[TChris]

...the potential for abuse in allowing officers to “make their case” solely on such grounds.

That's certainly possible, but it would also catch up to the officer and eventually wreck his career. After you get smacked hard in court a few times with evidence that shows you're way off, your professional opinions and estimates soon don't mean much any more. When that happens, your usefulness as a LEO is greatly diminished.

The D/A's office really doesn't like to lose cases because of jerk cops, so those problems usually get sorted out over time.

[ziravan]

From the petition I just mentioned:

"The State has purposely devised a law that criminalizes the safe and prudent actions of a significant plurality of its citizens. As a result, its agents can or must only discriminately or randomly enforce the statute. Such a scheme breaches Equal Protection precisely because, under this scheme, prosecution of the law is not dependent upon guilt, but upon the discretional acts of agents of the State. This ability and necessity to discriminate, by any and whatever standard, deprives the population as a whole, and 27.2% of the population particularly, of Equal Protection under the Law."

[TankerKC]

When that happens, your usefulness as a LEO is greatly diminished.

That's a real knee slapper.