Only in Texas: Body cavity search of scantily clad women on the motorway

[PLATO]

H Tower, I really don't believe anything a cop says without some sort of physical evidence to back it up. Did you see the video of the 4th of July DUI check point stop in Texas? The cops just get pissed off at a guy for insisting they obey the law and the constitution so they completely lie, fake a reaction from a drug dog (the handler verbally orders the dog to bark, it was caught on camera), and then ransack the guy's car all so they can "teach him a lesson". This is routine stuff out of cops; we see abuses like that over and over.

Yes, I saw this and was appalled. Further evidence of the new police state we live in. Thanks Al Qaeda...I guess you win after all.

BTW...this wasn't in Texas if I remember correctly.

[snoopy369]

Yeah, Aeson, I don't agree. If they're pulling you over for a BS reason in the first place, why are you assuming they're being reasonable in their search? Further, BS reasons for searches are not typically held up in court (assuming you have a competent lawyer).

At minimum, I'd ask the officer why he wanted to search my vehicle, and if he gave a reasonable and concrete reason I would probably show him whatever it was he was concerned about, but not consent to a general search. Anything like a cavity search they're going to have to take me into the station for.

[rah]

For me it depends on the circumstances. In general I agree with those that say don't allow it and stand up for your rights. But sometimes discretion is the better part of valor. If a redneck cop stops me and is looking for trouble, (which was common back in my long hair hippy days travelling cross country) and I had nothing to hide, letting them believe they were all powerful sometimes would satisfy their ego and minimize how bad they were going to abuse you. Pissing off cops that are looking to harass you is generally not a good idea. But now that I'm older and "more respectable" I'm more inclined to politely decline their requests. And there's a big difference being stopped by police in the vanilla villages of the suburbs and those on the south side of Chicago.

[Docfeelgood]

Yes, I saw this and was appalled. Further evidence of the new police state we live in. Thanks Al Qaeda...I guess you win after all.

BTW...this wasn't in Texas if I remember correctly.

I never said it was Texas, genius.
What is up with your poor reading comprehension?

[Ben Kenobi]

Been stopped twice. Have to remember to keep lights on. I'm a bit forgetful. Ironically those driving my car have been stopped more times than I have.

[Aeson]

Yeah, Aeson, I don't agree. If they're pulling you over for a BS reason in the first place, why are you assuming they're being reasonable in their search? Further, BS reasons for searches are not typically held up in court (assuming you have a competent lawyer).

I'm assuming that they're fishing for information if they ask. If I say no, it just makes me more suspicious. If I treat it like no big deal, they're more likely to as well.

The guy who wanted to search my car barely did. It surprised him that I just said "sure" offhanded and offered to open the doors (I had locked them when I got out) for him. He barely glanced in the front passenger seat, didn't even look in the back seat, and didn't even open the only container I had in the trunk.

Then I got a warning for driving too close to the lane line. BS of course. But probably he could have ticketed me for a BS reason too. (Like I'm going to want to show up to court in Texas ... I'd just pay the fine.) He pulled me over for a BS reason, was confrontational to start, and I got out of it just by not being a paranoid moron.

Cops are people too.

[Aeson]

Sorry but you sound naive. Incidentally I'm not 'pissing my pants' about anything, because I'm not stupid enough to give the police an open invite to do anything they like because I have 'nothing to hide'. Seriously how dumb do you have to be in the 21st century to trust the cops with this crap?

You sound like you've never really driven much around the US and definitely are pissing your pants about cops in general.

I'm a habitual speeder who spent much of my late teens and twenties making inter-state road trips (usually driving over-night). I've met a lot of cops because of that. The vast majority of them are honest people trying to do their jobs. Treat them with respect and courtesy and they're likely to do the same in return. Even when getting tickets, I always remained calm and friendly. Even when it started out confrontational it always ended friendly. There's no reason to bring a bunch of paranoid **** into a simple transaction. (I'm paying them a tax so I can cut an hour or two off my drive). No point *****ing to the cashier about prices.

(I learned this from my Dad, who also traveled by car a lot ... more than most truck drivers ... and almost always got out of tickets.)

[SlowwHand]

nm

[kentonio]

You sound like you've never really driven much around the US and definitely are pissing your pants about cops in general.

What does driving around the US have to do with anything? Cops are cops. They all have to deal with a daily diet of human crap and because of that become the same jaded asses as a result. The job also attracts a certain proportion of applicants who join so they can exert power over others. Your point about treating them with respect and courtesy is a perfectly good one, there's no reason to mouth off at cops and it won't help you to do so, but equally submitting to searches you don't have to submit to is ridiculous and stupid, and as an adult you should know better if you've opened a newspaper or news website in the last 20 years or so.

[MOBIUS]

You sound like you've never really driven much around the US and definitely are pissing your pants about cops in general.

I'm a habitual speeder who spent much of my late teens and twenties making inter-state road trips (usually driving over-night). I've met a lot of cops because of that. The vast majority of them are honest people trying to do their jobs. Treat them with respect and courtesy and they're likely to do the same in return. Even when getting tickets, I always remained calm and friendly. Even when it started out confrontational it always ended friendly. There's no reason to bring a bunch of paranoid **** into a simple transaction. (I'm paying them a tax so I can cut an hour or two off my drive). No point *****ing to the cashier about prices.

(I learned this from my Dad, who also traveled by car a lot ... more than most truck drivers ... and almost always got out of tickets.)

Courteous and polite. End of story!

As another habitual speeder (Speeding tickets/stopped for speeding in 5 countries and curiously proud of it!), I suppose I've met more than my fair share of cops. When it comes to face to face stops for speeding/traffic infractions, I'm 5 out of 7 getting out of them! As for the last two, one was straight after being caught doing the stupidest thing I've ever done driving a car in my life, and I don't blame her for the fine/points, and the other was a simple money making exercise against foreign drivers on the Spain/Andorra border...

Courteous, polite, feign ignorance, believable story. Don't give them an excuse other than why they've stopped you in the first place. In fact I bet even the bent cops might tend to think if someone is nice to them that they might let them off...

It's those ****ing speed cameras you can't charm!

[rah]

Cops are cops. They all have to deal with a daily diet of human crap and because of that become the same jaded asses as a result. The job also attracts a certain proportion of applicants who join so they can exert power over others.

I don't think it's quite fair to paint the typical officer with that broad brush. I'll concede that there are some, but the majority of those that I've known were decent people that joined to help people.
By not treating them respect we're training them to do the same to us. I am aware that there will always be some that will never treat them with respect.

[Aeson]

What does driving around the US have to do with anything?

Yes, what does the context of the thread and my post you are responding to have to do with anything?

Your point about treating them with respect and courtesy is a perfectly good one, there's no reason to mouth off at cops and it won't help you to do so, but equally submitting to searches you don't have to submit to is ridiculous and stupid, and as an adult you should know better if you've opened a newspaper or news website in the last 20 years or so.

Perspective bias. You never hear about the millions of perfectly normal interactions with police officers that happen every day. Instead, you hear a bad story once every once in a while and then think it's significant because you can't think for yourself and just accept whatever the latest media craze is telling you reality is like. Then you start crapping your pants about it and fearing a cop looking in your car.

Even sadder, you can't see how the victims in these sensational cases you're spoon-fed suffered even when they did what you suggest (eg. not give permission). You just think saying no or not cooperating would somehow magically protect people. You're just paranoid of cops to the point of not being capable of rational thought about the matter.

[Pax]

What does driving around the US have to do with anything? Cops are cops. They all have to deal with a daily diet of human crap and because of that become the same jaded asses as a result. The job also attracts a certain proportion of applicants who join so they can exert power over others. Your point about treating them with respect and courtesy is a perfectly good one, there's no reason to mouth off at cops and it won't help you to do so, but equally submitting to searches you don't have to submit to is ridiculous and stupid, and as an adult you should know better if you've opened a newspaper or news website in the last 20 years or so.

I've been a Police Officer for about 4 years now. Like someone said, there are a lot of different types of Cops.
You have a point about not submitting to a search. It does makes it harder for an Officer to find evidence of a crime, however, 1. If you have nothing to hide then there is nothing to find and 2. If the cops are as crooked as you say then they will find a reason/justification to do a search without your permission.
In this case, I don't know that these women agreed to a body cavity search.
Laws and procedures vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction but...
I don't believe that it is common practice to search inside vaginas(body cavities) on the side of the road.
Even if you agree to a search you can withdraw permission at any time and the officer must stop the search.
Most Officers error on the side of caution when it comes to the law. "Catch them tomorrow" is a phrase that comes too mind. Instead of breaking a law myself, If I don't smell marijuana, why lie and do an illegal search, risking losing my job and being incarcerated myself. Criminals are not going anywhere. In the Academy, they say that if you have too dig deep into the law books to find a charge then you need to go ahead and let the person go.
If an Officer has to push it to the point where they have to violate rights then I question how good they are at there job. An Officer should be able to make arrests, issue tickets and etc without breaking the law himself.
I also think that the image I have of the Cop on this call smelling around peoples vaginas for marijuana is hilarious if it was on Reno 911 or whatever the show is called but in real life....

[kentonio]

I don't think it's quite fair to paint the typical officer with that broad brush. I'll concede that there are some, but the majority of those that I've known were decent people that joined to help people.

Maybe true, but it seems that many years on the force does have a pretty dehumanizing effect on people. Whatever their initial reasons for joining, after facing human misery for a decade how are they expected to muster the same compassion for people time after time, especially if they see people becoming victims because of seemingly obvious mistakes. What can be earthshattering to you can be nothing more than a day to day occurrence to them.

By not treating them respect we're training them to do the same to us. I am aware that there will always be some that will never treat them with respect.

Who said anything about not treating them with respect though? Not consenting to a search doesn't have to be disrespectful.

[PLATO]

My experience with cops is that they are generally decent when treated decent. However, try to stand on your rights and they become overbearing, controlling, azzholes. They want you to do whatever they say...when they say. Granted, most of the time it is legit stuff, but when it isn't then they morph into near Nazis. Sorry Pax...I am sure that you don't fit into "most" cops, but I am also sure you have seen this in your fellow officers to some extent.