Question

[Alpha13]

I have a question for y'all: I was talking with someone that I know today and she was telling a few of us about how she was recently pulled over by a leo, something about not wearing a seat belt. but early on apparently she was asked if she was carrying, to the best of my knowledge she doesn't have a hcp, and was not carrying. the leo then asked to search her car... in the chattanooga/cleveland area.

It just seems odd that she would be asked in the first place....

When i get to take the HCP course i may get this answer, but is it appropriate for a leo to even be asking about carrying in a situation where someone is pulled over for a seat belt violation?

Thanks

[Wyldk2]

They will ask you about anything. If it looks like you might be carrying a weapon, they might just ask that question. Before i got my carry permit, being pulled over twice in my life( minor traffic/speeding violations), i never have been asked if i was carrying nor have been asked if they could do a search in my vehicle. Most Police i know don't generally ask the carry or search questions unless presented with a permit or if the pull-ee looks suspicious.

But IMO, during something such as a seatbelt violation, Seems like it would be to the officers discretion whether or not to ask such a question. But it could be the area where someone is stopped or the way they are dressed or the way they act around a uniformed officer. Could just be Chattanooga.

[Oh Shoot]

Likely more to the story if the LEO actually wanted to search the car.

- OS

[enfield]

I hope she didn't consent to the search.

[vontar]

A couple months back I got stopped in clinton TN for speeding and they ask me early in the stop if I had any firearms.

I hope she didn't consent to the search.

I bet if you say no, they will hold you on site and make you wait until they bring out a K9 to walk around your car/truck. Then when the K9 gives some dumb look they will say the dog signaled there was drugs and use that as probably cause for a search. That is how Ron White described it when they wanted to search his airplane and found 7/8 of a gram of marijuana.

[Pain103]

How is not appropriate to ask if there is a weapon in the vehicle? You can choose whether to be truthful or lie about it. As far as asking for consent to search, if you don't want them to search just say no it's not that big of a deal and doesn't mean the end of the world. Don't be offended if an LEO asks for consent it doesn't mean he believes you are an murderer.

[Fallguy]

As has been said...a LEO can ask about anything no matter the reason for your interaction with them.

You have another choice besides answering or lying....don't answer at all. However I admit this may not go over well.

Also refusing consent to a search as Pain103 said isn't the end of the world. Rode with my brother a few years ago, he kept asking this one lady for consent and she kept saying no and eventually she left without any search being conducted.

As far as why he asked....is she married and if so is the car registered in her and her husband's name? Then does the husband have a HCP? As has been discussed HCP info is NOT attached to your vehicle registration, but it is to your DL. When a LEO runs the car's tag, you can take the info and run the name of the owner through the DL database though and that would tell you if the registered owner has a HCP or not. ....or maybe he just wanted to search the car.

[Ebow1]

Speeding violation not too long ago. Officer had time to run my plates and find out I had an HCP while we were getting to where he wanted me to pull over. Very first question was if I had a weapon on me or in the vehicle.

[Guest rsgillmd]

As others have said, a police officer can ask about anything. Heck, any random stranger on the street can ask about anything. What response you give is up to you.

I would not let a police officer search my vehicle though. I am not a criminal and do not need to be treated like one. If he/she is going to waste my time by making me wait for a K9 unit, then he is wasting his own time also.

[Guest GT_Rat]

I think a lot of the reason they ask to search is to see your reaction to it. Do you get evasive? Do you get nervous when they ask? Do you look or sound like you're trying to hide something when you answer? The few times I've been pulled over and they asked if they could search the vehicle I've said, "Sure no problem." I've never had a vehicle actually get searched. They're just fishing to see if you're up to something suspicious.

[mikegideon]

I hope she didn't consent to the search.

Right. If she didn't consent, they have to get a warrant.

[JayC]

As others have said, a police officer can ask about anything. Heck, any random stranger on the street can ask about anything. What response you give is up to you.

I would not let a police officer search my vehicle though. I am not a criminal and do not need to be treated like one. If he/she is going to waste my time by making me wait for a K9 unit, then he is wasting his own time also.

If he can hold you to wait for a K9 unit, he should be able to legally search the vehicle without your permission. If they hold you longer than the time it takes to conduct the traffic stop as a pretense to wait for a K9 unit to show up, it's very likely any evidence found would be ruled in admissible per current TN case law.

[JayC]

Right. If she didn't consent, they have to get a warrant.

No, they must have reasonable articulable suspicion that a crime has or is being committed. It's a fairly common tactic that officers will ask for permission to search in hopes that you'll agree thereby making sure the search in admissible... but when you deny the search they go ahead with it anyhow under RAS. The downside to a RAS search is the search may get thrown out... but that isn't much of a downside...

This is another example of how our god given rights once protected have been eroded by the Government. Use to be you did need a search warrant to search any vehicle or house, now that is not the case.

[mikegideon]

No, they must have reasonable articulable suspicion that a crime has or is being committed. .

Ah... because criminals never wear their seat belts . I actually had the conversation with an attorney a few years ago. Don't remember the details, because I don't care if they search my vehicle.

[JayC]

Ah... because criminals never wear their seat belts . I actually had the conversation with an attorney a few years ago. Don't remember the details, because I don't care if they search my vehicle.

Depending on how long ago that chat was, search warrants may well have still be required... It's a fairly recent turn of events... thank the war on drugs

I don't have anything illegal in my underwear drawer... but I still wouldn't want anybody other than my wife going through that drawer

[Fivestring63]

As others have said, a police officer can ask about anything. Heck, any random stranger on the street can ask about anything. What response you give is up to you.

I would not let a police officer search my vehicle though. I am not a criminal and do not need to be treated like one. If he/she is going to waste my time by making me wait for a K9 unit, then he is wasting his own time also.

If I got the time to kill and nothing better to do, I would not consent. Nothing to hide though.

[Smith]

Well, they can't ask anything. Can't ask about immigration status.

[chipperi]

I used to be a 911 Dispatcher when the officer runs your OLN license # it does tell us if you have a permit or not. Just running the plates does not. The dispatcher probably ran the registered owner automatically as soon as the officer called in the stop. That could be the case. But just asking if she was carrying out of the blue sounds odd.

[vontar]

I think any more it is common practice for a LEO to ask if there are any firearms or other weapons/tanks or atomic bombs just to see what reaction you give.

Like when I get my permit if I am driving my wifes car, the plates and registation will have no indication if I am HCP or not. The officer will not know that until, a couple steps later.

1. He asks and I choose to tell him

2. He checked my DL and they computer my DL to HCP records.

[Daniel]

spuds - Google Search

[enfield]

possibly copywrited material removed.

Edited August 6, 2010 by enfield

[Alpha13]

Thanks all for the input, I agree with most that I would not consent to the search, and if they go through the trouble of making it happen, I would sit there and smile as they find nothing....

[Wyldk2]

But make sure they put everything back the way they found it. I would not consent to a search either, I have nothing to hide, just have better things to do than let them waste my time searching my car for "suspected" illegal material.

Luckily for me, my vehicle often gets mistaken for either an UC vehicle or a TN wildlife officer vehicle. So far i have not been stopped by a Officer ( but we all know as soon as i post this, probably i'll be stopped for something).

[Guest The Highlander]

Oh yeah, when they ask for permission to search, just say "yes, but whatever you do, don't look in the trunk..."

That should be fun for a while!