Can a driver be cited for refusing to obey the directive of a police officer?
PA guy sues over illegal roadblock sample-taking.
/johnny
I think it would matter if it was an unreasonable request or a reasonable request. At a traffic stop in South Carolina I was asked by LEO's; "May I look in the back of your truck?" This I considered an unreasonable request and told them no. The deputies implied the could look anyways and I asked them if a judge would deem their "probable cause" justifiable, or give them a suspension. They let me leave without escalating it any further. Two years later while driving through Columbia, I got into another traffic stop. A bank had just been robbed and the LEO's were checking all vehicles leaving the area for the suspect. The LEO asked if he could check the back of my truck. Absolutely! This I considered a reasonable request. There was someone armed and dangerous on the loose, and I wanted to make sure they weren't in the back of my truck.
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/civilrights/color_of_law
“Preventing abuse of this authority, however, is equally necessary to the health of our nation’s democracy. That’s why it’s a federal crime for anyone acting under “color of law” willfully to deprive or conspire to deprive a person of a right protected by the Constitution or U.S. law. “Color of law” simply means that the person is using authority given to him or her by a local, state, or federal government agency.”