How far can LEO go?

[YanmarFever]

I have two words to say about that....

Papers, please?

They do as they please....
Welcome to the NEW WORLD ODOR......

 

[dcyrilc]

I understand that. And I always cooperate. However, I do not agree with routine stops, sobriety checkpoints, checking for citizenship papers, etc... I believe they should have a visible reason for stopping you in the first place and they should be required to stick to the reason they stopped you for unless obvious plain sight issues arise when the officer looks into your car through the window while conversing with you.

As an example, you forget to put on your seat belt, an officer sees you not wearing the shoulder harness as you pass by, he pulls you over and gives you a ticket for a seat belt violation. That's fine. Then he asks you if you would mind if he had a look inside your vehicle. You say, no, that would bother me. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention you are Hispanic and near Chicago. He says what have you got to hide, keeps you there, calls in the drug dog to sniff your car over, it gives a positive indication, they handcuff you on the side of the road and tear your car apart. They find nothing. The dog was mistaken. It happens often.

Tribune analysis: Drug-sniffing dogs in traffic stops often wrong - Chicago Tribune

I just wish they would stick to the visible violations and not be able to do routine checks on random citizens, that's all.

I have to agree with you on this one. Not sure how they justify the sobriety checkpoints, etc. The city I work for doesn't do them.

Also, in the city I work for if you were stopped for a seat belt violation because they didn't see a shoulder strap and it turned out that your vehicle came equiped with only a lap belt which you were wearing, they would appoligise with an explaination and let you on your way without any further involvement.

Spend enough time with these guys listening to their stories and you get a pretty good feel for how they handle things. I'm sure it helps that our City Counsel values how its citizens feel about the different departments and are continously seeking feedback on how the city is doing at providing for the citizens.

 

[RobertN]

Darn straight!

I had a cousin who stopped to help someone with a flat tire. He spent three months in the hospital. They beat him almost beyond recognition. He was not a LEO; just a "good Samaritan".

I might have had a couple tickets, but I have nothing but respect for those who put a badge on every day.

Criminals, murderers, thieves, druggies, etc have breakdowns too.

 

[JB4310]

Really want to know how far LE can go? Get the full version of this,
USA PATRIOT Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I never new it was an acronym, a sick acronym. How they could of ever associated the word patriot with this is mind boggling, something we should all be worried about. Forget about the cop looking up your VIN.

Sorry to bring this up but it's kinda along the same subject of personal rights and freedom. Also seems to be where this would head to eventually.

JB.

 

[two_bit_score]

So let me get this straight...

You are driving down the road, towing a trailer with your truck. There is a car on the trailer. ......

Well, then, you wouldn't have any problem with them walking up to all the vehicles on your driveway, maybe walking around the side of your house and checking the VIN on the un-plated truck you have back there behind the garage, getting the VIN numbers and running those, either, would you? Heck no. What's wrong with that?

I have two words to say about that....

Papers, please?

You really don't have a clue just how often that actually happens, do you?

Citizens have to be ever vigilant about giving up civil liberties and not tolerating police abuse. I am the first to call them on it whenever possible.

But, people are also tired of crooks and crime and cops who do their job within the law are appreciated.

 

[two_bit_score]

I'm not saying that it shouldn't be checked, I just think they should know what it is their looking for,
Actually I have been a victim of theft and I have no use for a thief or a druggie, and they usually go hand-in-hand, Those of you live close to the border states should know better than any of us,,,, they cant get things across the borders and is the last place they head with them, if the criminals do then they sure enough are dumb, Because the authorities check items and loads at the borders, I'm sure not if any go directly to the borders, I suppose many things wind up at chop-shops etc right here ...........

other,

You don't seem to know how things work on the border or how much stolen property goes across. It's a lot more than you think. The City of Juarez has 5 large storage lots full of mostly stolen vehicles that have been recovered across the border waiting on repatriation. Over 5,000 vehicles for the city alone.That is in addition to the storage lots that are under jurisdiction of the State of Chihuahua or the Federal Republic of Mexico. And that is just within a few minutes from El Paso and just the stolens that have been recovered. There are more than ten not recovered for every one that is over there.

If you think thieves don't head for the border with stolen property you don't know thieves or the border.

Your stolen tractor could even be put in a shipping container and be gone abroad in a few days.

Then for the local thieves .........

But it sounds like you really don't mind 'specialized cops' checking things out just not traffic cops???

They ALL should be checking. Task Forces can't find it all.

 

[LD1]

So let me get this straight...

You are driving down the road, towing a trailer with your truck. There is a car on the trailer. The police pull you over for a routine check. No reason to pull you over. No visible loose tie downs, chains, low tires, bad lighting. They just pull you over to check. You are a private hauler, not a commercial vehicle. They just pull you over to check. And they climb up on your trailer, take your VIN number from your car and run that, too. No reason, other than to check. And some of you have no problem with this?

Well, then, you wouldn't have any problem with them walking up to all the vehicles on your driveway, maybe walking around the side of your house and checking the VIN on the un-plated truck you have back there behind the garage, getting the VIN numbers and running those, either, would you? Heck no. What's wrong with that?

I have two words to say about that....

Papers, please?

IF it is on an open hauler, and IF the stop was for a legitimate reason, I have no issue at all with them running numbers, as long as it doesnt hold me up for an unreasonable amount of time.

But like I said, if they want to pull you over just to check, they will come up with another reason for the stop: tallight, license plate light, weaving, etc.

BUT if the ONLY reason they pull you over is to check a vin on a vehichle on the trailer, then yea, I also have a problem with that.

And might I add that a plainly visible car on an open hauler on a public road is a BIG difference than a vehichle on someones private property.

But let me ask you this, if your tractor was stolen and in transit to mexico, and it was never recovered (even though you filed a report and all). Later you find out that the crooks were pulled over for (insert whatever here) and the cop NEVER ran the serial # of your tractor in plain view on the trailer????

The only way they can know is to run the #. There is
SOOO much stolen stuff out there, it would be impossible for a LEO to remember EVERYTHING and EVERY make/model of equipment, etc.

 

[MossRoad]

You really don't have a clue just how often that actually happens, do you?

Well, yes I do, or I wouldn't have brought it up. :laughing:

 

[MossRoad]

IF it is on an open hauler, and IF the stop was for a legitimate reason, I have no issue at all with them running numbers, as long as it doesnt hold me up for an unreasonable amount of time.

But like I said, if they want to pull you over just to check, they will come up with another reason for the stop: tallight, license plate light, weaving, etc.

BUT if the ONLY reason they pull you over is to check a vin on a vehichle on the trailer, then yea, I also have a problem with that.

And might I add that a plainly visible car on an open hauler on a public road is a BIG difference than a vehichle on someones private property.

But let me ask you this, if your tractor was stolen and in transit to mexico, and it was never recovered (even though you filed a report and all). Later you find out that the crooks were pulled over for (insert whatever here) and the cop NEVER ran the serial # of your tractor in plain view on the trailer????

The only way they can know is to run the #. There is
SOOO much stolen stuff out there, it would be impossible for a LEO to remember EVERYTHING and EVERY make/model of equipment, etc.

If I was driving down the road with a tarp over my tractor and was pulled over by an officer because he saw a tractor tire sticking out from under the tarp I would not be too happy. What is the difference between them pulling over someone for that VS pulling over every Honda Civic on the road to check the VIN just because they are one of the most stolen cars in America? There is virtually no difference between the two scenarios.

Now, if the officer had a report of a stolen gear drive X brand tractor with 2wd and R4 tires in the immediate area I can see pulling something like that over (although I don't know why anyone would drive a 2wd gear tractor with R4s :laughing: ) just like them stopping someone that fits the description of a robbery suspect.

But really, if my tractor is stolen in Indiana, I see no justification for law enforcement to check every tractor being towed down the highway nationwide.

 

[MossRoad]

You don't seem to know how

You don't seem to know that people don't like being told "You don't seem to know". :laughing:

I think most of us know a lot about how things work, how things are in other parts of the country, etc... we just don't like our rights trampled on.

If you let them pull people over and check everything in their cars just for the sake of checking, it is a small leap to go to checking things on your property and then it is just a knock on the door before they are allowed to check in your house without cause.