Hi guys i was detained and subsequently arrested because of a report of a “suspicious vehicle” which i was subsequently driving yesterday.
i had a warrant for a failure to appear (in texas) and the cop asked to search my car and i said no, he then said because i had a warrant out for my arrest that he could search the car anyways, i refused twice.
anyways the car was empty, i went to jail for the failure to appear warant and was released the same time the arresting officer left the station (less than an hour)
was it legal for him to search the car because i did refuse.
and also while he was searching the car, the tow truck driver who opened the door for him (i wouldnt give him the keys, he jimmied the door open) was also in and out of the vehicle helping him search it, isnt this too a violation of procedure?
he did a full on search, i was kinda upset because none of it was on video. like when they turn their lights on the video starts recording immediatley none of that
he just basically pulled up behind my ride said he had heard people were robbing the store (typical cop propoganda to incriminate you into anything) and started asking questions, then he told me i had a warrant, asked if he could search the car, i refused and he said because i had a warrant he could search the car anyways this is what bothers me the most. no where in my 4th amendment does it say i have the right to unreasonable search and seizure UNLESS i have a outstanding traffic tickets.
You mention a tow truck driver.
If they were going to tow your car away and impound it, they have a right to “inventory” impounded vehicles, including the trunk. South Dakota v Opperman.
whatis, you have a limited understanding of what the 4th Amendment (is currently understood to) allow(s). I’m not going to opine on whether this was a legal search or not (although I do have an opinion), but it is certainly the case that police can search vehicles for many, many reasons other than unpaid moving violations.
As always, if you think your liberty may be in peril, or you believe you were victimized by improper police procedure, you should consult an attorney, licensed in your jurisdiction, with expertise in criminal law, and with full knowledge of the facts.
right but when the doors are closed, locked, windows rolled, and the cop is too dumb to figure out how to use the key to open the door, so he has a tow truck driver come and jimmy the door open, how is that legal? even after i refused.
im curious to what your opinion is, because there was absolutely nothing in the car, no charges filed (except for the failure to appear which was later handled) i was back on the street within a few hours of being arrested,
how could that be a legal search? no objects in plain view, nothing.
So the fact that i was arrested gives him the right to search? I guess my question now is had i not had a warrant out for my arrest could he have searched it
edit: also inside the car were some hypodermic syringes (unused, still in the plastic packaging), which i was not charged with paraphernalia over. was this because had he charged me a motion to supress would’ve been granted?
Maybe. If he had another reason to tow your vehicle or another reason to arrest you. Too many possibilities to answer that with any degree of certainty.
You didn’t give consent for a search. But, if the cop has the right to search your car, he doesn’t need your permission. He might ask, like this cop did, but when you refuse, he’ll search your car anyway.
If you want to pursue action against the cop, you will have to consult an attorney. He can advise you about whether the cop did or did not have the legal right to conduct that search.
cops in texas has dash cams installed and as far as i know they only come on when they turn their lights on so none of the arrest was video taped, im not sure the episode was NOT taped, but im fairly certaint it wasnt
and he asked if there was any paraphernalia in the car which i replied no, he asked to search i said no, he flipped the car found the needles but didnt charge me with them (nothing else in the car) i wouldnt consent anyways. he said he woulda let me go had i told him(i never believe this one, but for some reason i think this ONE cop might’ve been telling the truth still, i never trust them) but really i got the better end of the deal because 1,100 dollars worth of unpaid parking tickets were “time served” and i wasnt even booked. they barely took my picture before i got released, didnt even make me squat and cough or nothing, but i am still a little upset that my rights were disregaurded because he did more than a terry-pat and one of those “quickie” weapons searches
i mean do the laws change after you’re detained? is it just a free for all then? might he have strip searched me and taken my tires off?
Look, just because the cop asked if he could search you doesn’t mean that he couldn’t search you if you refused consent.
It is standard procedure for cops to ask to search someone’s car. Most people somehow think that they have to give permission. And so you get the incomprehensible spectacles you see on Cops, where the cops ask to search someone’s car, and they give consent, and the cops find drugs and weapons in the car. If they had just said, “No, I don’t consent”, they would have walked away.
And so, the reason cops ask to search your car, is that people often give consent even when there is something incriminating in the car, because they think they’ll get in trouble or something. But if the cop is asking to search your car, you’re already in trouble. So you should refuse to give consent, but that doesn’t mean the cops can’t search your car, it just means they have to have some sort of legal justification for searching your car. It is highly probable that, if the cop searched your car without your consent, he felt confident he could show that he was legally justified in searching your car.
It’s possible he was wrong. Cops make mistakes just like everyone else. But that’s what you’d need to talk with an attorney about, because whether or not the cop had the right to search your car without consent depends on the exact details of what happened, and the exact laws of your locality.
Your rights were never disregarded. You were not just detained. You were arrested. You were subject to a full search, not just a pat search, because you were placed under arrest. Actual, real-live, custodial arrest. How long you were in custody means nothing.
If you don’t like how you were treated, talk to a lawyer or call the officer’s supervisors. Good luck. Based on what you’ve said, you’ll get exactly nowhere.
What Lemur said. If he had the right to search, he had it whether you consented or not. Asking for consent was belt and suspenders – a way to preserve the fruit of the search even if he was wrong about what was and wasn’t allowed.
I’m not going to comment further on this thread – not only does it seem to me that you are seeking legal advice (it sounds like this won’t be the last time this sort of situation arises) from a place wholly unqualified to deliver it, it also appears that you’re seeking knowledge, at least in part, in order to facilitate your continued violation of the law. I’m not sure if that’s considered kosher on the boards or not, but, regardless of my views on whether the underlying laws are just, I’m not going to be a party to it,
I’ve moved this thread to IMHO. Please keep in mind, whatisafriend, that opinions are exactly what you’re getting. Even if any of the people responding to this are lawyers, they aren’t your lawyer, they may or may not know the law in your jurisdiction, and what you read here definitely isn’t legal advice.
Since you were arrested, and your car was going to be towed, that makes the police responsible for your car. Pretty well every police department has a policy in place regarding inventory search procedure for vehicles that are going to be towed. They have to catalog your belongings so that you won’t say, “Hey, where’s my collection of Faberge eggs?” when you go to pick up your car. If they’ve done a good inventory, they know you didn’t have any, and they’re not on the hook for losing your stuff.