Whats with an LEO asking how much cash you are carrying during a traffic stop?

[Fu-man Shoe]

I've been preaching the "Cops ain't your friend line" for quite some time now.

Most of the time it falls on deaf ears. Seems a lot of people have some
pretty quaint notions of how the police operate in this country.

The sad thing is, that maybe back in the day, they were right.

But that was then, and this is now. THE POLICE ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS.

Why do you think they are called "Law Enforcement Officers" these days,
and not "Peace Officers". Think about it. The change is language will tell you
all you need to know.

 

[crunker]

Can you get in trouble if you tell a cop to **** off?

 

[Atticus]

I'd answer a cop's question as I would anyone else I didn't know. My policy has always been to lie (and smile) to people who have no business asking me certain questions. I have never worn my politics or lifestyle on my sleeve (or bumper) either. In 35 years of driving, I've probably been pulled over 15 times (by the Border Patrol (both borders) -Locals-County-City-State) and was asked to get out of the car only once (Canadian border), and I've never been asked about cash, drugs, guns or anything by locals....and I probably had some of each,and more, back then. At the age of twenty or so, I was pulled over by a State Trooper because my front plate was partially obscured. I'll admit now that I was both drunk and stoned at the time. This was before noon. The trooper and I had a nice chat about my Pontiac Lemans, and then I went home. Attitude can literally be everything.

I do agree that the whole concept of seizing cash, without producing evidence that the money was obtained via criminal enterprise, is appalling and should be changed, but are the people in these stories idiots?
"Do you have money in here?"
"Uh yes officer..I have $400K to be exact, all in $100 bills (laced with cocaine residue -to keep your drug sniffing dogs employed) in the cooler in the trunk....but it's for a truck I'm thinking about buying."

 

[Bruce H]

Just grin and ask if he lost the straw drawing for the donut run.

 

[ProguninTN]

Proper Response

How much money do I have ? See the 5th Amendment for answers.

 

[Stretchman]

Down here in Florida, as in a lot of other places, one of the pre requisites for getting on with some depts is to not have been a smoker for 2 years previous, if memory serves, and I believe it does. This is in answer to a question someone had about cops whodon't smoke any more. Wish I knew how to quote. Can anyone point me in that direction?

Stretch
Quit cigs 1W 2D 43m ago. So far saved $54.17, 361 cigs not smoked and counting ...

 

[McCall911]

Whats with an LEO asking how much cash you are carrying during a traffic stop?

I can't answer that, but if asked I would point to the change rack on my dashboard.

Well? I put two more quarters in it just last week!

 

[Powderman]

The LEO isn't SUPPOSED to get any of the money. I'm sure there are times when there is a difference between the amount taken and the amount reported.

Yeah. Sure. What the hell, I'm a JBT, a taillight chaser and a road nazi. I'm brutal. I might as well be a liar and a thief too.

I wonder how many of you get equally worked up when the officer asks where you're coming from or where you're going.

OK, ok, ok. I apologize for offending some of your tender sensibilities. So, the next time I see Homey and his G's cruising through someone's neighborhood in the middle of the night, looking at the fairly high priced homes, I won't get proactive, find a reason to stop them and get their names in the system. No, I'll just smile and wave them on. Surely, I will.

Can you get in trouble if you tell a cop to **** off?

Nope. You sure can't. Go right ahead if it makes you feel good, I've heard it about five thousand times anyway. One more won't make a difference.

Anything more than a question about license and registration, I will respond with a polite "Is this a fishing expedition? Am I being detained? If I am, let me call my attorney (I have prepaid legal insurance), while you get your supervisor. Otherwise I assume I am free to go?

Get one thing straight, bucko. If you're pulled over in my jurisdiction, I don't do so unless one of the following conditions exists:

1. Your car's plates come back to the wrong vehicle.
2. The vehicle is reported stolen.
3. I have witnessed you commit a traffic infraction or criminal traffic offense.

When I activate my overheads behind your car for the purpose of pulling you over, that is a detention. I am detaining you for the purpose of investigating why you committed the traffic infraction that I observed. Drive off if you want; congratulations! You have just turned what was more than likely going to be a warning into felony eluding. Have a good day.

The policeman is not your friend.
The policeman is not your friend.
The policeman is not your friend.
The policeman is not your friend.
The policeman is not your friend.

Nope, I'm sure not, and I could care less about you.

That's why I get out of my nice warm car to walk through your neighborhoods on foot, to make sure someone isn't trying to burglarize your home.

That's why I go out on patrol when I could be spending time with my wife.

Because I don't care.

That's why I usually arrange rides for people who are driving while suspended, especially if they are on the way to or from work--because I know what it's like to live from paycheck to paycheck.

That's why I will change your tire for you, in the rain, mud, snow or wind while you sit in my car and keep warm. Because I don't give a rip about you.

That's why if you say your child is missing, I will spend all day and all night walking the streets, walking through the woods, climbing the hills, WHATEVER IT TAKES to find the child. And, it's why when you call and tell the department that your children have been just over at their friend's house, I breathe a sigh of relief--instead of getting mad about it.

That's why, during one of the worst cold snaps this State has ever had, I spent most of my patrol shift running firewood to our elders, to make sure that they were warm and safe.

Folks, there are some bad apples to be sure. But for you to sit at your keyboards and type this garbage that paints me--and the other good, honest cops out here--as a thief, a druggie and a LIAR, crosses the line.

I've had enough. If any of you fine, upstanding citizens have the guts, I challenge you to do a ride along or two with your local police. Since you know how cops are already, I'm sure that you'll be surprised.

Until then, screw off. And if I get whacked off of this board for saying so, so be it. You folks just take the cake.

 

[hoji]

Powderman,

I will be the first to "bash" crooked LEOs, but the first to give the good ones an attaboy as well. You sound like the latter.
Let me ask you this though, do you work in a rural or urban enviroment?

It sounds as if you work for a Sheriff's Department. My experience is that Sheriff's Deputies tend to be more or less decent human beings than officers in a metro department. The reason may be that SDs tend to be country boys{or gals} and have had a better upbringing.

In defense of metro LE they deal with more human garbage than most SDs and tend to get jaded ,for want of a better word. It is still no excuse for their actions when they treat law abiding citizens like scum.

If LEOs would "police "themselves a little better the bad apples would be culled pretty quick.

 

[Powderman]

Hoji, actually, I have both areas.

I am a Reserve Officer for the Puyallup Indian Tribe; our jurisdiction has a very large urban area (Northeast Tacoma/Fife/Milton/Port of Tacoma) an industrial area (Port of Tacoma) and suburban and urban areas. We are a cross-commissioned agency, meaning we enforce Tribal codes, the Revised Code of Washington, and applicable local laws and statutes. I have been a Reserve Officer for almost 10 years now, for this and another agency that has since closed.

And, this is the reason I am REALLY steamed about this post, implying that I--and other officers--are so willing to cross the line into taking bribes and stealing property...

I DO NOT GET PAID ONE CENT FOR THE WORK I DO WITH THE DEPARTMENT.

Also, the only thing that the Department has issued me has been my badge, my commissioning card, and my radio. Everything else--totalling close to two thousand dollars worth or more of equipment--belongs to ME. I purchased it out of my own pocket, as do most of the Reserve Officers in this country do.

 

[Working Man]

That is a bit troublesome.

I once went to a gun show with $3,200 in cash and spent less than $1,400 of
it. I was 22, long hair (pulled back), and wearing jeans, box toed boots, and
a T-shirt and a jacket. I looked just under average Joe level, not business
man in any fashion. I just happened to be in computer parts sales and worked
lots of OT.

Seems going to the show I'm screwed for $3,200 and coming back I'm screwed
for $1,800 + 3 guns that I bought there (I had no CHL at the time).

There will always be troubling laws and those that wish to take the letter of
it to extremes. How much money I have is no one's concern but mine.... usually
$9 at the most (parking + a drink).

As for the LEOs the only thing I can say is that in my experience I have been
treated better by some than I deserved and worse by others.

I've found @$$es in sales, law enforcement, medicine and many other areas
that I have worked or spent a significant amount of time in or around. I have
also found some people that are honest, upstanding, and who I am proud to
call friend.

Seems some are bothered more by whats on the shirt more than by anything else.
Call me old fashioned but I'm more concerned with the ones that can't look me in
the eye and have a weak hand shake.

 

[ptmmatssc]

Friend of mine was stopped on her way home after coming up and staying the weekend (Maine to mass) . She was pulled over for "speeding" . Not sure why , but her car was searched and they found $5000 . of course they kept it even after she explained it was from an insurance settlement and even provided the paperwork showing the payout as well as a reciept from her bank showing the check cashing transaction . She spent 1 1/2 years trying to get it back and finally was able to but it had taken statements from the insurance company , bank, lawyer, etc to prove it wasn't "drug" money . Best part was that she was never charged or even given a ticket .

Now I fear the same will happen to me . I occasionally carry several thousand $s when I'm off to buy a big ticket item (car, machinery, building materials) . Funny , my money is legal but even the people that I buy from give me a look when I plunk down , say , $6000 for something .

 

[glummer]

Powderman
You certainly seem to be the kind of cop that all cops should be. (Well, except that you don’t get paid; low taxes are fine, but I’d feel like a free-loader if all cops had to foot the bill their own costs.) And I’m sure there are many people on my local force who are “good guys.” But I’m also sure that some of them are not. And I can’t tell them apart. So how am I supposed to react if I’m stopped? I don’t know WHO I’m talking to, so how do I know what it’s safe to say? Maybe the cop IS a friend. And maybe he is NOT.

 

[Working Man]

Funny , my money is legal but even the people that I buy from give me a look when I plunk down , say , $6000 for something .

I know the feeling. I dropped $8,700 on a truck and $5,7 or $5,800 on a
motorcycle and got an eyebrow raised at the time. Last truck I bought I put
on the credit card and just paid it off right-a-way. Looks good on the credit
report too I guess.

I remember an old old Garfield comic where John goes to pay for something in
cash and ends up having to go through all sorts of security and the like to buy
it. Just wait... credit cards will be gone and it will be the chip.

 

[cassandrasdaddy]

its ben a while since i got nailed and was carrying a lotta cash

but back when i carried large amounts of cash (amongst other things) i had a nite deposit bag from my bank a canvas lockable bag numbered and requiring a specific warrant to open. i might have to get another one after reading this thread since i alwyas cash the checks my clients give me for jobs. i get discounts from some supplliers and subs when i pay them cash. the one time i had trouble back in the day i did get my cash back after 2 1/2 days of sticking to my story about winning it in a card game.

 

[McCall911]

That reminds me...

When I read these posts, I keep thinking of the credit-card commercial where the pirates ask, "And what's in your wallet?"

Is this normal? Wait! Don't answer that!

 

[berettashotgun]

With things the way they are nowdays, CEO's should be locked up everytime Granted some locals in drug transport sites NEED this "tool" against crime- drug runners and such- but I never get offended by/or am afraid of police. They have a crappy job and have to follow policy/protocol in their district. I used to go to auctions around the country to buy expensive items and carried up to 50k in cash- easier to buy at auctions with greenbacks that letter of credit and much more convient than cashier checks. Never got questioned but maybe was very lucky. I personally think it has everything to do with apperance, no police ever profile anyone

 

[ptmmatssc]

Working Man , I am lucky to a certian extent , i buy all my vehicles from the same guy . $7500 for my truck , $6500 for the wifes car , $8700 for her next car . All in cash and he never batted an eye , but he knows me well and knows I can scrape up some serious cash when I need it . What get's me is when I spend a wad on new guns . if it's at a "new" dealer they tend to look at me funny when I drop a couple thousand on the table . Some times paying up in cash has it's benefits though . I get real good treatment when a commission is involved.

 

[Working Man]

I get real good treatment when a commission is involved.

Oh yah, you can damn near get a massage and pedicure if you come in at
the right time with the right money.

The guys I deal the most with give a hand shake instead of a receipt. One gentleman
makes holsters (had him do a few custom jobs). Had a holster he sent me not fit quite
right. He sent another out to me as per my specs and said... "If you are at the next show,
give the other to my wife or else I'll be at such and such show and turn it in there if you're
around. That man will always have my business.

The other resells guns (I have sat at his table when he had to hit the head) and walked me
through the disassembly of a Calico 950 (first day we met) when I was thinking of buying one.
I did not buy it but have bought a few firearms from him since and he is the first one I check
with at the shows.

 

[Deanimator]

Folks, there are some bad apples to be sure. But for you to sit at your keyboards and type this garbage that paints me--and the other good, honest cops out here--as a thief, a druggie and a LIAR, crosses the line.

Here's the bottom line, Powderman:

What's the worst thing that can happen from me assuming the worst about all cops? I can prolong an encounter, maybe even be falsely arrested on a charge that probably won't stick. I might end up suing the city.

What's the worst thing that can happen if I DON'T? I can incriminate myself for something I DIDN'T do. I can end up in jail based on my own words, which the police and prosecutors will cheerfully use against me.

We hear a lot about "officer safety", which to hear some tell it, trumps EVERY other consideration, including law and the US constitution. I believe in the concept of "citizen safety". That means that my interactions with the police are mostly limited to those EXPLICITLY required by law, IN WRITING. I will NEVER consent to ANYTHING, EVER. I will not resist, unless I believe that my life and limb are in danger. However, when my lawyer asks me on the stand, "How many times did you refuse to authorize a search?" and "What did the officers find?" The answers will be "At least five times." and "Nothing". You can be absolutely sure that if a warrant wasn't forthcoming prior to a search, that there will be a lawsuit. And I'm absolutely morally opposed to out of court settlements in such instances.

If police are mistrusted today, it's because they have done a lot of things to lose whatever trust there may have been. I direct you to the Atlanta case where an elderly woman was shot to death by police. Not only has their own informant called them liars; one of the officers involved has now too.

You may be the finest specimen of humanity to ever put on a uniform. Until I know you by sight and you start working for MY local police force, that's totally irrelevant. The cops in the town where I live, seem by and large, to be on the up and up. I certainly CANNOT say the same thing about the Cleveland PD, which has an officer (with a reputation for neo-Nazi activity) going on trial for racially motivated assault and kidnapping next month. As for the Chicago (where I'm from) PD, I wouldn't trust any of them as far as I can throw Rosie O'Donnell, Star Jones and a bucket of KFC extra-crispy. If I DID, I would rightfully be considered a fool.

I'm sure you don't trust everybody you stop with a tail light out at 2:00am. I KNOW you don't deal with them in ways likely to get you killed. Just as anybody you pull over can be a bank robber on the way to Mexico, any cop who pulls me over can be violently unstable, or simply willing to make a false arrest if I don't maintain my right to be silent.

"Citizen Safety"; remember you saw it here first...

 

[gc70]

by STAGE 2:
Threads like this kill me. First, I'm not a cop nor do I play one on TV. Second, I have no doubt that there are dirty cops out there.

However, if you take into account how many of people are stopped everyday (thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions maybe) without any trouble other than a justifiable ticket, these threads seem really stupid. I hvae no idel how the numbers work out, but we could be complaining about incidents that make up less than 1% of the situations out there.

The cop may not be your best friend, but all of them aren't out to get you by a long shot. Lets have a little dose of reality folks.

Just because something happens infrequently does not mean that you should not be prepared for the occurrence.

I have fire insurance even though I have had only one fire in my house in 30 years (less than 0.01% of the time in about 11,000 days of occupancy).
I have auto insurance even though my cars have been involved in one wreck in the last 10 years(about 0.0005% of the roughly 200,000 miles driven).
I have life insurance even though I am still alive (0% or no deaths yet).

I do not have insurance because I expect bad things to happen frequently, but to be prepared when bad things do infrequently happen.

 

[tellner]

It's a nice try, Powderman. And it's a pretty good stab at the usual cop tactic of immediately attacking anyone who criticizes any police officer ever. Oh, sure, if an LEO is actually taking money from the Mob it's alright to throw him from the sleigh. The usual reflex from anyone in law enforcement is the same as the Hell's Angels. Mess with one Angel and you're messing with all of them.

The next thing you - and an awful lot of other police - do is make it a personal fight with you. Don't like what a cop did? You must hate (selfless, patriotic, heroic, hard-working) ME. Personally. And every officer who died in the line of duty. Sorry, but I'm not buying. Cops will defend any other cop who isn't actually in prison. At least in front of "civilians". In front of other people in The Lodge it can be different. And they absolutely hate the idea that some outsider would have the nerve to judge them. Ever.

The facts are the facts. There are many good people who wear tin. There are plenty of regular time-serving guys who just do their job and wait for retirement. And there's the usual percentage of bad people. Yes, bad people. It's just that the way it comes out will be a little different. Bullies, minor sadists and guys who just like to order other people around can find a home in law enforcement. And they know that unless they turn it on their peers or screw up in a really spectacular way their brother officers will grit their teeth privately and back them up in public.

Theft by cop? Happens all the time. The whole asset forfeiture thing is simple theft. It's a matter of PD policy and DOJ policy all over the country. Official. Admitted. Matter of public record. Crooked cops? Even honest people can be tempted. If large quantities of money, drugs and other valuable things go through your hands some percentage of people will turn out to be weak. Do it once and it will be easier to do it a second time. That's not cop-bashing. It's human nature. And police are human. So some will fall, and most will get away with it.

What is one of the biggest sources of illegal pistols (as if there were any other kind) in DC? It's guns that mysteriously evaporate from the police evidence locker. Why is the biggest cause of officer death around here traffic accidents? It turns out that cops don't like to wear their seatbelts and die in crashes that they would have survived otherwise. They know no LEO will give them any grief. So they don't bother. Human nature again.

 

[Derby FALs]

HEY POWDERMAN! You must work in the only good apple police force.

BAD COP NEWS...

Have you ever seen another cop do something wrong and just looked the other way or, maybe even covered for him? Happens all the time. I've been a victim of it by the Louisvile KY PD. Read the KY news. LPD has plenty of entries including money disappearing on the way to the station.

Personally I believe everyone should be drafted and work on the force for two years. When your time is up you go back to your normal life. The only full time jobs should be supervision and special investigators.

 

[Atticus]

Powderman - I understand the points you've made and I do have great respect for the job that you, and those like you, perform. However, I find it interesting that you went to the us vs them attitude due to a handful of posts here...when in fact THAT is part of the issue on both sides. Much of the problem, I believe, is that police overall, have mutated from what you describe (traffic law enforcer - good samaritan - protector) to militarized enforcers of " A War on Something" whether it be drugs, guns, vice or terror. "Bad Apples" are one thing - enforcing procedures that require an officer to touch base on all the "Wars on Something" during each 'civilian" contact is quite another. And the bad part is that it differs in every local. Most of what I've read is second hand information at best, but I find it a little disconcerting that many officers are trained for civilian interactions, like salesmen are prepared for sales calls, e.g. - run down the list of possible "crimes" and explore all avenues for increased sales opportunities. For example- It's pretty bizzare that I could drive to DC for work, get pulled over for a burned out taillight, and end up in jail for carrying a pocket knife that's 0.25 inches too long, or for carrying a gun in trunk (which was legal everywhere else I'd been) or something equally silly. This type of crap has certainly helped build the wall between cops and non cops.

 

[Molon Labe]

I suppose that "None of your damn yankee business" is not an appropriate answer ... ?

Actually, "None of your business" is O.K. Personally, I think the way to answer to any question from an LEO is to do the following:

1. Ignore the content of the LEO's question.
2. Ask the LEO, "Am I free to go?"


If the LEO asks you another question,

1. Ignore the content of the LEO's question.
2. Ask the LEO, "Am I free to go?"


If the LEO asks you another question,

1. Ignore the content of the LEO's question.
2. Ask the LEO, "Am I free to go?"


You get the idea...