Missouri: Police Roadblock Harassment Caught on Tape.

TheNewspaper.com ^ | 12/30/2006 | Brett Darrow

[The KG9 Kid]

Missouri: Police Roadblock Harassment Caught on Tape
St. Louis County, Missouri threaten to arrest a teenager for refusing to discuss his personal travel plans.

A teenager harassed by police in St. Louis, Missouri caught the incident on tape. Brett Darrow, 19, had his video camera rolling last month as he drove his 1997 Maxima, minding his own business. He approached a drunk driving roadblock where he was stopped, detained and threatened with arrest when he declined to enter a conversation with a police officer about his personal travel habits. Now Darrow is considering filing suit against St. Louis County Police.

"I'm scared to drive for fear of being stopped at another checkpoint and arrested while doing nothing illegal," Darrow told TheNewspaper. "We're now guilty until we prove ourselves innocent to these checkpoint officers."

On that late November night, videotape confirms that Darrow had been ordered out of his vehicle after telling a policeman, "I don't wish to discuss my personal life with you, officer." Another officer attempted to move Darrow's car until he realized, "I can't drive stick!" The officer took the opportunity to undertake a thorough search of the interior without probable cause. He found nothing.

When Darrow asked why he was being detained, an officer explained, "If you don't stop running your mouth, we're going to find a reason to lock you up tonight."

The threats ended when Darrow informed officers that they were being recorded. After speaking to a supervisor Darrow was finally released.

"These roadblocks have gotten out of hand," Darrow told TheNewspaper. "If we don't do something about them now, it'll be too late."

A full video of the incident is available here. A transcript is provided below as the audio is at times very faint.

[Finny]

"Why not your place?"

LOL! Best one yet out of a bunch of winners!

[KoRn]

ping

[zeugma]

I just don't know how this place has changed as much as it has in the years since I first joined.

I don't think it has really changed all that much. THere has always been a sizable contingent of government worshippers here. Its one of those things you just deal with. 

[KoRn]

Geez...

In general I detest cops.

Sure, there are some good ones, but I bet there were also a handful of good people in the KGB.

[FreedomCalls]

You can no longer refuse to hand over an ID since the Supreme Court decided HIIBEL V. SIXTH JUDICIAL DIST. COURT OF NEV.,HUMBOLDT CTY. (03-5554) 542 U.S. 177 (2004).

See the facts here.

[KoRn]

"True it is your "right" to give dick answers, it's also their "right" to give you dick police treatment."

I was recently pulled for having a sticker on my car that was expired by one day. The revenuer asked me where I was going, and I replied by saying it wasn't his business to know. He didn't probe further.

[Lower55]

We have a stock answer to the "Where are you headed?" question.
WAFFLE HOUSE
It subliminally states: I really don't care about my life or yours, so, if you want to keep your family and friends safe, you'll stop asking stupid questions. I know where you live.

[Defiant]

It won't be long before every square inch of populated territory is covered by a video camera.

[KenmcG414]

It's obvious this kid was out bustin nuts. Under the circumstances the cops were very professional.

[KoRn]

"The brat should have been arrested."

Arrested for what exactly? If you aren't committing a crime, what business do the police have in knowing where you are going? I wonder how many children were being abused within 10 square miles of where this mindless nonsense of a "sobriety check" was taking place.

[flada]

Once upon a time, I was a cop. The fact that the pigs far outnumbered the few good cops in my jurisdiction is one of the primary reasons I quit the force. And even the good ones are quick to assume that everyone is a bad guy. Trust me, there's a serious "we vs. them" attitude at all times.

Before I was a cop, I dated a woman who was a 13 year veteran for the city. She seriously wondered why I would need to own a flashlight. To her, apparently, a flashlight is a tool that only cops should have. Later when I was training with my FTO, I quickly learned that is not such a strange sentiment among police.

[zeugma]

BTW, Great thread. Thanks for posting it. Sure smoked out a lot of the gov can do no wrong types.

[Eaker]

When they were done talking about where he was going maybe he should have asked the cop how many dildos his wife keeps in her sock drawer?

Where I am going is no cops business. His wife's dildos aren't mine. If he had a dog with him they would have shot it.

I would sue there asses off and have their badges.

[Defiant]

No, but while decrying the attitudes and tendencies of some cops, I wanted to make mention of the good things that cops do for us, too, and their sacrifices. I agree with you that too many people who become cops do so out of an enjoyment of power over others, but in any human endeavor, you have to take the good with the bad. For police protection, we will always attract recruits who want to be cops because they have that personality type.

These cops, threatening a kid with unlawful arrest, were out of line and should be disciplined. I applaud the kid for having guts and brains.

[jerry639]

Sorry, but the kid began the exchange confrontationally for no reason whatsoever. You don't have to be a "cop worshipper" to see that.

I respect police officers. That is what I was taught growing up. But, this officer is an a**hole as far as I am concerned. If the kid was doing something wrong then give him a citation. If what he was doing was serious enough, then arrest him and impound his vehicle. If not, then leave him to hell a lone and let him be on his way. Can't blame the kid for not telling the police where he was headed. It is none of his business.

[philetus]

What kind of country have we got when little smartasses think they have some right not to answer a policeman's questions?"

I agree the kid is young, but where he was going was NONE of the cops business.

I guess you won't mind when they start "legally" stopping us at random and ask to see our travel permit.

[Lower55]

It's gotten to the point that if you don't install a hidden video camera in your vehicle, you're apt to be a victim of something someday.
I guess you could make it easy to turn on and off, but you would need the proceeds to be transported wirelessly to your lawyers' office, because as soon as you said "this is being recorded" you normally are arrested and your camera found and erased.

[philetus]

it's also their "right" to give you dick police treatment."

No! it is not.

[flada]

So entrapment is only okay when the cops do it?

You clearly don't know the legal definition of entrapment.