My passenger (cousin) and I, both from W.Va., were recently pulled over, me as driver him as passenger, taking him home at around 3:30 am one night. Upon getting my ID and insurance/registration, questioning who my passenger is and asking why I was speeding(i said i wasnt paying any attention), he also asked "so what do you have in the car?" to which I said "Us", and he said "are you getting attitude with me?" (i wasnt)...he then went back to his vehicle and returned a few minutes later and had me get out and walk around to the back of my vehicle where he said bluntly "why are you being such a d*ck" to which I said "im not", he then said "so you cant explain why you were speeding" i said "i already told you i just wasnt paying any attention, no other reason", he had me turn around so he could pat me down (nothing to be found) then said to me "i smell alcohol and i wanna know who's been drinking", I dont drink alcohol and I knew my cousin didnt drink all day since i was around him all day, so i told him the truth "theres no alcohol, I'll even take a breathalyzer if you want", he didnt seem interested...he then said turn back around and face him and i did, he wanted to know if he could search, i said "i dont agree with that" he said something about "why not?" and i said "because thats my right"...so basically our conversation was over at that point, and knowing he had nothing yet, he then begins to go around to the passenger side to mess with my passenger, who had been in the car still throughout this whole time (15 minutes or so), upon the door being opened and the cop patting the sitting passenger, a marijuana pipe inside a crown royal cloth bag(inside passengers coat pocket) was produced, about 2grams of marijuana or less, a set of scales, and several empty baggies (all in the bag in the pocket)...my passenger was then led back to where i was and seated beside me...the cop says very little to me for quite some time and I notice another vehicle pull up, the k9 unit, and the cop goes to my door turns my car off and takes my keys (on a keychain) out of the ignition, walks around to where I am and says "take your key off this keychain" which I did (which i later found out was a clever trick the officer will use to bypass having to get my permission to search, tho in this case i cant see how it applies since i had already said "no"), he then took the key back put it in the ignition, i guess turned on the air full blast and rolled the windows up and turned it back off and shut the doors so that the canine could be walked around the car...keep in mind after my cousin was removed from the car (a while before the dog ever got there) his pipe and pot were spread out over the top of my trunk for inspection purposes...so the dog is led all around the car several times, and once jumps and puts its paws on the trunk scratching my paint nicely, but as far as the dog "hitting" on anything, it simply didnt, and the only reason it jumped onto the trunk i assume is because they had the pot up there previously since there was nothing in the car to find....so after the dog is led away (since there was nothing to be found by the dog) the (now) 2 officers proceed to open my doors back up and toss my belongings around nicely and dump my drink all over the floor and dump my ashtrays all over everything, and again found nothing at all, nothing whatsoever, and so a tow truck was called and i was told i would have to pay the tow truck driver if i wanted to get my car back tonite or he could of course hold it until i was able to pay, which i thought "no i have 1000 bux worth of stereo equipment in there so i'll dish out the cash to get it back tonite"......so in closing my passenger was given a ticket for simple possession, I was given a ticket for driving what the officer claims was "92 in a 70", which I was absolutely NOT going 92 and most likely not even going 80, and "unsigned registration card", and another ticket for "left of center"....and we were let go....maybe I should be happy I "got off so easy" as he claimed...since he "couldve taken us straight to jail" except he was such a precious "nice guy"...but im left feeling like I was railroaded....the brother of my passenger is also a cop so later on that night he called the officer who pulled us over and the officer told him "i smelled pot"....now, my arguments are these, sure maybe i was going 80 in a 70, but i wasnt going 92, at any rate NOT ONE TIME THROUGH THE WHOLE ORDEAL was the "smell of pot" mentioned even once, in fact all he DID say to me was that he smelled alchohol which was absolutely not true as there was none or on either of our breath's OR in the car anywhere....ok....my problem is, if he had probable cause "smelled pot" why would he go to the trouble of asking my permission to search, and why would he go to the trouble of getting a dog....it seems to me that he did not smell pot in the least bit and only invented this after the fact....so if he can smell alcohol that isnt there why not say he smells pot too that may or may not be there....point being what recourse do i have? I feel that my rights were violated as well as the rights of my passenger, given that I dont believe for one moment he smelled pot, since he already discredited himself making up that he had smelled alcohol....plus my trunk was scratched up in the process of NOT FINDING A SINGLE THING.....which I already have the plan of suing them for the damage, but as far as the illegal searching based only on my speeding and refusal to let him search, what can be done if anything?
Granted this was a while ago but i'd still be interested in what you think about the whole situation...
Granted this was a while ago but i'd still be interested in what you think about the whole situation...
