Drive an old white car and they will leave you alone.
This pre-dates DHS.
In the 90’s it became such that if one were stopped and the registration of the car had expired, or the driver license had expired, the car could be impounded.
Never seemed right to me. Never knew how it was constitutional.
Now, here in CA, the exception is illegal aliens. They do not need registration or licenses and their cars are not impounded for such infractions.
If one simply remembers that they must refuse all requests by the police, other than those they must adhere to - while always being polite - this will almost certainly not happen to you.
There is an ACLU video on this. One fun part is when the guy is asked to get out of the car, he gets out and locks it, with his passengers inside. The cop does all sorts of “if you were innocent, you’d let me” arguments regarding the guy saying no to his requests.
And this is the hard part: Politely refusing. The only thing I’ll do is answer simple questions. If they get complicated I let them know I really don’t have time for it - nicely - and since I’ve done nothing wrong I’d really like to get where I’m going before I’m late.
Cut them some slack! How else can they afford to fill up the tanks on their MRAPs?
Fixed it. If it had ever really been about drug dealers, they'd have brought criminal charges and used criminal forfeiture. Civil forfeiture is about getting your stuff - drugs was a con job lapped up by low-information voters (including some self-professed "conservatives").
If someone takes your stuff take their stuff.
And there is a confused contingent on FR who fully support these drug forfeiture laws.
They have been doing this for years.
They used to do this in Florida back in the late 1980’s, which is why I refuse to this day to visit the state. It’s also why I never ever carry any large amounts of cash on me.
BUMP & Save for later
This is the principle story on which the OP story was written
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/2014/09/06/stop-and-seize/?hpid=z2
I ‘thought’ it sounded pretty familiar (right down to copying the first passage). The WP article has much better background.
Here’s the entire pimping-free article:
After 9/11, the federal government “…called on police to become the eyes and ears of homeland security on America’s highways.” But if the new, more aggressive agenda of seeking out suspicious individuals was embraced by officers as part of their interdiction training by the federal government, their policing behavior turned out to be worlds removed from the mundane yet somehow historically reassuring promise to “protect and serve” the American public. For law enforcement officers throughout the nation were eagerly learning and practicing the fine art of “policing for profit,” that is, the barely legal method of confiscating money and assets from generally guileless American citizens taught since childhood that police may be trusted.
Thirty years ago, the Department of Justice created a civil asset forfeiture program known as “Equitable Sharing.” Though originally used for the purpose of separating drug dealers from their assets and cash, since 2001, Equitable Sharing has been employed by the nation’s police to score $2.5 Billion in cash and assets from citizens “who were not charged with a crime and without a warrant being issued.” It is a high-dollar confiscation scam which is painfully easy to operate and, to ensure the successful practice of which, law enforcement has been dealt every trump. How can billions be confiscated from law abiding drivers?
Simply pull over a car for any violation, real or imagined. While issuing a warning or a ticket, “study [the driver or passengers] for signs of nervousness, including…clenched jaws or perspiration.” Police are then taught to look for “supposed indicators of criminal activity, which can include such things as trash on the floor of a vehicle, abundant energy drinks or air fresheners hanging from rear view mirrors.” Unbelievable.
It will be after the reading of these meaningless tea leaves that the officer will ask permission to search the vehicle. A legal refusal by the driver may cause drug sniffing dogs to be summoned, a thoroughly illegal use of the driver’s time as has already been determined by the Supreme Court. But how many Americans will be aware of such legal decisions guaranteeing their rights?
And now comes the fun part. Drivers across the nation have been found in possession of thousands of dollars in cash. It’s their own money, lawfully acquired, but police immediately conclude that it represents the ill-gotten gains of a drug sale. The money is confiscated on the spot and the driver must now prove that the cash was acquired in a legal manner should he ever wish to enjoy its return.
Unfortunately, given the cost of hiring attorneys to fight Big Brother, over 60% of law abiding people who are the VICTIMS of a crime committed by the police, will never retrieve their money. And for those who choose to fight, it is usually mandatory that they sign away their right to sue!
During the rest of the week, Coach is Right will relate the stories of honest citizens who have been robbed by the people they look to for protection while providing some of the knowledge necessary to avoid becoming a victim.
You would think this is Mexico