying to fit in his car. The other time was a DOT roadside in South Carolina. The officer used the passenger seat as a desk, so he never really got into the truck.

If it ever actually came up, I think I would just explain to the officer why I objected to anyone searching my sleeper. Plus I have a rule, no shoes in the sleeper, want a cold water?

 

I've only had my truck searched once and that was by the US Border Patrol at the Orogrande, NM 25 mile checkpoint on US 54. That was when I drove for Stevens Transport and I think it was because earlier that month a Stevens driver had been caught transporting illegals in his sleeper at the Sierra Blanca, TX checkpoint.

I've been searched by the Border Patrol before so its no big deal for me.

 

How not to get searched?

Officer you may search my vehicle, as I have nothing to hide. However, I would prefer it if you could leave my truck as clean as possible while conducting the search. It helps if the truck is clean and neat (including the floor swept and bed made.

How to get searched and waste time in the process

"no you can't search my vehicle" you've just pretty much given yourself a long wait while the officer articulates to a judge how he saw you do this, and that , which gives him probable cause to believe you may be hiding something.

It really comes down to your attitude, your appearance, and your wording.