Where are all the experts now? With the wealth of knowledge of policing that everybody has here I thought I'd have an answer by now. What's the guys' lawyer gonna say? Everyone here feels free to criticize, well c'mon. You are the experts on laws of arrest, search and seizure, explain what to do with the guy. Its all so simple now isnt it?
You wouldnt want him "hassled" though, would ya? He's just sitting there, plenty of legitimate reasons for that, maybe the car's broke down, maybe he just feels a little tired and wants to rest. Maybe he is gonna pick up his niece so she doesnt have to walk home from school, all those kidnappers out there, he'll protect her. No harm in that, right? He was'nt convicted after all so he must be innocent. It is a public street anyway, he's got as much right to be there as anybody?
C'mon you Probable Cause experts, help out here. When you get called in to the Sheriff's office to meet this guy's attorney, whatcha gonna say?
I believe that's my cue.
Okay, where were we? The subject of multiple Aggravated Sexual Assault/Child investigations is sitting in front of a school with a busted tail-light on his car.
Deputy Sheriff LawDog passed the time of day with the subject, filled out a FI card, checked him for warrants and Protective Orders, glanced inside the passenger compartment of the car, and cited him for a Defective Tail-light.
Now his attorney is in the Sheriff's Office.
Why?
For the FI card? Field Interview Cards are filled out by the dozens, if not hundreds, every day. Even in college departments. No one gets sued because an FI card was filled out.
For the 27/29 check? A routine check of Name and DOB? Again, happens hundreds, if not thousands, of times every day throughout the State of Texas.
The plain view check of the interior of the car? Get serious.
The fact that a citation was issued? Umm...lawyers fight traffic tickets in court, not in the Sheriff's Office. Unless the allegation is that
I broke the tail-light prior to writing the ticket
a la Porky's. In which case the Sheriff would have already pulled my dash-cam tape and checked.
There is no reason for an attorney to be in the office of the Sheriff if the situation is handled the way I stated.
Now, on the other paw, if Deputy Centac just searched three cars in a row for no other reason than they had coffee cans in the back-seat, well, that's another story.
LawDog