[sMack-CFS!]

Last night 2 of my friends and I were sitting in the parking lot of an apartment building, which unknown to us at the time, is a "crack infested slum." We just finished smoking and were just sitting trying to figure out what to do next when a cop rolls by. My dude has his car on, and starts to leave, and my other dude is like no man dont its shady. So we end up just staying there, and then the same cop rolls by again, and were still just sitting there.

So we leave after that, and about 2 mins later we see the flashing lights. Cop says that we were driving without our lights on, and immediately asked the driver what he was on. He said he wasnt, and he took our ID's and stuff. But the thing is, each of us specifically remember having the lights on while we were driving. So the cop was definitely just bullshitting us to try and bust someone with abunch of coke or crack or whatever.

The pig asks if he can search the car, and the driver says no. He goes alright and radios to see if the canine is on duty, then calls him in. He searches all of us, and turns up nothing except some baggies in my one friends pocket. I made it really clear that I didnt consent to the search at all, but it didnt make a difference. When we were pulling over i aksed my dude in the front seat to hand me my bud which was in the glove box. Instead of handing it to me, he throws it on the floor of the backseat, so I had no choice but to kick it under the passenger seat since I could just bend down and pick it up.

Piggy arrives with the dog, and they run it past the car. The dog supposedly hit on something, and they went in the car with it. The stupid ass dog couldnt even find the baggie of stank BARELY under the back seat even after smelling right next to it multiple times. FInally the cops that were going thru everything found it, the dog didnt do SHIT except give them their BS reason they need to go into the car.

In all they found 1.5 grams of weed, my dudes digi that he hid in the car, the baggies he had on him, and a $300 stack he had on him as well. Were all getting charged with minor misdemeanor posession, but he might also get trafficking.

So is there any way we can fight this? It was totally illegal, the only reason we got pulled over was because the cop felt like it, he made up a story and just bullshitted us. I mean this is exactly what happened too.. can we somehow see the tapes from the cruiser that would show exactly why he pulled us over? to prove that our lights were on and he had no actual reason to pull us over in the first place?

[Harry Gypsna]

im pretty sure you will be entitled to the tapes from the car camera-although dont hold me to that coz im not american, but in general you r entitled to any evidence that supports your defence and they have to declare all their evidence to your lawyer to go through it(lots of cases been thrown out because of bits of evidence that the police hid or suppressed and such) Definately ask ur brief to look into that video evidence. that dog thing sounds dodgy too...a real drug dog would have been on that weed in no time and wouldnt have missed it-maybe it was a trick and it was just normal police dog(ie a run em down and bite em dog) and they thought a dog being there would get you to admit something or consent to a search. From what i know though ur search of pockets was illegal(from what ive seen here of similar stories) as you made it clear you did not consent.. isnt it the law that if you dont consent to a search they must either arrest you or let you go immediately?? I reallythink that tape is what u need coz if ur lights were on then maybe anything found could be the result of an illegal search. As i say im english and live in england so only know a tiny bit that ive read on US law in this forum...

[inflorescence]

sMack-CFS!, the burden of proof is on the cops to prove beyond a reasonable doubt your guilt. The cops have a badge and you guys were found with drugs. This will meet the burden of proof for most any brain dead american juror.
This is basically how the justice system functions everyday.
You didn't really think there was actually any justice in the justice sytem did you?

[GrowNub024]

Next time repeatedly ask if hes detaining you or if your free to leave. Then you wouldnt have had to wait around for a k9 to bust you.

He would have to have probable cause to search you. Maybe just being in the "crack infested slum" as you put it and looking suspicious at least to the cop might be probable cause.

My story on "probable cause":

I was pulled over at 2 in the morning about 8 years ago with a couple friends on the interstate (I-90 which is a major interstate) because a school had been broken into about 15-20 miles away. Complete bullshit story just to pull us over. We were all sober of anything. Anyway they have me go back to the cop car and sit in the passenger seat. He asks if he can search the car. I said "No" politely, just to fuck with them (I knew no one was holding and the cops were fucking with us in the first place). They ask if they should call my mom (car registered in her name) to ask if they can search it. I said "Go ahead, she'll say no also").

They look in my windows with a flashlight and see some air freshner on the floor I honestly forgot to pull out when I bought Groceries. They say this is "probable cause" to bring the drug dog in and take my friends out of the car and search them.

By that time there were 3 highway patrol lined up behind my car on the interstate. One of the funniest things I ever heard was when they brought the dog out, my friend said "Why did you have to go and bring your wife into this" to the cop. Anyway the dog comes in and doesn't find anything.

We looked like outstanding citizens and were all curtious to the cops until my friend said that, but it was a couple hours later, so he was getting annoyed.

Anyways, I would look into probable cause to see what is considered and definately see if you can get the tapes to see if your lights were on as then it would probably be an illegal search.

~impatient~

As you tell it, I'm not sure you have much of a foot to stand-on:

It's a little unclear what happened exactly with the police's search
of you and your friends... they can do a brief, minimally invasive
search of your person. The (alleged) fact that you were in an area
the police characterize as a "high crime" area alone could be used
to support a pat-down search.

It also sounds like y'all might've smelled a bit? Maybe that isn't
correct, but it sounded like it was possible.

When it comes down to it, it sounds as if it might come down to
your word vs. theirs... if you spoke to a lawyer and they suggested
challenging the evidence it'd be one (expensive) thing, otherwise
you might not get far following that route. The K9 part does sound
a little fishy, who knows?

Anyway, I hope it works out well for you.

[sMack-CFS!]

Im not sure its even worth challenging.. i mean, its a fuckin minor misdemeanor. But if they do try sticking us with trafficking, then I think well have a decent case.

I was doing some thinking yesterday and realized.. The cop claimed to have been driving in the opposite direction, saw our lights were off, flashed us to turn them on, and since we didnt he turned around and pulled us over. But if this is true, how could the very same officer have been sitting in the parking lot that we were in at the same time?

Warlocks maybe?

there must be a better place to smoke than parked in a public place..... you guys were asking to get popped.

aside from that rant you should be fine, don't know where ya live but round here that BS would be thrown out, misdemeanor plea agreement with some community service involved.

[Hunt4Hazez]

Originally Posted by User Name

"there must be a better place to smoke than parked in a public place..... you guys were asking to get popped..."

I have to agree with that. But it sounds like that cop was tryin a little to hard to "look for something suspicious".

I cant say smoking in a car is a good thing, but if you wanna do it just roll it up and smoke it with the windows down, then put out the roach and throw it away.

[sMack-CFS!]

noo we werent actually smoking in the lot. just sitting there as opposed to driving around aimlessly. i mean im sure it couldve smelled a little, but it definitely didnt reek.