I drive down from Atlanta to Savannah periodically to visit my family. Invariably I’ll pass by some poor soul having their car searched by the police. Sometimes I’ll pass a number of such stops on each leg of the trip.
In the past I have attributed the increased activity to police fundraising to support their local municipality, set my cruise control and drove through. I figured I wouldn’t give the police a reason to stop me and didn’t have anything to worry about.
I often wondered what these people had done to merit police interest.
I’ve learned over time the answer is: nothing.
Apparently the police can make up any old excuse to pull you over and search your car.
What happened to probable cause, you ask? What did happen to probable cause?
It no longer seems to exist.
The AJC has reported that former Atlanta Falcon Warrick Dunn was pulled over and searched by police south of Atlanta for absolutely no reason.
Dunn posted a series of tweets that said,
Got pulled over today by police outside of atl and they stopped me because he said my window tint was too dark. During the stop he ask a lot of personal questions and said I had the characteristic of people transporting drugs and guns. So he searched my car and he me a warning for my tint. I felt violated and I’ve had my car since 08 and never got pulled over for tint. That ruined my morning but not my spirit. I was Taken back because I think the reasoning was bad and they are trying to fill end of the month quotas. Also its a holiday weekend. Go figure. The funny thing is you can see inside because my tint is not dark.
The cops manufactured a thin excuse to pull Dunn over. According to his tweet, Dunn said the police more or less admitted that he’d been profiled.
What would have happened if someone that had been in the car had left a few grams of marijuana under the car seat that Dunn didn’t even know about? An innocent man would have ended up in jail.
It appears that the Supreme Court just gave the police carte blanche when it comes to warrantless searches.
They ruled that if the cops think they smell something illegal like marijuana coming from your house or apartment, the police may enter and search without a warrant. Presumably this reduction of power in the 4th Amendment now extends to your vehicle if the police think they have reason to search it.
But how are the cops smelling the pot in your car as you drive down the road? Do they observe something you’ve done wrong and then call for the K-9 unit?
No, innocent people minding their own business and obeying the law are being stopped on suspicion of excess window tint.
Are you kidding me?
You mean to tell me that the TSA can’t profile Muslims from certain countries known to harbor terrorists, but the police can manufacture excuses to profile a law abiding former NFL star who still contributes much to the community?
Something is very wrong with this picture.
former NFL star Warrick Dunn
Speak Your Mind