Why do cops ask to search a vehicle?

Question

If police pull over a car they suspect of having drugs, they ask the occupant oif they will allow a search. If the person refuses, the cops get a warrant or a dog. So there is no consent to the search at all. It's not really any option.
Furthermore, why doesn't this violate right to privacy? Personally, if I was in that situation I might make you go get a warrant and waste your time when you find nothing just to make my point. It feels like we're turning into a police state where the cops have the rights but we don't. I believe in this thing called the Constitution our founding fathers wrote a while back; seems vaguely important. And i'm not willing to give up one of those rights to make your life easier. There's a reason it's called work.

As expected, question authority and they take it as a personal attack. I don't have my mind made up; it just seems unjust and i would like an explanation of how it's legal. And tried 911 before, no one came both times, so why bother?

ekdike06, very funny, I get the humor although others didn't. : )
Reported!

Gene L, there is another option besides guilt. Standing up for your rights as a citizen. A true patriot does not sit idly by and watch his country go down the tubes. I'll always question authority till they put a bullet in my head.

Let me put the shoe on the other foot. What if guns were outlawed and you couldn't carry one anymore? you would be screaming for that constitutional right; rightfully so, because your lives are at stake. Kinda my point for bringing up privacy rights; encroachment can be a slippery slope.

Answer 1

Thanks to what has transpired since the inception of President Richard ("I") M. ("not a crook") Nixon's "War on Drugs," the Bill of Rights has become "VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW" and an alarming number of Americans think it's perfectly OK. Those that do are so bigoted, brainwashed, or just plain old fascist to even consider "protecting and defending" the once-sacred Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights contained therein.

Take for instance CJ and his kind who say;
>> "..if you aren't a criminal, and you've nothing to hide, then you shouldn't have a problem with having an officer search you." <<

To them, I ask, “Why not install government-monitored cameras and microphones in every automobile, in every room in every home and office and all across America? After all, if you’re not breaking the law then what do you have to hide? Big Brother is only there to help us, right?”

A few years ago, a punk with a gun and a badge asked to search my vehicle and I refused. I hadn't even been pulled over--I was parked off to the side of a rural country back-road to sleep because driving-while-sleepy can be just as dangerous as DUI and, NO, I was not tired from just having partaken in the herb. He lied and said he smelled marijuana, called backup, ordered me out of my personal space, and shook me down anyway. He found an empty vial with a few flakes of marijuana -- not even a pinch for a single toke and CERTAINLY NOT enough for him [or even a dog] to have smelled nor enough to bring into court as evidence after testing but, in the Commonwealth Police State of Virginia, all they need to bring is a piece of paper saying that it tested positive -- all of 0.01 gram (months later I read in the paper the pig was shot at but it was only a flesh wound in his neck. I was bummed it didn't lodge in his spine making him a quadriplegic. DRAT!)

OK, maybe if I had given him the empty vial and told him he could search for more if he wanted he might not have arrested me but why should I not stand up for my rights and principles? Or should Americans just cower down like obedient sheep under their Master--the almighty government?

What sad irony--Virginia was once home to some of the greatest defenders of liberty history has ever recorded; George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Mason. The United Police States of Amerika is certainly NOT what those great men envisioned (even though they were hypocrites because their definition of liberty only applied to white people of European descent, except Mason--who declined to participate in the Constitutional Convention because of the issue of slavery. The Founding Father later redeemed himself by freeing his slaves after his and his wife's deaths and made provisions that they were fed, clothed, educated and made perpetual free-men)

Just say 'NO' to police searches!
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Answer 2

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Answer 3

Well they can't get a warrant just if you refuse to the search, they need probable cause, (A REFUSAL IS NOT PROBABLE CAUSE, ask any lawyer), to get it they need something like a police dog indicating there are drugs, a witness or finding some drug items on your pockets or in plain view. If they get a search warrant under false statements, or if they search without the search warrant or your consent then you can sue the city for being subject of an illegal search.

As for me I wouldn't consent; they have a job to do but I wont consent to be searched like a criminal at the view of everyone that can say "hey he must have done something if they are searching him like that".

It's up to you; for some people is not a big deal to say "hey check it up, I'm clean" but for some people is. Whatever you chose just be polite, respectfully and don't dare to argue with the officers, just tell them respectfully if you want to consent or not, because is your right.

Answer 4

On the matter of obtaining a warrant upon your refusal, Your refusal is probably cause.

On the matter of the dog, the dog does not have to be inside the vehicle to be able to hit on something, therefore, if the dog hits when being walked around the car, that is probably cause to search.

After all, if you have nothing to hide, why not let the officer prove his suspicions wrong, thereby making an *** of himself, and let him search.

You have the right to refuse the search, but you must understand that your refusal just makes you even more suspicious. And since you mention the constitution, I think you better go back and read the part about illegal search and seizure. You've misinterpreted it. If a police officer suspects a crime has been or is being committed, he has the right to search and seize.
You have the right to not have your vehicle illegally searched, but in the situation you are asking about, the search is not illegal.

It's always the people trying to get away with breaking the law that have a problem with it.

Answer 5

Get a No Cost Background Check Scan at https://bitly.im/aNIK3

Its a sensible way to start. The site allows you to do a no cost scan simply to find out if any sort of data is in existence. A smaller analysis is done without cost. To get a detailed report its a modest payment.

You may not realize how many good reasons there are to try and find out more about the people around you. After all, whether you're talking about new friends, employees, doctors, caretakers for elderly family members, or even significant others, you, as a citizen, have a right to know whether the people you surround yourself with are who they say they are. This goes double in any situation that involves your children, which not only includes teachers and babysitters, but also scout masters, little league coaches and others. Bottom line, if you want to find out more about someone, you should perform a background check.

Answer 6

Asking isn't asking any more. We have much less choice about a lot of things these days. We're made to choose between two things: allowing cops (or homeland nazis or whoever) to ransack your vehicle or home or suitcases with or without your permission.

And what about all the stories on the news about people claiming drugs or whatever illegal item was placed there by cops or homeland security. Some counties are "motivated" to impound vehicles or ticket as many speeders as possible, for example, and some places may have to "prove" they need a drug dog so they haul him out as often as possible. If this means they plant a small bag or vial of something in your vehicle, then they do it, and they don't feel guilty about it.

Answer 7

You do have a right to say NO. However there is a thing called probable cause. If i smell The oder of Pot in a car then i have probable cause to suspect that there are drugs in the car. Likewise with alcohol etc. There is also plain view law..say i see a objest that resembles a roach in the ash tray. If i pull you over for say speeding then that alone is not probable cause. I could go on and on but whats the use you have your mind made up about us police officers till the next time you call 911.

Answer 8

If the police have reason to pull you over asking your permission to search is a formality. If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to lose. If you make them get a warrant, they will and then they will rip your vehicle apart. They DO NOT have to reassemble it for you. The constitution is a good thing and I believe in it but why make everyones life miserable to make a point. GROW UP! If you have something to hide when stopped, make them get a warrant if not, let them look and be on your way.

Answer 9

I'm a former Deputy Sheriff, and I will answer your question for you, in spite of the comments you made about cops.

First of all, the most common way to traffic drugs is to move them around in vehicles. If an officer has a reason to believe that you are in possession of drugs, it is his/her duty to seize those drugs and get them off the street. That is what the public pays us to do. Considering the search and seizure laws, we cannot just enter into your vehicle to search it, UNLESS we see something in plain view. And that would be admissible in court, anything obtained during a plain view search. If we did NOT see anything, the first thing we do is ask the driver if we can search. If the driver consents, then whatever we find, we can charge you with. If the driver does not consent to search, but we still believe the vehicle contains something illegal in it, we can detain the vehicle and obtain a search warrant. EXCEPTION...... if you are arrested for a separate charge.......and you are legally under arrest, we have the right to tow your vehicle. After towing that vehicle, we are required by law to inventory the contents of it. If we find anything illegal in that car during that inventory, we can charge you with that too, and it is perfectly admissible in court.

Police departments are following the law, contrary to your opinion. If that were not so, the State Attorney's offices would be kicking out officers cases all the time. An arrest means nothing if the evidence was illegally obtained, or the subject illegally arrested. So you cannot accuse the cops of doing whatever they want, it doesn't work like that.

You speak of cops "rights", let me tell you something, I had to play by silly laws that handcuffed me and kept me from doing my job, and that was protecting the honest people out there. The criminal has no such rules. They play by their own rules and answer to no one. So don't preach to me about rights, you have more than I do, believe me!

You think police work is not work? Then you've obviously never did police work. And until you do, you'd do well to reserve your comments. Walk a mile in our shoes before you shoot off your big mouth.

And finally.....if you aren't a criminal, and you've nothing to hide, then you shouldn't have a problem with having an officer search you. You're the first to whine about cops, but I guarantee it, if someone robbed you, or beat the hell out of you, you would be the first one calling 911 begging for cops to come out there. I've seen it over and over again. We're used to your type though. You're not "wasting" our time, but you are a waste of space.

Answer 10

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if one is pulled over it would seem to me the most advisable thing to do is to be as cooperative as possible, answer the officer's questions or follow his instructions in order to put a quick end to the event so you can be back on your way.

UNLESS, one is guilty of something and has something to hide.

The law enforcement training and instinct is such that an officer knows immediately by the individual's behavior and willingness (or lack thereof) to cooperate if there is anything about this person that looks suspicious and needs to be followed through on up to and including a vehicle search...if you refuse the officer's request to have your vehicle searched, you are just trolling for a bad time from that officer and it could turn out to be a long day and a long night for you.