Arrest, Search, Seizure, Warrant Important Question Regarding Illegal Searches

So, its started off when I first got pulled over in a town called Wheaton in the state of Illinois.
An officer pulled me over after following me for around 15 minutes.
He came to the car took my information and then said it smells like Pot.
I had not smoked any pot nor was there any pot in my car.
The officer continued to bring me outside the car, search me and my car.
They searched everything from the trunk to the front compartment and found nothing. I asked if the search they made was even legal and they claim because my car smelled like pot it was a legal search under suspicion.
They let me off with a warning claiming Inproper Lane Usage. I didnt think much of it.
About a week later, once again I get pulled over in the town of Wheaton.
This time they claim that I was in suspicion of a hit and run. Once again they pull me out, search me and my car, and find nothing. After this I started wondering if all this is even legal.
Now today as I was driving through Wheaton once again an undercover office turns on his lights two cars behind me. One car turns and stops, then the undercover officer stops. He immediatly comes to my car, gets all my information and pulls me and a friend out of the car. Now I asked why I had been pulled over and the officer said because it smelled like pot in my car.
I do not understand how an officer can smell pot in my car, from his vehicle especially considering the fact that I had no pot, nor had I smoked any pot in my car. Once again I am searched and my car is searched. They find nothing and once again give me a warning for "Improper Lane Usage". This time there is a passenger in my car that can testify that I had not done anything wrong.
Now I feel I am being targeted by the Wheaton Police and my Civil Liberties are being taken away.
Is there anything I can possibly do to get these police to stop illegally searching my car, under the suspicion that it smells like pot. I am almost afraid to even drive knowing that if I pass through Wheaton I will be Illegal stopped and Searched. Never once have I smoked pot in my car, nor have I ever had pot in my car.

I suspect there is more to this than your telling us. Why would three seperate Law Enforcement Officers pull you over? Anyways I can solve your problem dont drive through Wheaton:yes:

If this was me (and trust me cops love me for this kind of stuff) i would clean my car spotless then steam clean it, spray air freshener all over put a little tree on my rear view mirror and drive by that city's cop shop a few times. see what they say then. I have had problems with cops before and unreasonable stops. I was once stopped for running a red light it was late and i had 4 friends in my car, The cop stopped me took my info and then left none of my friends saw a red light and trust me i would have gotten a lot of flack from them if i had and even if a cop thought i ran a red light would never have let me off that easy. then as soon as he left i saw him not more than litterly 30 seconds later pulled some one elts over. So the moral of the story is some times cops are just bored and want to stop people or they are looking for a bonus. im not trying to offend any officers whom may read this but i think we can all agree there are such things as bad cops. you just gota live with it

Sorry not buying this just yet. You were stopped several times by different Officers. Your doing something that draws their attention! Your not that important that this Police force is picking you out of all the vehicles on road to stop. Carl!!! where are you !??

Marijuana has a distinctive odor that cannot be readily masked, nor does it go away for a very long time. If you or a passenger have ever smoked pot in your car, or if you or your passengers have clothes that have ever been in a room where people smoked pot in the last month, it is possible to smell that odor.

If you feel that you are being unfairly singled out and that the searches are being conducted unlawfully, contact the agency and make a complaint or speak to a civil rights attorney. Like Jacksgal, I am somewhat curious why all these officers would single you out without cause.

- Carl

Yes each time a different Officer pulled me over. Also Wheaton happens to be the town directly next to me (litterally a 5 minute walk to Wheaton) so me having to avoid Wheaton would be quite a hastle. I was pulled over as a minor (16) in Wheaton awhile back in which I pulled into a parking lot and was blocked in by an officer where they searched my car for trespassing because this parking lot happened to be a forest preserve parking lot. They found a glass pipe and charged me with paraphernalia. This was the only mark on my record and I am now an adult. I have been pulled over a total of around seven times in my life and every single time was in Wheaton (my car has been searched about five times). Also when I was being interrogated by the police, one of the officers said that someone told them I am a big "Doper". I havent smoked any pot in about a week and I dont smoke in my car. Also the car behind me that got pulled over happened to be someone I knew. Also the car behind me was searched and the officers asked me if I knew these people because Marijuana was found in there car, but the undercover agent ran to my car before he went to the car which I thought he was pulling over. This officer targeted me from two cars back and my car was the first car to be searched even though I have never smoked in my car, nor have I smoked pot in a week. I am going to make a complaint and am currently looking for a attorney to get a professional opinion.
No Marijuana has ever been found in my car nor will it ever be, but each time I get pulled over by rude officers and I feel like this is harrassment. One of the times an officer acually looked inside of my pants and under my scrotum for Marijuana which they have never found.

I am also wondering if it is possible to get a Private Investigator, to see if these officers are corrupt or not.

ev0lve said:

Yes each time a different Officer pulled me over.

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That implies either a big consopiracy, or something about you or your vehicle screams "dope".

They found a glass pipe and charged me with paraphernalia.

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Moral to the story ... keep your dope and paraphernalia at home.

I have been pulled over a total of around seven times in my life and every single time was in Wheaton (my car has been searched about five times).

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Some small towns have a lot of discretionary time on their hands. That means they have time to stop peopple that look suspicious ... provided the stops are made for a lawful reason.

Also when I was being interrogated by the police, one of the officers said that someone told them I am a big "Doper". I havent smoked any pot in about a week and I dont smoke in my car.

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Your belongings and your clothes can still smell like pot long after that week is up.

I am going to make a complaint and am currently looking for a attorney to get a professional opinion.

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As you should.

No Marijuana has ever been found in my car nor will it ever be, but each time I get pulled over by rude officers and I feel like this is harrassment.

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Most "harassment" is lawful. They would have to be making the stops and the searches without cause for there to be any action against them. I would HOPE that is not what they are doing. But, ya never know in some places ...

I am also wondering if it is possible to get a Private Investigator, to see if these officers are corrupt or not.

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That will be awfully expensive, but you can pay a PI to look in to most anything.

- Carl

Thanks for your help Carl, that answers basically all my questions.
Love this site, and will be apart of it from now on!

ev0lve said:

Thanks for your help Carl, that answers basically all my questions.
Love this site, and will be apart of it from now on!

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Not while under the influence I hope

Yeah, it may be a good idea to kick the drug habit, just a suggestion.

It is not unusual for a small town police force to target specific individuals. It sounds like you may have a very distinctive vehicle that has caught their attention. They cannot search your vehicle without your consent unless they have probable cause, it is incident to an arrest or if they tow your vehicle and do an inventory search.

I would suggest that you have an attorney make a complaint on your behalf. He would not have to reveal your name.

lwpat said:

I would suggest that you have an attorney make a complaint on your behalf. He would not have to reveal your name.

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Depending on the laws in his state, the agency may not have to investigate an anonymous complaint. Even if they can, it's kinda hard to make such an investigation if you don't have details.

But, if its possible, and if they can look into it, then maybe it'll be worth the money.

- Carl

Hi Again, I was just wondering if anyone knew any good websites to locate a civil rights attorney.

Yellowpages.com

You don't have any recourse except to file a complaint. If they had found something, you may have been able to get it excluded from introduction as evidence in your trial. You have no damages and no case.

I understand your problem. As someone who suffered a similar problem, I'd like to offer some non-legal practical advice.

Move.

Really. MOVE.

Get out of Dodge.

Quit smoking dope.

When I was in my mid twenties, I was harassed by a real piece of work of a cop in a town in western MA. He decided I was his special friend. I was poor and working odd jobs and lived in a slum of a house. I don't know why that cop didn't like me and I don't care why. He saw fit to stop me regularly, presented BS misdemeanor citations and searched my truck as often as not. He never found what wasn't there, but he often left my stuff scattered on the side of the road. Once the jerk left my jacket in a mud puddle.

I always fought his BS tickets, and had several tickets dismissed in a row. The district court was small enough that I saw the same judge for each of them. This judge had a pretty good memory and sharply criticized the officer in open court.

What happened after that was that the officer stopped me two or three times a week, did the same invasive search based on "probable cause", but never issued a citation, giving me no hard proof of harassment.

Eventually, I got a good job somewhere else and left that town. I drove that truck for quite a while because I owned it free and clear; and I wasn't stopped even once in much nicer places.

A badge and oath make a cop no better or worse than the were before they decided to become one. Irrespective of their character, they are vested with the authority to enforce the law, and can do so badly and subjectively. So...

Congratulations! YOU are public enemy number one in their podunk corner of God's front yard. They are not going to stop screwing with you. It's time to go somewhere else, or realize that they will do everything they can to ruin your life. It is important to have crime statistics to justify budget increases. You are effectively volunteering to be a hard statistic by doing the chicken dance in their crosshairs.

Also: Quit smoking the dope! That it hurts no one but you and shouldn't be illegal doesn't change the fact that it IS illegal and you are the lucky subject of extra special secret probation. They will bust your sorry ass and you will piss positive and you will be screwed for your hour of entertainment. No guns, no vote, no prospects. Give it up and stay free, armed and enfranchised.