In the video below, a guy is stopped for a “license check” – that is, a random and probable cause-free interrogation and inspection – which by definition is unreasonable and so ought to be unlawful but isn’t any more because of a despicable Supreme Court ruling that effectively rescinded the Fourth Amendment’s protections.
The armed government worker conducting the random interrogation and search then proceeds to violate laws still in force. The man stopped asks whether he is being detained, whether he is under arrest. The armed government worked answers no to each but when the man asks whether his is free to go, the armed government worker says no – which is an abuse of his authority under the law:
When you are told by an armed government worker you are not being detained and are not under arrest, you are – legally speaking – free to go.
Or should be.
The armed government worker – they style themselves, rather ironically, law enforcers – is apparently confused about the law. So he makes up his own. He accuses the man (first) of having a “modified” exhaust. Then (second) that the vehicle’s exhaust is “broken.” The man asks the armed government worker whether he is a mechanic.
The armed government worker uses the “modified” and “broken” exhaust as the legal pretext to demand the driver’s “papers” (ID, insurance/registration) and then demands the passenger’s “papers” as well. Which – again – he has no legal authority to do.
The armed government worker asks, “Is that your girlfriend?”
“It’s none of your business,” replies the courageous driver.
“How do I know she’s not wanted?”
The driver correctly (legally) replies: “You don’t.” In other words, it is not the legal obligation of the passenger to disprove she isn’t “wanted.”
Hilariously, the driver then asks the armed government worker whether he “has a warrant.”
The armed government worker does not like being interrogated – the same insolent, prove-to-me-you-are-not-guilty of something techniques applied to him.
The driver then advises the armed government worker that his passenger hasn’t broken any laws and hasn’t given the armed government worker any reason to suspect she has – demonstrating a knowledge of the actual law superior to that of the armed government worker (the law enforcer).
This flummoxes – and annoys – the armed government worker, who smirks and then attempts to get more information out of the driver:
“Did you have any interactions (with other armed government workers) earlier today? Did you already give your license to somebody.”
The driver does not engage and advises the armed government worker that “he doesn’t have to answer that.”
Exactly.
The armed government worker makes another desultory attempt to elicit “cooperation” – that is, to get his victim to provide information under duress that can and will be held against him – but fails magnificently.
Kudos to the driver for knowing the law more than the law enforcer. And for taking a stand for his rights against a thug given legal sanction to threaten and harass innocent people and to make up laws on the spot.
This is the way to go.
Give them nothing.
Submit – because we don’t have much choice – but do not play their game. Know the law – even if they don’t (or just don’t care). Politely decline to “cooperate” a millimeter farther than the law demands.
Politely decline to answer their questions. Politely refuse to consent to anything you are not obligated by the law to consent to.
Remember who they are – and what their “job” is.
They are not there to “help” you. They are there to “bust” you. By hook or by crook, using whatever tactics they feel like using, the law be damned.
Our only protection is to not help them.
They can – and will – do whatever they like to us.
But we have it in our power to make it a little less easy for them to do it.
The short version, worth the ten minutes it takes.
Love it. He had him squirming!
I had a similar experience at a DUI checkpoint. They decided that they wanted to search my vehicle with no probable cause. When he asked me if I was a lawyer I said no but my wife was. She asked them if we were free to go and off we went.
I love this. “is your exhaust modified” was followed with asking the cop “are you a mechanic”? Fucking goons. As if thats illegal anyway. I have a flowmaster super 40 on my truck, its a little loud, but not illegal. As long as you have a muffler and cat converter there is nothing illegal about a ‘modified’ exhaust.
What gives these creepy clowns in .gov issued costumes a chubby is to put a White man in jail. Most of the White .gov costumed clowns are scared of minorities, but they know that White men are easy prey.
After that comes White women, who the copfucks will pull the same shit on, but with the difference that if the women is attractive, they want to totally dominate them in a aggressive, macho, sexual way which sometimes leads to rape, if the conditions are right for the copfuck.
I hope my state never gets to this level. The further east you get the worse it gets(to close to Washington) Read Gun laws to see this.Out west it gets much better until you get to the west coast.
I’m on the west coast. I don’t understand your implication that the cops here are worse than your Andy Taylors in flyover country.
Cops and racists can make for a bad day. When you combine the two, the day is fucked. The trick is to avoid them both. However, it is not a good idea to provoke either.
Can you imagine having that cop’s job, and running into moron’s like that guy? Why not just treat the cop like you would any other human being? I have to deal with government drones of all stripes constantly, and i strive to make those encounters as stress free as possible, for them and myself. I accept that those encounters are just part of the deal, whether I like it or not. The last thing I intend to do is turn something trivial into something consequential. Ever. I got pulled over a couple of nights ago for having the wrong tag on a truck. The truck wasn’t registered yet, so i just took a good tag off a different one and figured noone would notice. Wrong. I told the cop exactly what i had done, told him when I expected to have the issue corrected, and was on my way in less than five minutes, with a handshake instead of citations. I wish I had video, it would be far more useful and instructive than nonsense like this.
Damn starfucker! I don’t even know where to start with that comment. I get your goal of not adding to the friction but that is exactly what THEY want you to do. That is exactly why things are inching closer to “comply or die” with each passing week.
The point is that THESE MOTHERFUCKER DON’T HAVE THE RIGHT TO VIOLATE YOUR RIGHTS! The are WILLINGLY violating the constitution and their oath by going along to get along in order to keep their jobs and you are WILLINGLY giving up your rights by going along to get along. Fucking sad!
The primary reason the United States Government exists is to PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF ITS CITIZENS. If standing up for your rights in a non-threatening manner is no longer possible then you have no rights to except comply or die.
IS, I was in the wrong. What should I have done, wrestled him for his gun? I try to start any interaction with ther human beings with respect. I’m a big believer in the golden rule. It is a magic bullet. No rights of mine were infringed upon. I certainly had the opportunity to turn the situation into an ordeal, and rack up some expenses, but for some odd reason (intelligence, maybe?) I chose a different way to handle it. And it turned out fine.
No, I don’t expect you to be an idiot and do something stupid. Swapping tags on vehicles is pretty stupid though. It was the following general sentiment that I was reacting to:
“I have to deal with government drones of all stripes constantly, and i strive to make those encounters as stress free as possible, for them and myself. I accept that those encounters are just part of the deal, whether I like it or not.”
Do you ever calmly make a statement of your rights? Do you resist when you’re in the right? Doesn’t sound like it if you just accept that their violation of your rights is just the price of admission.
Then again, if I was a cop dealing with idiots all day every day, including those illegally swapping vehicle tags, I’d tend to think they should not have any rights as so many of them apparently do.
I will never waste my time stating my rights. I don’t believe any invisible force is my protector. I have my brain (calm negotiation) and I have my brawn (and the second amendment). You won’t ever see me waving a sign on a street corner, either. But I don’t see police as my enemy. That being said, here is one of my favorite videos. Enjoy. .https://youtu.be/bD61YFxUga4
Well then enjoy your servitude and don’t come around here bitching about the roided up enforcer with an attitude problem that decides to administer justice the next time you do something illegal like swapping vehicle tags.
Hell, if you’re not going to follow the law you have no reason to expect them to act in accordance with your rights, right? When you’re dirty you have to go along to get along right? That is apparently the America you believe in right? If so, Clinton is your candidate!
Odd that that video would be one of your favorites. The people at the Bundy ranch weren’t breaking any laws. They were simply standing for the rights of one man and the rights that we all share when his rights were being violated. They had the moral high ground and that’s why the cop in video above backed down.
The bundys did have the high ground. The kid in the video has some growing up to do. The cop in the video was a total gentleman. No reason to start acting the fool.
That’s what I said about the Bundy deal, they had the moral high ground. That cop was not a gentleman, he was attempting to violate their rights and ran up against someone who wouldn’t go along to get along. Had the couple in the vehicle participated in his ruse he would have violated their rights. The entire checkpoint was a violation of their rights and is only allowed to proliferate because the people with the rights don’t push back. The police have become fear merchants.
Would you have asserted your rights in your traffic stop if you had not been guilty of switching plates?
starfucker, to answer your original question, no, I can’t imagine being a cop because I cannot imagine myself ever being so corrupt and hard up for work that I’d take part in a career where I have to protect corrupt cops and departments by not ratting them out. It’s the same reason I don’t associate with criminal types. Even if you’re a good guy you’re guilty by association.
I do treat cops with respect when I have to interact with them but if my rights are being violated you can be certain that I’ll say something about it and I can do so with out denigrating their mothers or their own personal beliefs.
Perhaps the cops back east are such assholes now that it’s impossible to calmly speak up for your rights. It’s not that bad out west here. As a matter of fact we just replaced our corrupt police chief and a citizens panel was put together to participate in the interviews, selection and confirmation process which is a big departure from what happened in the past. We still have some scumbag cops locally but we’ve been thinning their numbers in recent years.
Things started changing here when the cops killed a semi handicapped man named Otto zehm in cold blood and things really got moving when a cop shot and killed Pastor Scott Creech in the parking lot of his own family owned business.
No, I am never going around blubbering about rights. Any situation I’m in, I am going to try to reason with the other person, and if that fails, use whatever other means i have at my disposal to deal with it. Blubbering about rights, not part of my arsenal. I try to handle things myself.
What does blubbering have to do with it? If you’re not going to lay claim to your rights, they will. Why would you try to *reason* with anyone over something as absolute as your rights? All the cop in the video above needed was a reminder that the guy knew his rights.
Didn’t see your new post, sorry. Most of the cops I know, and come in contact with, are good guys. Their primary job is keeping the dindus under control, and that’s a dangerous and bewilderingly crazy job. I don’t see the special agent brian love types (the guy in the Bundy video). What i like about that video is the moment that scumbag realized that despite superior firepower, to not turn tail would have resulted in the death of every one of his men. The locals rose up exactly as the founders envisioned, and notched a clear win. They made a big mistake going to Oregon, I hope that resolves itself in their favor under a president Trump.
I don’t know many cops personally anymore. The ones I have had to interact with over my life have been exceedingly decent save for two of them. Even those two incidents turned out fine though because I treated them with respect even though could not reciprocate.
They are slowly going after the Bundy Ranch participants which is bullshit. I have no sympathy for the guys who took over the wildlife refuge……..none. Doing the wrong thing is rarely ever the right thing regardless of intentions. The participants there have had a misguided sense of freedom and liberty if they believe that infringing on the rights of others is the way to get what they want. I fail to see how tRump will have any right to interfere unless evidence of malicious prosecution or sentencing takes place. Even in that case it will be tRump’s place to order an investigation of that district’s federal prosecutors office relieving some and appointing others if need be.