Pulled over by crooked cops - what to do?

[DCWGaming]

Here is a recap of the night -

I had been drinking since about 8, at around 10-10:30 a couple friends came over to my house to hang out before they go do whatever on friday night.

I was out of beer and decided I wanted some. My girlfriend had taken my car to work, so I needed a ride. The liquor store is maybe a half a mile from my house, so I asked my friend for a ride.

We drive to the store, I buy a 12-pack of bud light, the second we leave, a concealed cop car pulls up behind us and turns their lights on.

We pull into a parking lot on the side of the road. I asked Dan if he had anything in his car (no) and told him not to admit to any crimes.

They knock on both windows at once and ask both of us to step out of the car. They asked for 2 forms of picture ID from me, which I luckily had.

*EDIT* I forgot to mention, right after that, the first thing they did was take the beer and walk it back to their car...i'm sure they enjoyed a 12 pack while they busted more kids last night.

Both of us started being questioned about the beer. Did he pay for any of it? You know he's underaged right? Have you been drinking tonight sir? You were going to drink all 12 beers by yourself, huh? - anything to get me to admit to a crime. Both of our stories checked out, neither of us slipped.

Dan has a little problem with authority, and is obviously the one the cops would try to target - he is an art student, so he has tattoos and drives a [censored] car.

After my cop decided he wasnt going to get anything from me, they both went over to Dan and started interrogating him. I didnt hear much, but the tones were very intimidating and derrogatory.

About 5 minutes of random questioning went by, and then one of the cops randomly decides to take another look in the car, where he finds a bag with pot seeds and stems in them.
Dan had no pot whatsoever in his car.
The cop did not ask for permission to look in the vehicle.
I am about 95% sure the seeds were planted by the cops for an excuse to search the vehicle.

I heard Dan say something like "dont you need to ask me for permission before you search my car?" to which the cop responded "No, because you're under arrest" and continued about his business.

They searched for another good 5 minutes, still not finding anything. After coming out the cops talked to Dan for a while longer, I heard the word "slob" but nothing else...

I get a ticket for aiding or inducing a minor to possess alcohol, he gets some similar misdimeanor...


Should I be filing a police misconduct report? Anybody have a similar experience and get out of it? Would it be possible to get the cop in some trouble? Because I'd like to make his life as difficult as possible. [censored] [censored] like that dont protect the law, they suck up tax dollars and impose their [censored] ego on people who are doing no harm.

Sorry, still angry. But any help is appreciated.

[Sponger.]

I don't know how they can prove that you were buying him alcohol to drink. They might as well stop moms who buy bottles of wine when they are with their 10 year old children.

[hedxcold]

i've been told when this happens file a report anyway. most likely nothing will happen, but if enough reports finally get filed about these guys something may eventually be done.

still sucks though, but i would file one

[WackityWhiz]

I'm a little confused... Did the bag of seeds and stems belong to your friend or not? It seems like he just forgot that he had that in there...

I'm on your side tho, this whole situation sucks. I was just curious about that particular thing.

[DCWGaming]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm a little confused... Did the bag of seeds and stems belong to your friend or not? It seems like he just forgot that he had that in there...

I'm on your side tho, this whole situation sucks. I was just curious about that particular thing.

[/ QUOTE ]

It did not belong to him. The bag did, but it was a sandwich bag.
1) He doesnt keep his pot in bags like that
2) He hasnt had pot in a while
3) pot seeds are a thing that cops like to plant on people, because they can use it as an excuse to search the car, and if they dont find any of your stuff, they dont have to charge you with anything because the seeds arent illegal.

[jman220]

1. What was the original reason the cops gave you for pulling you over?
2. I am confused as to where the cops took the pot seeds from, were they from your friend's person, or from in the car. If in the car, were they in a closed container, or weree they in the open. If on your friend, was it during a pat-down?
3. Most Important: What State was this in?
4. Too little information (based on the above questions) to say anything definitive, but if you get a lawyer, you will probably not get convicted on the corrupting the morals of a minor charge because I don't see how they can establish you were buying it for your friend instead of yourself.
5. Can't say anything about the marijuana until you answer the questions above.

Edit: And 6. Absolutely, definitely, file a complaint, in most jurisdictions these complaints do get looked at, and if cops accrue enough citizen complaints they will face disciplinary action. At least in the jurisdictions where I have worked that is the case. (Some of these bumblefuck rural in the middle of nowhere jurisdictions might not be as good).


Also, as for:
[ QUOTE ]
heard Dan say something like "dont you need to ask me for permission before you search my car?" to which the cop responded "No, because you're under arrest" and continued about his business.

[/ QUOTE ]

It doesn't sound like either of you were under arrest at that point, and if you were under arrest, they lacked probable cause for the arrest, however, there are several other reasons why the search the cop did might be valid, which is why the answers to the above questions need answering.

[DCWGaming]

[ QUOTE ]
1. What was the original reason the cops gave you for pulling you over?
2. I am confused as to where the cops took the pot seeds from, were they from your friend's person, or from in the car. If in the car, were they in a closed container, or weree they in the open. If on your friend, was it during a pat-down?
3. Most Important: What State was this in?
4. Too little information (based on the above questions) to say anything definitive, but if you get a lawyer, you will probably not get convicted on the corrupting the morals of a minor charge because I don't see how they can establish you were buying it for your friend instead of yourself.
5. Can't say anything about the marijuana until you answer the questions above.

[/ QUOTE ]

1) They did not give us an original reason for pulling us over, I assume they were watching the liquor store.
2) The pot seeds didnt even come into play until after they couldnt charge us with something worse. After our stories checked out, they took another look in the car (without permission), pulled out a plastic sandwich bag, which was used by Dan for lunch that day, and claimed pot seeds were in it. They did not show them to me, or even mention the pot to me at all. Dan looks more like a delinquent than me, they were picking on him.

3) Indiana

5) The marijuana never became an issue, we dont have tickets for that. The issue is the unlawful search and invasion of privacy...

[jman220]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
1. What was the original reason the cops gave you for pulling you over?
2. I am confused as to where the cops took the pot seeds from, were they from your friend's person, or from in the car. If in the car, were they in a closed container, or weree they in the open. If on your friend, was it during a pat-down?
3. Most Important: What State was this in?
4. Too little information (based on the above questions) to say anything definitive, but if you get a lawyer, you will probably not get convicted on the corrupting the morals of a minor charge because I don't see how they can establish you were buying it for your friend instead of yourself.
5. Can't say anything about the marijuana until you answer the questions above.

[/ QUOTE ]

1) They did not give us an original reason for pulling us over, I assume they were watching the liquor store.
2) The pot seeds didnt even come into play until after they couldnt charge us with something worse. After our stories checked out, they took another look in the car (without permission), pulled out a plastic sandwich bag, which was used by Dan for lunch that day, and claimed pot seeds were in it. They did not show them to me, or even mention the pot to me at all. Dan looks more like a delinquent than me, they were picking on him.

3) Indiana

5) The marijuana never became an issue, we dont have tickets for that. The issue is the unlawful search and invasion of privacy...

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, that search is almost certainly no good then, based on the facts that you have relayed here I don't see either probable cause, or a reasonable articulable suspicion at that point such that it would be necessary to again search the car for weapons. However if they didn't actually charge you with something related to that search, then its not going to cause the charges you have to get thrown out. (Those charges stemmed from the police activity with you prior to the unlawful search). Your only remedy is civil, if you really want to pursue it, a Section 1983 civil rights lawsuit against the police department, which is probably more of a hassle than its worth, (but you could always consult with a local lawyer if you really want to pursue this), or just file a complaint, which I would certainly advise. I am curious as to what misdemeanor your friend was charged with (he's the minor right?) Finally, I still think that if you contest the charges you're being charged with, the prosecutor will not be able to make a case against you based on these facts, but this is a quick opinion and does not constitute legal advice, you should not rely on it, I recommend speaking to an attorney.

[DCWGaming]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
1. What was the original reason the cops gave you for pulling you over?
2. I am confused as to where the cops took the pot seeds from, were they from your friend's person, or from in the car. If in the car, were they in a closed container, or weree they in the open. If on your friend, was it during a pat-down?
3. Most Important: What State was this in?
4. Too little information (based on the above questions) to say anything definitive, but if you get a lawyer, you will probably not get convicted on the corrupting the morals of a minor charge because I don't see how they can establish you were buying it for your friend instead of yourself.
5. Can't say anything about the marijuana until you answer the questions above.

[/ QUOTE ]

1) They did not give us an original reason for pulling us over, I assume they were watching the liquor store.
2) The pot seeds didnt even come into play until after they couldnt charge us with something worse. After our stories checked out, they took another look in the car (without permission), pulled out a plastic sandwich bag, which was used by Dan for lunch that day, and claimed pot seeds were in it. They did not show them to me, or even mention the pot to me at all. Dan looks more like a delinquent than me, they were picking on him.

3) Indiana

5) The marijuana never became an issue, we dont have tickets for that. The issue is the unlawful search and invasion of privacy...

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, that search is almost certainly no good then, based on the facts that you have relayed here I don't see either probable cause, or a reasonable articulable suspicion at that point such that it would be necessary to again search the car for weapons. However if they didn't actually charge you with something related to that search, then its not going to cause the charges you have to get thrown out. (Those charges stemmed from the police activity with you prior to the unlawful search). Your only remedy is civil, if you really want to pursue it, a Section 1983 civil rights lawsuit against the police department, which is probably more of a hassle than its worth, (but you could always consult with a local lawyer if you really want to pursue this), or just file a complaint, which I would certainly advise. I am curious as to what misdemeanor your friend was charged with (he's the minor right?) Finally, I still think that if you contest the charges you're being charged with, the prosecutor will not be able to make a case against you based on these facts, but this is a quick opinion and does not constitute legal advice, you should not rely on it, I recommend speaking to an attorney.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for the help. The only thing i'm really worried about is the fact that I cant file a police misconduct report until wednesday (monday is a holiday and I'll be out of town on tuesday) I hope that wont be too late.

Yeah, dan is the minor, he was born 6/17/85

[mattw]

pot seeds are illegal. several months ago on sixty minutes, there was a story about a vancouver, bc, resident who made millions selling seeds via mail. many of his customers were american. the us gov is trying to extradite him.