Posted on 05/31/2006 12:54:05 PM PDT by AzaleaCity5691
Police arrest 67 at checkpoints Wednesday, May 31, 2006 By NADIA M. TAYLOR Staff Reporter Officers issued more than 1,800 tickets and arrested 67 people over the Memorial Day weekend at several driver's license checkpoints throughout the city, police said.
Most of the 1,834 tickets issued were for not having a driver's license or proof of insurance, according to interim Mobile police Chief Lester Hargrove.
Fifty-four people were arrested on outstanding misdemeanor warrants, and 13 people were arrested on felony warrants, Hargrove said. Most charges stemmed from traffic violations or drug offenses, police said.
One man, Carl Mitchell Washington, 22, was driving with his 2-year-old son when police stopped him at a checkpoint and found about 30 pills, which were believed to be Ecstasy, and $2,775 in cash, Hargrove said.
Washington was charged Sunday with possession of a controlled substance and endangering the welfare of a child and was released on a $3,500 bond, according to the Mobile County Metro Jail log.
Under Alabama law, possession of a controlled substance is a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in jail. Endangering the welfare of a child is a Class A misdemeanor, which can carry a sentence of up to one year in jail, according to state law.
In addition to the weekend arrests, police seized two handguns and towed 53 vehicles as a result of the checkpoints, Hargrove said.
The topic of roadblocks garnered substantial media attention last month after two men were shot to death at a McDonald's drive-through in northeast Mobile. After the April 5 killings, city officials called for more frequent random checkpoints to look for and seize illegal weapons.
The latest round of checkpoints -- which ran Friday through Monday -- was the third weekend since April 28 that police have set up roadblocks in Mobile. Police issued a total of 1,362 citations during the first two weekends, which took place April 28 and 29 and May 5 and 6.
In the great state of Louisiana, a car is considered to be under the same state constitutional safeguards as ones home. However, the cops have been known to use certain techniques, such as fear and intimidation, to get into vehicles anyway.
All hail the state.
Sickening.
One application I could see would be checking for illegals. Do it in selected areas for periods of time and you would hear some real bitching from the anti-gov/default pro-amnesty people.
"Enforce immigration laws but kindly don't do it any any way that inconveniences me"
You need to put /sarcasm after that statement or else we are all going to take you seriously....
You're a closet authoritarian, aren't you?
Not if there is contraband in plain view or if they get consent or if they otherwise have probable cause to believe that there is illegal contraband in the car. Also, if they arrest someone for a valid cause (ie. outstanding warrant) they can perform a search incident to arrest of the person arrested and the area of the car in his immediate reach which could have a weapon available.
"Happy Memorial Day. Your papers, please."
Perhaps you should move to a place like China or North Korea. They have already enacted this type of thing on a national level.
The nanny state test makes 'em stick out like a sore thumb.
Unless you live in my state (Illinois) or one of the other 3 states that have no "permits" and do not recognize the second amendment.
One of many on FR.
"its for the children" huh?
how about instead of sitting around, hoping to nab a couple badguys and generate a buttload if income from seatbelt tickets, those cops went out and caught the CRIMINALS that were causing the problems.
besides, most criminals will know 15 minutes after a roadblock is set up, and find alternative routes.
I take his point though. Sounds to me like a citizen who is fed up with crime and wants law enforcement to get proactive about looking for criminals. You can say that keeping a gun is a wise move for self-protection but if you discharge it then you can expect an investigation, the need to retain counsel and you had better hope that you don't have a local DA looking to make hay at your expense because your legal bills will go through the roof.
Is it just me or does that seem a little backwards?
It's a nice and easy way for the cops to not only generate money but they can sweep up people who have warrants as well as nab some moron for transporting drugs in the car.
Checkpoints are not a proactive law enforcement technique. They are fishing expeditions that treat everyone as a criminal until each person in line proves themself to not be a criminal.
How far do you want to go? CCTV? Satellite surveillance? Full body scanning on pedestrians at random? After all, one person in this thread implied that when you're in public you don't have Constitutional protections anymore.
"I believe in enforcing the law as much as anyone does, but I have a problem with this checkpoint thing.
Unreasonable search and seizure and all that."
I understand how you feel, but it happens every day. I had a cop friend of mine tell me that if he wants to stop you, all he has to do is follow you for 10 minutes and he'll find a reason to pull you over.
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