Can a cop pull me over, search me and my vehicle just for being "suspicious"?

Question

I was pulled over the other day when I was leaving work because I was "suspicious" plus my registration tags had expired.so I showed my insurance, Drivers License, etc. and of course I'm clean, no suspensions or warrants.....so the cop then orders me out of the vehicle, makes me spread my legs and frisks me from head to toe, then he makes me sit down 20 feet away by a tree while he searches my car. He asked if I had any problems with it, I said No, just because I know I didn't have any drugs or anything plus I am scared of the cops.....so anyways, he takes 20 minutes to search it through, makes everything a mess, because of him I'm also late back to work....once he's done, he thanks me for my cooperation and lets me go....does he have the right to do this? I don't hate him or anything, I just feel humiliated that he had to do this for no reason...I have never had problems with the law or anything, all this because he said I was driving "suspiciously" whatever thats means!?!?!

Answer 1

I have actually talked to a cop about this. He told me that they are actually not allowed to search your car if you say no. That's why they have to ask. If you give them permission than they will. If you say no, they can't because they don't have a warrant. It's is your right to say no to them. It's in the constitution. The cop said that yes they will ask if they think that you are suspicous. If a cop does search your car and you said no and they didn't find anything in your car, you can take it to court and sue the cop for doing that. People have done it before. It's your right of privacy. Don't let them fool you. They can however look in your windows with a flashlight if you are in your car. The only time they can't do anything is if you are out of your car.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

The stop is valid because your tag is expired. You don't say why he thought you were suspicious but it is moot since he had a valid traffic violation (which is probable cause) to stop you on. All an officer needs to make a traffic stop is reasonable suspicion which is a lower standard then probable cause.

The search was also valid because you consented to it. The officer asked you if you had a problem with the search and you told him you didn't. That constitutes a valid consent search.

So the stop was valid and the search is valid. I can stop any car for a valid reason and ask for consent to search. I don't have to have a specific reason to ask for consent, I can just ask.

You should have asked him to write you a warning ticket or something so you could show your boss you got stopped.

By the way Mr. Knowitall posted something about Ronald Reagan being the reason why Police can search you and pat you down because you are suspicious. He is all wet. Terry v. Ohio is the Supreme Court Case that developed 'reasonable suspicion'. This case determined that officers can approach and question (and pat down) people for being suspicious. This case was in 1968 which is way before Reagan took office.
Here is a link:
http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/search/display.html?terms=terry+v.+ohio&url=/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0392_0001_ZO.html

Answer 4

Well the fact that your registration tags had expired may give them cause to believe that you were behaving suspiciously.
You may have done something when driving without realising. Perhaps you were tired and just lost concentration momentarily. He may have run a check on the plates and it came back as tags expired. For all he knows you may have stolen the vehicle. He is not a mind reader. It is his job to investigate.

Where I come from if your registration tags have expired we get a fine of over $500. We are then not allowed to drive the vehicle and are given so many days to register it. On top of that we get three demerit points - once you have 12 demerit points we lose our licence. This happened to friends of ours. They forgot to post the payment. They were returning home from visiting a very sick relative with their three children in the car and it was like midnight. They were given the choice to leave their car on the side of the road, have it towed back to their residence or renew the tags over the phone with credit card. The police put a big sticker saying not to be driven across the windscreen. They then had to ring a relative to come and get them so they could get home. It ended up being a very expensive exercise and embarrassing.

Also, where I live - a police officer has the right to ask someone their name, address, date of birth etc without needing a reason. However, if there is anything that arouses suspicion that a person may be engaged in criminal behaviour or that he/she has been involved in a crime the Police have the right to search the individual, their vehicle, property and to question them

Really the reason you were late for work is because you were driving a car with expired tags. Also in hindsight it was no reason, but the police officer did not know that at the time. People do not go around with a big sign that says I have been in trouble with the police before so I am a suspicious person as an indicator to the police to say it is okay to question that person. Also people do not look good or bad. It is just your actions, which may be quite innocent to you, but the police dont know until they investigate. They dont know you or your history. They dont know that when you are scared you shuffle or fidget and therefore may look suspicious. The other thing is, getting pulled over by the police can be nerve wracking. Sometimes the way we behave when nervous or upset can come across as acting in a suspicious manner. You said you are scared of the cops - and being scared can make us look suspicious. Unfortunately, they have the difficult job of investigating things and making decisions based on limited information. It is difficult.

It must have been quite embarrassing. I would have been beside myself.

Answer 5

Not just for being suspicious, no.

You did, however, have expired tags. That was probable cause to pull you over.

He ASKED for permission to search your car. You could have said no. Then he would have needed more than "driving suspiciously" to search it against your will.

Answer 6

There is a case recoginized by the US Supreme Court, Carroll v. United States, also known as The Carroll Doctrine.

It states you have a lesser expectation of privacy in your car, and all the police need is a reasonable suspicion to search. You do not need a warrant to search a car. If you have enough for a warrant, you have enough to satisfy the requirements of the Carroll Doctrine.

Expired registration is a valid reason to stop you, but you don't say what his reason was for searching. What exactly was "suspicious"? If it was something reasonable, he was justified. If not, he should not have searched, except that you did tell him you didn't have a problem with it.

If you would have told him you did not consent to the search, it would have worked in your favor had he found something illegal.

Answer 7

It's gotten to be a sort of gray area. The Bill of Rights makes it clear that you can't be stopped or searched except with 'probable cause'.

But in the real world, cops have gotten more and more power over the last few years. Before Reagan was president a cop couldn't stop you if you were just walking down the street and ask to see your ID just because he thought you looked 'suspicious'. Now cops are able to do that, to frisk you, to search your car, etc., without having to show probable cause.

All of these new police powers come from decisions made by the Supreme Court in the last 25 years or so. Of the 9 justices on the Supreme Court, two were chosen by Reagan, two by the first president Bush and two by this president Bush. All of these Republican presidents promised to pick judges that would make abortion illegal. But the people they picked did not all turn out to be pro-choice. If one thing can be said about ALL the Supreme Court justices picked by Reagan and the Bushes, it is that they ALL seemed to believe in more police power, more power for prosecutors in trials and less for defenders and judges.

And that is basicaly why a cop can just stop you for no apparent reason and search your car.

Answer 8

Same thing happened to me when I was your age, stop by Police 4 or 5 times in one year, and frisked for being "suspicious"! It was LA, cops are crazy in that town, left there and never happened again, of course I just show my badge now, but……

Answer 9

Unfortunately you don't say what country you are from. Canadian law prohibits the search of any vehicle without reason. Now I understand in the US when you told the cop you had no problem with his searching your car, you in fact gave him permission. Why would you be scared of the "Cops" Innocent people are not scared of the cops!

Answer 10

The expired tags didn't help, let's face it. But you do -not- "have" to allow a police man into your car unless there is something in "plain view" that warrants the search, or he has a warrant, or you give him permission to search. Look it up on the ACLU web site.
It didn't "help" that you are black, wearing a baseball cap on backwards either. Racism is an unfortunate fact of life.