Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1998 15:23:20 -0600
Reply-To: David Chasteen <dchaz@GTE.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: David Chasteen <dchaz@GTE.NET>
Subject: Re: Is it me or is it my Westy?--long
In-Reply-To: <364C8968.4C95389D@concentric.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
My 2 cents. After being involved in and with law enforcement for many
years, a refusal of a search request will most likely result in a warrant to
search being obtained from your local red-neck magistrate and you spending
many hours on the side of the road while they literally rip your van apart.
If you have nothing to hide, let the cop search. Its easy to blame law
enforcement for being too harsh, but they have a job to do too.
I relate to the comment about the middle-aged guy with a goatee. That's me
to a tee, deadhead sticker included. Of course driving a "hippie van"
doesn't help either.
Anyway, lighten up. If you were in a hurry, you wouldn't be driving a
Vanagon!
Chaz
'82 Westy "Peewee"
Brownfield, Texas
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@vanagon.com]On Behalf Of
Steve
Sent: Friday, November 13, 1998 1:33 PM
To: vanagon@VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Is it me or is it my Westy?--long
This story disturbs me. I won't get up on my soapbox and wax eloquently
about the constitution, freedom and all the lives lost to win and maintain
it. I will say that if we don't demand it and don't require it and we
simply allow it to be taken away...it will be taken away. So please,
don't let the police search you unless there is some obvious reason for
them to do so. The request can be politely declined. I assure you that
the cop wouldn't want to be searched without cause either, and he knows he
that by law...under the 4th amendment to the United States Constitution,
he can't without cause. He is supposed to uphold the law, not undermine
or break it. Require that he obey the law, too. It's your law, not his.
steve
John Koloen wrote:
> I had an unusual experience this week while driving my '87 Westy from
> Texas to Wisconsin. It happened in the Sooner state. Not long after
> passing the Texas-Oklahoma border on I-35 a state trooper appeared in
> my rearview. He followed me for a few miles, came alongside, then went
> on his way. I thought it odd but continued. About two miles from the
> Oklahoma-Kansas border the trooper reappeared in my rearview. This
> time he turned on his lights and pulled me over.
> He came up to the driver's side window claiming that I had driven over
> the right-side white line three times. Of course, I knew I hadn't. It
> was about 4 p.m. He suggested I must have been tired. He asked for my
> license and insurance card, and then we went to his car where he wrote
> out a "warning" ticket. A warning to not do something I didn't do?
> Then he got to his real intentions. After giving me the warning he
> asked if I was carrying contraband. I said no. Then he asked if I
> would allow him to search my vehicle. Ah, ha! Of course, I let him do
> it. And, of course, there was no contraband.
> What I figure is that he was near the end of his shift and needed a
> bust and thought a middle-aged guy with a goattee driving a VW van had
> to be up to something. Or, he was a fan of Oklahoma or Oklahoma State
> and didn't like it that the University of Texas beat both teams. The
> funniest thing was that when he pulled away and headed for the nearest
> exit ramp his rear tire crossed the right-side line twice in less than
> half a mile. Perhaps he was just tired.
> Anybody else have similar experience in a VW? I'm sure if I was in my
> pickup I would never have caught his attention. I'm thinking about
> putting on a bumper sticker that says "No contraband inside," or "I'm
> not a drug smuggler." -- John
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