Police question -- Police asking for ID in VA

Status
Not open for further replies.
P

Partisan Ranger

Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2003
Messages
672
Location
Virginia
I've lived in Winchester VA about 2 years now. Today on a pretty busy 2 lane road, about a dozen police officers were pulling people over checking plates and asking for ID in both directions. This is the 2nd time I have seen this occur since I've lived here. It occurred in the middle of the day both times.

The first cop I talked to waved me on to the second and pointed out to him I don't have my county sticker (it's a new car). But the other cop just asked for my ID and waved me on.

What is going on with these checks? Is this a Virginia thing? I am from OH and never saw such a thing there in 15 years of driving. This check didn't seem to be for drunk drivers as it was the middle of the day.

Since coming to THR, I am not particularly happy when a cop asks for my ID when I have done nothing to warrant it. Am I required to show my ID when I have done nothing wrong?

PR
 
If I recall correctly, you are required to show your ID if asked by a police officer. You driver's license may have "surrender upon request" or something similar.

Beyond that, you should remember the following phrases:
1) "I don't consent to any searches."
2) "Officer, am I free to go?"
3) "Officer, I have nothing to say to you."

Once you've provided ID, be very careful about what you do. Don't consent to any searches, and if the officer asks you to get out of your car ask if you're being detained or if you're free to go. If the officer asks you any questions that you don't want to answer, you don't have to. You have the right not to incriminate yourself, and that means you don't have to answer every question an officer asks you.

Don't surrender your rights by agreeing to a search, confessing to a crime, or allowing yourself to be detained without cause. On the other hand, DO NOT RESIST if the police officer goes forward anyway. Always remain respectful and polite, and do not impede (or even touch) the officer in any way.
 
Yeah, prolly too early in the day for a 'sobriety checkpoint', eh? Then again, ya never know. I usually tell them I'm armed and have a CHP, so that tends to direct the conversation.

Here in Fairfax they set up 'checkpoints' in mid-October, particularly around apt. complexes, to check on county stickers (which are due by October 5th), otherwise, I have no idea what's up. Aside from the 'sobriety checkpoints' (might see a few of them this evening -), random roadblocks are pretty rare around here.
 
Yes, police can ask you for your license, as long as they are asking everyone else (or the same proportion if not everybody). It could be anyrthing from a DUI checkpoint to a BG on the loose they were looking for, to (obviously not) a county sticker check (quick $$ for the locals for the tickets that get written for not displaying proof of paying tax).
The big thing is what they can, or cannot, do beyond the purpose of the original stop. IANAL always applies, but ever since Terry stops were made legal it can get hairy in a hurry.
It sounds as if you suffered no foul, even when they had the chance to get you on the county sticker. I'd say drive on & be happy.

Stay safe.

skidmark
 
An LEO friend is working a roadblock tonight. His team's goal is to pull over 300 cars.
 
Can everyone spell Start Of Police State ??? When I lived in Illinois it was to the point when you got pulled over for something a minor as a license plate light out they would make you get out of the car and frisk you. That isn't the start of a police state wonder what would be?
 
Virginia State Troopers were doing this at least 20 years ago....I ran into one of these on Route 15 north of Farmville in around 1985. I didn't like it then and I don't like it now.......
 
Speaking as a cop from GA,

We can require the driver to present ID and I can ask anyone in the veh if I can see his or her ID. The driver must produce a valid GA D/L and proof of insurance.

A friend off mine who is an attorney, his wife who is also an attorney was discussing traffic stops just last night.

In GA there are 3 types of Police/Citizen encounters,

(1)Verbal encounter (You are free to go) which can quickly escalate to a…

(Verbal encounters many times lead to reasonable articulable suspicion which will turn into a…)

(2)Brief Stop (You are not free to go, traffic stop is an example)

(3)Arrest (Obvious)

Road or Highway Safety Checks are for the most part somewhere in between verbal encounters and brief stops, the GA Supreme Court and even the USSC has ruled that it is not an unreasonable detention for a driver to submit to a check point. Drivers who have the appropriate items waiting for the officers are on their way with no more delay than your average traffic light at a major intersection.

I’ll be working a roadblock tonight as well; my goal is to go home at the end of my shift…
 
I'm not too sure how close you are to D.C., PR but might the stops have something to do with post 9-11 security.

I have a friend who is a NYC Transit cop and he says the post 9-11 security stops remain high to this day. They are primarily looking for terrorist related indications, etc.
 
What I'd like to know is just how the USSC determined that checkpoints on the highway can be compatible with the 4th Amendment.

Unfettered - the use of checkpoints could be used as an intimidation factor in favor of what ever level of government is executing them. In other words they become a reminder to the unwashed masses about just who is really in charge.

Checkpoints are proof positive that the government no longer is of, for and by the people and has become the people of, for and by the government.

Your papers please is just around the corner - oh wait - the supremes already made that legal with the Utah case.
 
In VA, you have to pay your personal property tax on the vehicle each year, then you are issued a county sticker, which goes on the windshield next to the inspection sticker.
 
You need to pay 25 bucks a year for the sticker from the county for every car you own. State and county have separate fees. I thought every state did this. Looks like I need to move to Texas.

I considered asking questions of the officer but my desire to avoid hassle kicked in and I was silent. If it happens again, I think I will inquire why they are asking for IDs.

PR
 
The Supreme Court recently ruled that states can pass laws requiring you to present ID to an LEO in the absence of any suspicion of a crime. The case was Hiibel vs Sixth Judicial District Court of Nevada.

It might be different regarding a requirement to show a DL while driving, but if VA wants to, they can require you to show ID at any time.
 
The Supreme Court recently ruled that states can pass laws requiring you to present ID to an LEO in the absence of any suspicion of a crime. The case was Hiibel vs Sixth Judicial District Court of Nevada.
Click to expand...
My understanding of Hibel differs from yours. I believe the SCOTUS ruled that LEOs may ask for and demand ID upon "reasonable suspicion" that a crime either has been committed or is about to be committed. This is a lower standard than "probable cause," but it is not blanket autorization to demand ID in the absence even of reasonable suspicion.

Federalist Weasel -- I also disagree with the way you guys are doing it. I believe the courts have ruled that you may NOT ask a passenger in a motor vehicle for ID in the absence of reasonable suspicion that the PASSENGER has been or is about to be involved in an illegal act. I'n not saying you're department may not have told you you can ask for passenger IDs, but I do believe if they told you that ... they're wrong.
 
Hawkmoon - Whoops, I think you're right about that. I should've read more closely.
 
A delegate in VA introduced a "stop, ID & Interrogate" bill in the pre filing this year. You can search on leg1.state.va.us ... essentially, it allows all law enforcement the authority to stop you for no reason, you must produce id, and answer questions.

Personally, I think that a little turnabout is fair play, and that as a necessary measure of control, we should have neighborhood watch patrols outside of police stations with checkpoints where we stop, demand credentials, and arrest upon failure to comply - before anybody goes nuts, anybody can swear a warrant out in front of a magistrate here in VA, even against LE.

After all... what's good for the citizens is good for... the privileged.
 
A delegate in VA introduced a "stop, ID & Interrogate" bill in the pre filing this year. You can search on leg1.state.va.us ... essentially, it allows all law enforcement the authority to stop you for no reason, you must produce id, and answer questions.
Click to expand...

Does this also provide the police with black leather trench coats and bad German accents? :cuss:
 
This thread has not gone on long enough

Does this also provide the police with black leather trench coats and bad German accents?
Click to expand...

The nazi references can only be given after 30 or so posts. Also this week were using socialists instead of nazis for perjorative comparisons
 
Nothing out of the ordinary going on in Virginia I'd say. I went through one memorable license check in 1972 when I was at Tech. One afternoon I hopped in my buddy's TR-3 and we left Blacksburg headed for Radford. Along the way we ran into a check point run by the county guys. They checked his driver's license and off we went. Then I remembered that the plates were still on his other car. Oops. (FWIW, his other car was a Simca.)

I think my dad did a few license checks back when he was a trooper after WWII. I'll have to ask him about their policy if I think of it the next time I see him.

John
 
Here's info on the bill, and the $h!tbag that introduced it:

> POC: Mike Stollenwerk, [email protected]_
(mailto:[email protected]) , (703) 924-3693
>
> *********************
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
> *********************
>
> Emergency Constitutional Alert: Virginia State Delegate Orrock
> Introduces Orwellian “Stop, ID, and Confess� Law
>
> 1. In what may be the most aggressive attack on the Fifth Amendment
> since the Supreme Court’s decision in Hiibel v. Sixth Judicial District
> Court of Nevada (2004), Virginia state Delegate Robert (“Bobby�) D.
> Orrock, Sr. (R-Spotsylvania/Caroline Counties,

http://tinyurl.com/4ho4x

[email protected]

the bill:
http://tinyurl.com/6omaj

"E. When (i) a person is detained by a law-enforcement officer for questioning based upon specific, objective facts establishing a reasonable suspicion that the person was engaged in or about to become engaged in criminal activity, (ii) the officer requires that the person identify himself and give a reasonably credible account of the lawfulness of his conduct and purposes, and (iii) the person refuses to comply with the requirement, he is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. "

So, when asked, you would have to PROVE your conduct was lawful, and identify yourself, or face jail up to 6 months.

So much for your right to remain silent.
 
one year ago we attended a presentation of the "Nutcracker" in Sacramento. We had the whole family there, my wife, daughter and SIL and grandson, our son and his daughter. After the program the young folks wanted to go for coffee and hot choclate so my wife and I took our sons Maxima back to our town.

We had to stop first at our daughters home and let the dogs out for a bit. As we turned off on the main street through town we saw flashinglights ahead and about 10 cars stopped for a DUI checkpoint. There was a driveway just to my right and I turned to enter. There was no tape up or pylons set up blocking the driveway to the strip mall. There were two pylons that were to be set up but were not set up at the time.

A young police officer came running from some distance and when he got nearer he shouted that I could not enter that driveway since it was blocked. I told him that it was not blocked yet and I was surely going to enter the driveway. He talked on his radio and then said move on out. I have seen a good number of roadblocks in 22 years of reserve duty and I know that their roadblock was not complete and i had the right to turn there.

Here in the PRK it is against the law to avoid a roadblock but if it is not properly set up the court would take a dim view of the police issuing a citation for trying to enforce a poorly set up road block.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

N
  • Locked
Why it's important to not show ID to police when asked for no reason
2 3 4 5 6
Replies
132
Views
8K
Art Eatman
A
B
  • Locked
Police Question
2 3
Replies
58
Views
2K
Steve in PA
Steve in PA
S
  • Locked
Pulled over in VA, cop asked for my gun.
2 3 4 5
Replies
115
Views
6K
Art Eatman
A
P
  • Locked
When are you required to ID yourself to cops?
2 3
Replies
56
Views
2K
pax
P
B
  • Locked
Harrassed by the cops while eating lunch
2 3 4 5
Replies
113
Views
4K
Don Gwinn
D
Back
Top