Murfreesboro DUI Checkpoint Video Making its Way Across the Web

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Ultimate solution is to change the law so that there are not so many contrabands that police are tasked with searching for.

Though that might not affect juvenile stops much, because it is unlikely that the law would be changed regarding juveniles and intoxicants or weapons.

Also dunno how it would affect dui stops. It would remain illegal to drive intoxicated even if intoxicants were de-criminalized.

In case of de-criminalization, open container type laws might need examination. I'm ignorant of the state of how open container SHOULD be enforced nowadays, but have seen incidents in the past of folks going to jail for open or empty containers even if they were not intoxicated. If a bag of weed were decriminalized, would a bag of weed in a vehicle be treated as an open container even if there is no evidence that the driver is intoxicated? Edited July 8, 2013 by Lester Weevils

[leroy]

I guess im conflicted about this one a bit.  I see the wisdom in DUI checkpoints.  I think it does save lives and get impared folks off the roads.

The problem begins in the weighing of citizen's rights vs a small bit of inconvenience.  I've been thru 'em.  It wuz a nothin.  The officers in my neck of the woods are always professional and you can tell they are simply lookin for signs of imparement; and it doesnt take 'em log to do it.  Lots of times it's just a glance and a "thank you". 

 

The "deal" seems to be some small inconvenience to the driver vs the safety of the public.  I will agree that this is a touchy subject, especially to the libertarians (...like me, and im sure others...) among us.  I agree that when they find somethin they dont like; you need to make 'em get a warrant.  I'm like some other posters on this one; "....the roadside aint the place to take a stand on constitutional ethics, and to banter words with a guy with police power and a gun.  If you sandpaper him, he will find somethin wrong...".  Is that ok?  Of course not.  

 

leroy

[wewoapsiak]

Speaking of harassment what happend here in tn. at the Salvation Army's halfway house last June that put Tatum in the hospital with broken bones .

Obviously it was Tatum's fault, his bones got in the way of that officers baton.:rolleyes: Now if those video cameras weren't there, I wonder if those officers would have still lost their job?

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[npgunner]

Speaking of harassment what happend here in tn. at the Salvation Army's halfway house last June that put Tatum in the hospital with broken bones .

Clearly all cops are good and should always be trusted to have the citizens best interest at heart ... at least that's what some here would have you believe.

[Jesse]

Like the smyrna cops, they to are bored and turn nothing into something.

But the kid was filming lookin for a youtube video. Both parties are attention whores.

[Hozzie]

There are some bad cops...probably always have been and always will but those situations are what courtrooms are for...the side of the road or in the pull-off area of a checkpoint is not the place to teach the police a lesson in civil rights.

 

I am not sure about this.  No one is saying you have to go looking for a fight like this kid did, but in a general, every day stop, if I feel like I am being harassed or bullied, I will let them know about it.  I think most cops just want to do their job ,but there are many who think they have extra authority and like to show it.  The good part about today is that we can also video all of these exchanges.  Cops have camera's so they can show what actually happened and the more and more these kinds of things happen and we video them, it will eventually have the effect of changing behavior of how the bad cops respond as well.  

 

To me, it's a bit like a kid being in a fight with the bully at school.  Do you teach them to stand up for themselves right then or wait until they get home and tell you.   I can tell you which one I would tell my kid to do.  I am not saying to be aggressive, but just standing up for my rights is something I feel I should do.  I will also tell it in court, but you can be sure I won't be bullied in person into doing something I know is illegal.  Video is a great tool as long as you are the one acting professionally.

 

I would ask, was the bus the place to start a lesson in civil rights?  Sometimes you just have to do what is right.

Edited July 8, 2013 by Hozzie

[mikegideon]

Speaking of harassment what happend here in tn. at the Salvation Army's halfway house last June that put Tatum in the hospital with broken bones . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7B1VIbl4x4

 

Wow. Nobody should be allowed to beat a deaf man like that.

[RobertNashville]

Speaking of harassment what happend here in tn. at the Salvation Army's halfway house last June that put Tatum in the hospital with broken bones

Look,

You can keep posting videos all day long...I'm not arguing and never have argued that there aren't abuses of people's rights by police...they happen...but it doesn't change my opinion about where and how to handle them. Edited July 8, 2013 by RobertNashville

[maroonandwhite]

Wow. Nobody should be allowed to beat a deaf man like that.

I know right? Why not just roll over? I know when I'm outnumbered. This guy clearly didn't.

[mikegideon]

I know right? Why not just roll over? I know when I'm outnumbered. This guy clearly didn't.

 

You either comply or resist. Somebody told me once that resisting is a crime. I've even had advanced training on how to avoid getting hit with that black stick. I'm not defending any actions here, because I don't know the procedure for resisting. I DO know that force is part of their recourse.

[RobertNashville]

I am not sure about this.  No one is saying you have to go looking for a fight like this kid did, but in a general, every day stop, if I feel like I am being harassed or bullied, I will let them know about it.  I think most cops just want to do their job ,but there are many who think they have extra authority and like to show it.  The good part about today is that we can also video all of these exchanges.  Cops have camera's so they can show what actually happened and the more and more these kinds of things happen and we video them, it will eventually have the effect of changing behavior of how the bad cops respond as well.  
 
To me, it's a bit like a kid being in a fight with the bully at school.  Do you teach them to stand up for themselves right then or wait until they get home and tell you.   I can tell you which one I would tell my kid to do.  I am not saying to be aggressive, but just standing up for my rights is something I feel I should do.  I will also tell it in court, but you can be sure I won't be bullied in person into doing something I know is illegal.  Video is a great tool as long as you are the one acting professionally.
 
I would ask, was the bus the place to start a lesson in civil rights?  Sometimes you just have to do what is right.

So let them know about it with a civil lawsuit or file a formal complaint with the department management...the side of the road is NOT the place whether the citizen is polite or an ass.

[jtmaze]

I am sorry but we should feel fear when being approached by police officers. The officers attitude in the original video is what believe they can get by with things like happened in the last video. You can control a person without beating them down. That was out of line.

[Hozzie]

So let them know about it with a civil lawsuit or file a formal complaint with the department management...the side of the road is NOT the place whether the citizen is polite or an ass.

 

We can agree to disagree and surprisingly I don't hate you  :pleased: .  I think if a citizen is being polite, the side of the road is as good as anywhere.

[mikegideon]

I am sorry but we should feel fear when being approached by police officers. The officers attitude in the original video is what believe they can get by with things like happened in the last video. You can control a person without beating them down. That was out of line.

 

It could have been out of line. I don't know their rules. Seems to me those two were big enough to wrestle him into some cuffs. Does anybody know if they were reprimanded?

 

We do have to remember that the cops didn't have the option of letting him go, just because he didn't want to go to jail. I'm thinking that's the reason that use of force is legal to begin with.

Edited July 8, 2013 by mikegideon

[ted]

Look,You can keep posting videos all day long...I'm not arguing and never have argued that there aren't abuses of people's rights by police...they happen...but it doesn't change my opinion about where and how to handle them.

I agree with you I jest think thay should have some police , the police there job is not easy and 90 percent do a great job but some are eather over worked and maybe stressed and some are on some kind of power strike those would be the ones that maybe need a little time off with pay to compose themselves from the stress . I can only imagine the crap thay go through every day, and thay probably run across things we have never even seen before , i dont understand how thay do it and keep there sanity , thay are human and thay get stressed jest like we all do. Did the boy need to do that no . I would have jest give them what thay wanted and rolled on through . Even though my privacy was commanded by a officer , if it gets 1 or more off the streets that is a good thing. I don't drink and drive period . I get it believe me , I had a friend on one Sunday afternoon his wife was coming home from church got hit by a drunk driver and killed his 3 year old boy and wife , I felt for him and I know for a fact he morn for over a year and would not leave his house he really loved his family , and all his future was gone in a blink of an eye. From a drunk driver. There is a proper way to handle the public and it needs to have respect for each other not jest because I have a badge this is how you are going to be treated , And yes we do have 90 percent of the police that are some of the best cops around. But thay have earned that and it wasn't by being an A## .

[analog_kidd]

So let them know about it with a civil lawsuit or file a formal complaint with the department management...the side of the road is NOT the place whether the citizen is polite or an ass.

 

Sorry, I don't have the time or money to go to court to teach the cop what he should already know. There are a ton of laws and I don't expect cops to know all of them, but I expect them to know most, and I certainly expect them to be fully aware of what a citizens civil rights are.

[mikegideon]

Sorry, I don't have the time or money to go to court to teach the cop what he should already know. There are a ton of laws and I don't expect cops to know all of them, but I expect them to know most, and I certainly expect them to be fully aware of what a citizens civil rights are.

 

"Teaching" a cop can be tricky. Make sure you shoot some video. I'm never too old to learn :)

[RobertNashville]

Sorry, I don't have the time or money to go to court to teach the cop what he should already know. There are a ton of laws and I don't expect cops to know all of them, but I expect them to know most, and I certainly expect them to be fully aware of what a citizens civil rights are.

 

Cops should not be trampling your rights but they are not there to protect them as much as they are there to solve problems and do a job which often involves taking people to jail; sometimes for very minor things just to solve the immediate problem (like a know-it-all who wants to argue rights which is actually only impeding the cop from doing his job).

 

It's the court's job to administer justice IAW the Constitution and that is where you rights are protected.  Arguing "rights" with a LEO is simply a dumb thing to do - at that moment, the LEO has all the power; you have none. You may prove yourself right or be proven right in the end but it may well be after a night or a weekend in jail with "Bubba".

Edited July 8, 2013 by RobertNashville

[mikegideon]

"Bubba" may not respect your rights either.

[RobertNashville]

"Bubba" may not respect your rights either.

especially if he's a 6'6" 350 homosexual looking for a date.

[mikegideon]

You know how them homosexuals are. One minute they're smiling at you, and the next thing you know, you've been violated! :)

[Hozzie]

You know how them homosexuals are. One minute they're smiling at you, and the next thing you know, you've been violated! :)

 

I thought you were going to say, then next thing you know, you're playing cornhole!  :ugh:

[TMF]

You know how the TSA are. One minute they're smiling at you, and the next thing you know, you've been violated! :)

[DaveTN]

This should not be happening. Some cops seem to be afraid to tell you that “Yes, you are being detained, No; you are not free to go. Do you understand that?” These clowns think they have hit the lottery if they get a cop to tell them they are being detained. If you are working a DUI checkpoint and you don’t know if you have the right to detain an idiot that refuses to roll his windows down and turns into a mute; GTF off the checkpoint until you find out. And don’t listen to your cop friend or read it on a forum; go directly to the DA’s office and find out.

 

And for citizens:  We shouldn’t be having to guess at this crap. Most every Police Department, DA’s Office and Sherriff’s Office has a website. They need to be posting useful information on them to educate the public instead of some of the non-sense they put on their.

DA’s should be available to the public. As a Police Officer when I had a question I could walk right into the DA’s office or call them and get an opinion on whatever I was questioning. The public should be able to do the same. Sure, I don’t expect them to discuss specific on-going cases with us, but we should be able to get general answers from them. They are elected to serve the public.

 

Defense attorneys: Just like cops, there are good and bad defense attorneys’. If you have a defense attorney tell you that cops need a warrant to search your car, cut him off and walk away; he’s an idiot. I have been though more traffic and criminals trials than I can count. Many of the defendants said they were going to walk; they didn’t. They lost their traffic cases and were convicted in their criminal trials and still had to pay their attorneys’.  Why? Look at the conviction rates. Most good cops and DA’s know more about traffic stops and search and seizure than the attorneys do. You want to know what’s going to happen in a courtroom; ask an attorney or a DA. You want to know what’s going to happen on a traffic stop; ask a cop in the jurisdiction you are inquiring about.

 

Parents: I have said this before and I’ll say it again. Parents you owe your kids the proper answers when they ask you about traffic stops or vehicle searches. So don’t tell them stupid crap like “A cop needs a warrant to search their car.” Because it’s stupid, its wrong, and they will repeat at the wrong time because they think you have a clue of what you are talking about.

[mikegideon]

I thought you were going to say, then next thing you know, you're playing cornhole!  :ugh:

 

Cornhole doesn't mean the same thing anymore. Now, it means throwing bags of corn through a hole! Go figure :)