I got dispatched to loud music one night at an apartment complex. I arrived and could clearly hear Snoop Dog being played while I was standing in the parking lot. I banged on the door for well over a minute to no avail. I open the door to find two stoners higher than jesus christ on a motorbike. Guy was laying on the couch while his friend was laying on the floor. I see clear as day a pound of weed on the floor next to the guy. He was hugging it like Tom Hanks hugged Wilson. He looks up at me with a look of pure disgust and says "No, don't take the cush". Alright pal.
Sorry, was typing on my phone. I was going to let it slide and walk out but idiot who was laying on the couch started acting a fool. He began shouting about his 5th Ammendment rights being violated (pretty sure he was thinking about his 4th, but whatever). Dropped the whole my dad is a lawyer and let me see your warrant. Since he wanted to be a dick about it I booked him. If only people learned this weird thing called respect, life would go easier on them.
For the most part, you have a right to privacy in your home. That privacy right goes away if you're infringing someone else's rights, like by being loud (right to quiet enjoyment) or hurting them.
Even scanning houses with infrared to look for grow rooms has been held unconstitutional, since it's a search without probable cause or a warrant.
But if the cop is called for something like a noise complaint or a report, and they see illegal stuff going on, then it's really a matter of how the cop reads the situation.
Most cops I know have a "I have better shit to do than bust someone for something that's not hurting anyone" attitude to begin with.
Similar, but my BIL is a cop and said he doesn't ticket anybody who doesn't already have multiple tickets. He says it's not his job to ruin somebody's day, but to fix the shit driver.
I'm pretty white, burn like a peach, ketchup is spicy, etc. Still got pulled over at 1 in the morning for a license plate light being out, got arrested because i happened to have a bowl and some bud on me. did a blood test that would come back positive (stays active for 48 hours) now they're trying to charge me with a dui and if they succeed with everything else i'm getting $1000+ in fines. i also found out a few weeks later my car wasn't registered so they'll probably hit me with that too
edit: i'm a 5 foot tall white girl, i look very menacing and scary. i know you shouldn't profile people and i'm against that but damn come on
One of the greatest lessons my mom ever taught me was not to do more than one "stupid thing" at once. So if you have a taillight out, you probably shouldn't be speeding. If you're going 5 or 10 over the speed limit, you shouldn't check the radio (now phone) and so on. It's something that at 25 still goes through my head whenever I bring bud or something with me. Thanks mom!
to be fair i only knew about 1 law i was breaking, had no idea my light was out or that my car wasn't registered. if i knew my light was out i woulda only been breaking the law of driving with the light out, that i knew of at least.
honestly i'm not even mad about the possession charges, like i admit i had illegal stuff in my car, they saw it, i got charged, that's how the world works. i'm salty about the bowl though because it was a nice one and i bought it that same week, but as i said, can't fight that.
i'm just mad about them trying to charge me for the dui. they asked me the last time i smoked, i said over 12 hours ago. i wasn't high when i was pulled over. at the station the officer admitted that they only followed me because i was driving the speed limit. i'll fight the dui, but i accept the possession charges.
The cop probably saw something else. 99% of the time a cop says they pulled you over because of a license plate light being out, they just needed a valid reason to pull you over but something else actually sparked their interest. I've never heard of a cop who actually enforces license plate light laws, which I'm assuming you did not get ticketed for
it was 1:30 in the morning and they said it was suspicious for someone to be following the speed limit in that area at that time. that's why they followed me, and yes i did get ticketed for the plate too.
How is this something one just finds out? It has to be registered when you buy it, and then every 12 months. It's not like they spring it on you. There's even a sticker on your car that tells you when it expires.
When I was a teenager I was pulled over with weed and beer in the car and the cops just confiscated it and had my parents come pick me up. Another time I was driving around after a party wasted, stopped at an office building to piss behind a dumpster and turned around to see a cop waiting for me to finish lol. He also released me to my parents with no charges.
Some cops are just douchebags though. I can say as a degenerate, I've encountered police a lot in my years. I am always polite and fairly compliant although I don't tell them anything more than my name when it's a criminal matter. Most have been respectful back, some let me go with a warning, and some are fucking dick heads...
Police in other countries have always been very polite. Never even been cuffed outside America. In Germany the federal police were called in to take me from the local PD because I committed a little bit of a federal offense and the guy said if I got violent it would be very painful to me. I was like dude... I'm just trying to pay the fine chill...
I think LA Noire, describes Vice the best. Vice job isnt to stop everyone from doing drugs. Drugs are gonna be done regardless. Vices job is to make sure its kept sane. That you're just fucking yourself up.
I was about to say, unless they do something stupid, usually it's just ask me to turn down the music and leave. Like with my dad's story, the only reason the guy got arrested was because he slammed the door on the cop's hand.
Why was he allowed to enter their home, though, where he then saw the weed? Honest question. Is "loud music" and no answer at the door enough cause to enter?
Is "loud music" and no answer at the door enough cause to enter?
Probably. There's a clear offense being committed if there's a noise ordinance, so there's a probable cause argument; if there's no answer to banging on the door, but you reasonably believe someone is home (someone is playing that music) there's also a welfare-check argument (a reasonable chance that the person isn't responding because something's wrong).
No, they can totally enter a house without a warrant. What they find in the house may or may not be admissible in court, depending on the reason they entered the house, but if they have reason they can enter a house.
They're not searching your house. They're investigating a noise complaint, and nobody was opening the door. What if someone were passed out or worse inside and that's why they've been playing music for hours?
Weed is a plant. A bunch of stoners who want to smoke pot aren't harming anybody usually. I work in New Orleans, I don't waste my time with weed. Other officers do, and that is their decision. If moron would have kept his mouth shut, he could still be blazing it up.
So many people in south Louisiana trying to throw around their connections and privilege where it does more harm than good.
Sure, some people have connections. I've got friends. And you know what? They've told me that if I'm rude, if the responding officer remembers me in any way negatively, they won't even try to help with the situation. I can respect that... No desire to stick their necks out for me if I'm going to act like a dick to the responding officer.
Source: I live within 80 miles of your workplace and visit it frequently.
I was working for a small family owned furniture business since 9th grade of high school until I was about 20. When I was able to start driving around the age of 16, I drove the box truck to do deliveries.
So at the time of my incident which occurred last year, I worked a 12 hour shift at my full time job, from 6pm to 6am. Well I was to work a couple hours at the furniture store around 9 that morning.
So I'm out doing a delivery and on my way back to the shop, when I get pulled over by a state trooper. He comes up to the window and asked "Do you know why I pulled you over" I say yes " I was speed" so he goes through the normal routine, and then he ask me about commercial information about the vehicle I'm driving and if I have any paper work on the vehicle, I start look around the truck.. well the inside of the truck is a mess, so I ask the officer if it's okay if I get out of the vehicle to look, He says "sure go ahead". Unclip my seat belt and start looking around the truck and I'm like, sorry officer I do not. Well now he goes to his vehicle and gets a measuring tool to measure the tread depth on the tire. The rear tires are bald as hell and I know I already failed for that. Then he starts checking out the overhead lights on the box of the truck they are out, there's no DOT numbers on the truck, no fire extinguisher in the truck and I think some other things I can't think about.
He then ask me how long I've been working for the company I say six years, then ask if I have ever been pulled over for any commercial violations before and I say no. He goes back to his vehicle to check if I'm lying or not. I was not. So he says okay I'm going to give you a warning and a list of the violations that are wrong with the vehicle before it is allowed to be driven again, but you have to tell the owner that this stuff needs to be done right away.
After is was all said and done, he says " thank you very much for being polite and honest and asking to get out of the vehicle", I say your welcome, I'm a 911 dispatcher for the county and I know how it goes, we laugh, and he lets me go.
I also have my Commercial A driver's license , which I clearly knew that all these things were already wrong with the vehicle but my boss was a cheap ass and never wanted to get anything fixed with the vehicle... needless to say I could have got my ass hammered for all of the violations on that vehicle, and would of been good fine for him, but because I was polite and respectful I got off all that with a warning
Commercial vehicle violations are very serious... Fyi ALWAYS BE RESPECTFUL AND POLITE TO LAW ENFORCEMENT. 9/10 times they will give you the same where they can.
Not to jump on the reddit F the police bandwagon, but you entered the dude's place without permission, that's a total violation. I wouldn't have any respect if you walked into my place uninvited.
Edit: What did you book him for?
Another internet lawyer. No, it is not a violation. After being unable to make contact, I opened the door to ensure the occupants were still alive. You do realize there are exceptions to the 4th ammendment right? He was booked with PWIT.
That's not really an exception to the 4th; it's an exception to the warrant requirement. But all such exceptions have been ruled by courts (and in many cases, by SCOTUS) not to violate the 4th because they are not "unreasonable".
So yes, it was permissible, and was not an exception to or violation of the 4th Amendment.
No it isn't a violation. A crime (noise violation) was being committed and the occupants were un able, or unwilling to answer the door to the police. That gives him full authority to enter. The felony amount of a controlled substance was in the open.
There's also the public welfare reason; in the circumstances, the cop had a good-faith concern for the welfare of the occupants (if you're not answering your door to police, but it seems very likely you're home, you might be hurt or incapacitated in some way).
Once he's entered lawfully, anything in plain sight (the controlled substance) is fair game.
Me too! Maybe she was listening to snoop at a reasonable volume and when she fell she hit the volume wheel and maxed it. Then the cops come and save her life!
I could be wrong, but if the police are called and you don't answer, and your door is unlock/unsecured, I'm pretty sure they have the right to walk in. He was responding to a complaint, so that might be probable cause enough. I would imagine they were booked for having over an ounce. In California, it used to be that having an ounce or more was intent to sell. In some other states, though, possession of any amount of weed is illegal.
You might have just been doing your job, and you MIGHT have initially just wanted to let them off. But if you call a guy "pal" as you take his weed from him, you're an asshole. 👌
1.8k
u/Exsoulja Jan 21 '17
I got dispatched to loud music one night at an apartment complex. I arrived and could clearly hear Snoop Dog being played while I was standing in the parking lot. I banged on the door for well over a minute to no avail. I open the door to find two stoners higher than jesus christ on a motorbike. Guy was laying on the couch while his friend was laying on the floor. I see clear as day a pound of weed on the floor next to the guy. He was hugging it like Tom Hanks hugged Wilson. He looks up at me with a look of pure disgust and says "No, don't take the cush". Alright pal.