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sewcrazy
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| Posted: Sept 17 2010 at 8:26pm | IP Logged
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My 17 year old son was pulled over last night for no real realize. His one tail light was flickering. The officer leaned into my son's car and claimed to smell marijuana in the vehicle. Ordered my son out of his car and proceeded to search the entire vehicle, dumping all his belongings on the side of the road. The officer even dumped his back pack out, scattering his school work. There was nothing to be found, of course! So the officer just got in his car and pulled away, leaving my son on the side of the road, after dark --after state curfew, in a iffy area, with his stuff all over the shoulder of the road!
My son is in the ROTC, and had his Army ID on him. Obviously not a miscreant!
He is now so upset and angry. I don't know what to do for him to help him process this.
I also don't know if we should file a complaint against the officer. I spoke with a friend that is a cop, and she said this was illegal search. An officer can search in plain sight, but cannot look in closed bags, or the trunk or the glove box and cannot actually touch your possessions without a warrant. Also, the officer left him in a dangerous situation. This officer needs to be aware that is not ok to do to a kid.
Any ideas on how to proceed?
And prayers for my son to find peace, please.
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LeeAnn
Wife of David, mom to Ben, Dennis, Alex, Laura, Philip and our little souls in heaven we have yet to meet
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Maria B.
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| Posted: Sept 17 2010 at 8:49pm | IP Logged
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I would definitely file a complaint. This is awful for you and your son. I will pray for him.
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Maria in VA
Proud Mom to 10 Great kids!
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guitarnan
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| Posted: Sept 17 2010 at 8:53pm | IP Logged
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Praying for you and your son, LeeAnn.
You need to find out what "probable cause" means in your state before you file a complaint. If the officer says he had reason to believe there was an illegal substance in the car, that could be enough to constitute probable cause.
Having said that, since the officer left him somewhere after curfew, it might be worth filing the complaint anyway. At least it would be on record.
Something like this happened to my dh at the same age (although he was not yet in ROTC, just headed there) - he was grabbed by the town police, spreadeagled in a parking lot, etc. - with no cause, probable or otherwise. I daresay he's still angry about it, although now, 30 years or so later, he says that the fact he knew he had done nothing wrong helped him at the time.
I'm so sorry this has happened, LeeAnn. I know that nearly all of our law enforcement officers are great folks trying to do a difficult job, but sometimes that's not the case. 
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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sewcrazy
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| Posted: Sept 17 2010 at 9:14pm | IP Logged
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Nancy, according to 2 friends that are police officers, the officer could have done a visual search of the vehicle and if saw "evidence of drugs" could call it in and then search the entire vehicle. The only cause was the believed scent of marijuana. It was probably the cigar smell from the father of my son's girl friend.
We have family in law enforcement and have taught our kids to respect officers -- no matter what. But this incident has really shook my son.
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LeeAnn
Wife of David, mom to Ben, Dennis, Alex, Laura, Philip and our little souls in heaven we have yet to meet
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: Sept 17 2010 at 9:57pm | IP Logged
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Are you absolutely certain it was a real police officer?
We were once in a situation where a guy in an "unmarked car" pulled up behind us with a flashing blue light on his dash, and tried to get us to pull over on a deserted country road. Luckily we got suspicious (because of the way the guy looked) and did not pull over and he eventually turned the other way and sped off. I get very queasy thinking about what would have happened if we had pulled over, and also if it had be me alone.
There have been lots of cases of people impersonating officers, sometimes with dire consequences.
And if it was a real officer I'd definitely be asking questions of his superiors, even if you don't file an official complaint.
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
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sewcrazy
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| Posted: Sept 18 2010 at 11:53am | IP Logged
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Yes it was an officer. The town he has to drive through to get home from his girlfriend's house is not "nice" and has a huge drug problem. I have called the watch commander and the officer that pulled him over is in the Illegals division. The officer said that my son's frequent trips through a suspected drug trafficking area, that he obviously didn't live in, made the officer suspect that my son was going to that area to purchase drugs. Its a major public road! Sheeesh!
I am going to file a complaint. Even if the officer believed he had "just cause" once he realized my son had no illegals, he should have at least stayed until my son put everything back in his car. As the officer said, it was an area of suspected drug trafficking!
A bit of irony--when the officer dumped his bag, my son lost the rough draft of his paper regarding the 4th Amendment for Civics class.  The teacher gave him an "A" for 'real world experience'
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LeeAnn
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: Sept 18 2010 at 1:02pm | IP Logged
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sewcrazy wrote:
A bit of irony--when the officer dumped his bag, my son lost the rough draft of his paper regarding the 4th Amendment for Civics class. The teacher gave him an "A" for 'real world experience' |
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Oh, that IS ironic!
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
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Grace&Chaos
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LeeAnn, in no way am I justifying what the officer did and yes he should have had some more patience with your son. I do caution you that filing a complaint is very serious for officers especially those whose soul jobs are to look for "narcotics" or "special crimes". My dh is one of these and believe me his job requires more of him than when he was just in patrol. I pray for him every day. He has been in situations that are unbelievable and sometimes with the least likely people. A complaint/suit on file can be brought into any court case related or not for the purpose of making the officer look discredible. These officers find themselves in court more often than others because they are considered "experts". This of course can hurt a case that clearly should be in favor of "good".
My dh would never have a problem apologizing or setting things right with someone he approached incorrectly. Maybe communicating with the watch commander once more and requesting such a gesture from the officer might give your son and your family peace. However, if you get the vibe that this is not at all possible then by all means proceed with the complaint, there might be the need to remind this officer of the very special service he is providing for his community.
You never know this whole experience might spark a love for justice and a call to a very special vocation. We really do need more men of faith and purpose in this field. They make the best law enforcement!
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Blessings,
Jenny
Mom to dds(00,03) and dss(05,06,08,09)
Grace in Loving Chaos
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sewcrazy
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| Posted: Sept 18 2010 at 2:11pm | IP Logged
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Jenny,
Thank you for the reminder.  My brother is an MP in the Army and my best friend is an officer in a nearby town. We do respect the role of police officers. I am hesitant to file an official complaint, but when I spoke to the officer, he was not conciliatory. His attitude was that any teen in that area is guilty of drug use, he merely didn't "catch him" this time. He really left my son in an unsafe situation. That bothers me more than the questionable search.
From now on, my son is going to go 5 miles out of his way to avoid going through this township to get to his girlfriend's house.
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LeeAnn
Wife of David, mom to Ben, Dennis, Alex, Laura, Philip and our little souls in heaven we have yet to meet
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Grace&Chaos
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I'm so sorry to hear this. I will say a prayer for your son. And a prayer that this officer realize his heart has become harden by the "awfulness" of his job. (sigh)
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Blessings,
Jenny
Mom to dds(00,03) and dss(05,06,08,09)
Grace in Loving Chaos
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Servant2theKing
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This situation is a reminder to pray for police officers...something we began doing when an officer friend of the family's partner was seriously injured during a drug raid. We always pray a Hail Mary and add "Dear Lord, please watch over all police officers, in the line of duty, in their family lives and in their homes. Keep them safe and protect them and all those whom they serve."
Editing to add: That was a very upsetting, even frightening experience for your son, Lee Ann, I simply added the post about praying for officers because so many of them are under immense stress and can make split second decisions that impact many lives. My own father quit the police force in the 1960s because the stress of the job was impacting family life, even back then. Things are so much worse now, especially in areas where drug activity is high. Your son's decision to drive a different route, as a result of this incident, may actually save his life. Praying for your son and for the officer involved.
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JaysFamily
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This reminds me of some advice my father gave me when I was a teenager. He told me that *he* owned the vehicle I drove, and since it was not mine, I was not authorized to grant anyone permission to search it. I was to tell a police officer that he would have to contact my father, the owner of the vehicle before he could search, and that my father had to be present for said search. I was never pulled over, but I appreciated knowing that my parents would back up my rights if it ever came to that.
I would definitely file a complaint. He acted unethically, and put your child in a dangerous situation. He had no right to just dump your son's personal property on the side of the road like that. That this officer has such a hardened heart toward an entire age group worries me. Perhaps it is a sign that he should focus on a different area of law enforcement.
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In Christ,
Jaysfamily
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: Police issue
