yesterday I was at the beach and was walking back and saw a police officer ticketing a car for parking in a no parking zone. The windows on the car were down and he opened one of the locks by hand through the window and started looking through the whole car since the owner wasn't around. I didn't see the rest of what he did but, I was wondering if this is legal for an officer to do.
2007-06-18 09:02:02 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
actually it was in a private beach only locals know about here in viriginia beach
2007-06-18 09:18:26 · update #1
If he had reasonable suspicion, then yes. The car was parked on a public street, and was left unsecured. If the officer saw drugs or drug paraphernalia, or smelled drugs, or saw kiddie porn on the floor in the back seat, or $17,482 in cash, or anything else that might cause him to suspect the car or the owner of the car was involved in something illegal, then he had the right to search it. If the owner had just rolled up the window and locked the doors, though, the officer would have had to get a warrant first.
2007-06-18 09:09:33 · answer #1 · answered by wuxxler 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋
I would think that the parking violation would give them cause to search the car, but I'm not a lawyer. Think of someone parking a car bomb in a no parking zone - the officer has cause to check the car out due to its violation of the no-parking zone for the safety of those around. Or its like pulling someone over for a taillight being out to give you a reason to search a suspicious vehicle.
2007-06-18 16:08:30 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
Here in Ontario, if the vehicle has unauthorized plates on it, you can search it for evidence of ownership of the vehicle, even if there is no one around.
We will also search and inventory a car prior to towing it.
Searching through a vehicle only because it is pro-parked (and you aren't going to tow it) is not allowed.
2007-06-18 16:09:51 · answer #3 · answered by joeanonymous 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Nobody was there to say 'no' to searching the car, it was unlocked, and you might not have been close enough to the car to see into it and perhaps the cop saw something that would qualify as 'probable cause' for searching it.
I would also think that because of how it was parked and the fact the nobody was in it, the officer could always claim that it appeared abandoned and that would probably also give him the right to have searched.
2007-06-18 16:11:46 · answer #4 · answered by nova_queen_28 7 · 3⤊ 2⤋
technically the officer has "justifiable cause" to search the vehicle. He knows the car is parked illeagally but he doesn't know if it contains a dead body or a bomb or drugs and due to the illegal parking he can go through the vehicle searching for other illegal things. By the way someone probably called the cop about the car and thats why he did what he did.
2007-06-18 16:10:11 · answer #5 · answered by psychotick 2 · 1⤊ 3⤋
If there were "extenuating circumstances", like the Officer saw something illegal that was left in plain sight within the vehicle, IE; a Gun, Drugs, etc etc, the answer is yes, he can search the vehicle even without the owner present.
2007-06-18 16:11:30 · answer #6 · answered by SGT. D 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋
In answer to your question absolutley NO. Call the agency this officer was assigned to and talk to his zone Sgt. If that gets you nowhere request a conversation with the zone commander. This will get you high enough up the food chain.
If that still isnt doing it, contact the deputy chiefs desk for your city and talk to him or her. The officer has only line of eye sight purview in that situation.
2007-06-18 16:13:56 · answer #7 · answered by Ron N 5 · 2⤊ 3⤋
NO but if they were planning on towing it the police could have been just trying to find out who it belonged to so they could call them.
2007-06-18 16:09:45 · answer #8 · answered by truely human 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋
ohh no I dont think so. the car is known as private property therefore the officer had no right to enter the car without permission, reasonable cause, or a warrant to search the vehicle. shame on him! I bet he was California PD huh?!
2007-06-18 16:07:06 · answer #9 · answered by lani 3 · 1⤊ 5⤋
something caused proble cause..very vague and hazy..but no this was an illegal search..but the game wardern can search any vehicle if they think you were a poacher..so who knows how far the police can go in this Police state we are turning too
2007-06-18 16:08:37 · answer #10 · answered by paul y 3 · 1⤊ 3⤋