The "DUI checkpoint" thread has prompted me to share a recent experience.
Let me preface this by saying that I am not a kid, by any stretch, and I do not have a chip on my shoulder regarding LEO. I am a middle-aged, clean cut professional and I make it a point to treat police officers with respect.
A few weeks ago, I was stopped for speeding in Houston by a Harris county constable. The officer alleges I was going 14 MPH over the posted limit. After I pulled over to the side of the freeway, taking extra care to get far enough off the road to make the stop as safe as possible, I put my car in park, rolled the window down, turned on the interior light, and placed both hands on the steering wheel. I then waited for the officer to approach my vehicle.
It was a few minutes after 11pm and it was one of the coldest nights of the year. When the officer approached my window, his demeanor did not hide the fact that he was very angry. I was hoping to get some brownie points for the way I had handled myself in preparation for his approach. No such luck. The officer begins barking at me like a drill sergeant. "Do you have ANY idea how fast you were going?" "No, sir," I repsond. He then proceeds to ask me a series of personal questions:
Where are you going?
Where are you coming from?
Have you been drinking? (I had not)
Foolishly, I politely answered them all. After the questions, he asked me for my DL and proof of insurance. As I open my wallet to get my DL, the officer is looking over my shoulder and shining his light on me. As I'm pulling out my DL, he notices my CHL. "What is that!?," he demanded. I told him it was an expired CHL and that I was not in possession of a gun. The officer instructs me to give him my CHL, tells me to sit tight, and walks back to his patrol car.
About ten minutes later, two more patrol cars arrive at the scene. The original officer approaches my window again and says, "I'm going to ask you one time ONLY. Do you have a firearm in this vehicle? Do not lie to me. If you have gun in this car and produce it now, you are going to have a problem, but if you lie to me and I have to find it on my own, you are going to have a much bigger problem." I politely explained to him that I was not carrying a gun and had not carried a gun since my CHL expired. He then asked permission to search my vehicle. I declined. He then walked back to his car to confer with the other back-up officers who were standing around.
22 minutes later, he and the back-up officers approached my vehicle and instructed me to get out of the car. I stepped out of the vehicle, he frisked me and handcuffed me. They instructed me to sit down on the side of the freeway and told me that they were going to search the car. To be clear, I said to the officers, "Just so there's no miscommunication, I did not give you permission to search my vehicle." The officer responds, "We don't need your permission. An expired CHL is probable cause."
So for the next 10 minutes, 3 officers conducted one of the most thorough vehicle searches that I can imagine, while I nearly froze to death on the side of a busy freeway with traffic whizzing by at 70 MPH less than 15ft from me. They removed all contents from my vehicle and placed it on the side of the freeway. They even pulled the carpet up from the footwell and looked under the carpet.
After the officers had completed their search, the original officer went to his car and wrote the speeding ticket. He came back, removed the cuffs, gave me the ticket and my licenses back, and told me to have a good evening.
Let me preface this by saying that I am not a kid, by any stretch, and I do not have a chip on my shoulder regarding LEO. I am a middle-aged, clean cut professional and I make it a point to treat police officers with respect.
A few weeks ago, I was stopped for speeding in Houston by a Harris county constable. The officer alleges I was going 14 MPH over the posted limit. After I pulled over to the side of the freeway, taking extra care to get far enough off the road to make the stop as safe as possible, I put my car in park, rolled the window down, turned on the interior light, and placed both hands on the steering wheel. I then waited for the officer to approach my vehicle.
It was a few minutes after 11pm and it was one of the coldest nights of the year. When the officer approached my window, his demeanor did not hide the fact that he was very angry. I was hoping to get some brownie points for the way I had handled myself in preparation for his approach. No such luck. The officer begins barking at me like a drill sergeant. "Do you have ANY idea how fast you were going?" "No, sir," I repsond. He then proceeds to ask me a series of personal questions:
Where are you going?
Where are you coming from?
Have you been drinking? (I had not)
Foolishly, I politely answered them all. After the questions, he asked me for my DL and proof of insurance. As I open my wallet to get my DL, the officer is looking over my shoulder and shining his light on me. As I'm pulling out my DL, he notices my CHL. "What is that!?," he demanded. I told him it was an expired CHL and that I was not in possession of a gun. The officer instructs me to give him my CHL, tells me to sit tight, and walks back to his patrol car.
About ten minutes later, two more patrol cars arrive at the scene. The original officer approaches my window again and says, "I'm going to ask you one time ONLY. Do you have a firearm in this vehicle? Do not lie to me. If you have gun in this car and produce it now, you are going to have a problem, but if you lie to me and I have to find it on my own, you are going to have a much bigger problem." I politely explained to him that I was not carrying a gun and had not carried a gun since my CHL expired. He then asked permission to search my vehicle. I declined. He then walked back to his car to confer with the other back-up officers who were standing around.
22 minutes later, he and the back-up officers approached my vehicle and instructed me to get out of the car. I stepped out of the vehicle, he frisked me and handcuffed me. They instructed me to sit down on the side of the freeway and told me that they were going to search the car. To be clear, I said to the officers, "Just so there's no miscommunication, I did not give you permission to search my vehicle." The officer responds, "We don't need your permission. An expired CHL is probable cause."
So for the next 10 minutes, 3 officers conducted one of the most thorough vehicle searches that I can imagine, while I nearly froze to death on the side of a busy freeway with traffic whizzing by at 70 MPH less than 15ft from me. They removed all contents from my vehicle and placed it on the side of the freeway. They even pulled the carpet up from the footwell and looked under the carpet.
After the officers had completed their search, the original officer went to his car and wrote the speeding ticket. He came back, removed the cuffs, gave me the ticket and my licenses back, and told me to have a good evening.
