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Anonymous said …
Yeah, but what to do at a DUI checkpoint? Here's how it goes in my state:
Cop: How are you doing, sir?
Me: Fine.
Cop: You been drinking tonight?
Me: No.
OK so far, but then:
Cop: Where are you coming from?
What then? "Home" seems so much better a reply than "I'd rather not answer that."
April 14, 2009 1:59 PM
"Why are you interrogating me?" and "Do I need to call my lawyer?" "Can I leave now?" would stop the cop from further trying to pry information away from you. If you are innocent and have nothing to hide the nice officer is just wasting your time. You could be home with your family, and the cop could be stopping people that actually commit crimes, so both of you have better things to do.
You can be polite but still make it abundantly clear that you do not appreaicte being bothered.
About checkpoints.
I speak only for myself here, and no offense intended to the good American cops, but I avoid cop checkpoints as much as I avoid thieves.
I get close to the car in front of me, go to its left as we get near the check point, and use the other car as "concealment" to avoid visual contact with the cops.
This has worked well for me so far. This way, usually the car in front of me gets, stopped, not me.
If there's no other car I stop, put reverse, and just find another way. Of course you need to be alert so as to do that before you are too close, but I've done this before several times. I really avoid them as much as I can.
You should be specially alert when going under bridges or getting near signs where cops sometimes hide in the shadows.
I avoid these stops like the plague, not only because cops in Argentina are mostly trouble. I said “mostly”, I just got off the phone with a cop that trains the Federal police and the presidential security ( H2H, knife and baton class in a couple of weeks!! : ^) ), he’s a cop and he’s a great guy.
There’s also the problem of “fake” police stops. These usually have uniforms and sometimes even a patrol car.
You stop and you get robbed, so no I avoid these things as much as possible. So should you if things get worse as time goes by. It's not that hard to get uniforms, and even old patrol cars.
FerFAL
8 comments:
FerFAL, I though you'd like this:
http://www.asalbuchi.com.ar/2009/04/conferencia-nuevo-orden-mundial/
The one (and only) time I was stopped at a DUI checkpoint, I was returning home for break from school, a drive that took about 8 hours. I'd been driving for over 7 hours nonstop when I was pulled over in the early evening.
The cop asked me the usual questions about drinking, followed by, "... and where are you headed tonight, sir?"
I fixed him with my most bleary-eyed look, smiled and told him my destination "... from Los Angeles, via..." and then proceeded to name every tiny burg on the road up to that point.
I only got about half way through the list before he and his partner muttered a "have a nice evening, sir" and waved me through.
The lesson, I think, is that cops don't like to be bored by small talk any more than anyone else. If the cop is at all self-absorbed or arrogant about his authority (many are) they'll try to avoid contact with a "civilian" who wants to engage them in inane chatter. Present yourself as uninteresting but inanely chatty and they'll usually try to get rid of you as fast as they can.
In the U.S., where a checkpoint is still a checkpoint (and not a shakedown), you've got a few options..
A:
The best legal advice I ever heard about handling a DUI charge was, to roll the window down a crack, stick out your lawyer's card and say "If you want to talk, speak to my lawyer." That's the only way you can postpone an alcohol screening.. but they're just going to get an arrest & search warrant, then take you to a hospital for a blood sample. (This is more for a traffic stop than a checkpoint -- checkpoints are heavily staffed and search & arrest is all they are there to do.) You're banking that the cop would rather let you go than deal with the hassle. In reality though, if you've been drinking and driving, you deserve every charge coming at you.
B. Relive those Hall Monitor encounters from school, and answer all their little questions until you're sent on your way.
C:
Assert your rights, deal with inconvenience and teach them a helpful lesson. Its good to remind police that they are there to serve & protect, not harass. They deal with enough lying shitbags that 'interviews' can sound harassing and belittling as a default. Someone who asserts their rights, and makes a cop go through all the tedious steps to search you, is helping the cop take a fresh look at their interview style and the "lazy harassment" that can become defacto practice when someone doesn't remind them that liberties are restrictions on power, not concessions from it.
"A:
The best legal advice I ever heard about handling a DUI charge was, to roll the window down a crack, stick out your lawyer's card and say "If you want to talk, speak to my lawyer." That's the only way you can postpone an alcohol screening.. but they're just going to get an arrest & search warrant, then take you to a hospital for a blood sample. (This is more for a traffic stop than a checkpoint -- checkpoints are heavily staffed and search & arrest is all they are there to do.) You're banking that the cop would rather let you go than deal with the hassle. In reality though, if you've been drinking and driving, you deserve every charge coming at you."
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I suggest you get a new lawyer for advice.
That "technique" will most likely get you arrested. The Supreme Court of the United States has ruled you must get out of the vehicle when ordered to do so by police. If you don't, not only are you going to jail for Obstructing and Resisting, but most likely for the DUI your afraid of getting charged with.
FerFal,
Another good article. Thanks.
Here in the Andes, I do everything possible to avoid 'informal' road-blocks (ie not toll-stations), including wrong-way traffic flow, hopping medians, etc.
I have my generally-accepted stuff in order, license, permits, insurance, etc. but there is ALWAYS something they can get you on if they want.
Ben
Uh ... can I ask a question?
Why does the land of the free have police checkpoints in the first place? Does this not seem strange? I am not American and to hear of this is very strange.
PAPERS PLEASE!
I've been on both sides of the equation. LEOs at a checkpoint are usually looking for something (ie: drunk drivers, no documentation, narcotics, etc.) Be prepared and be polite. Cops respond to you the way you respond to them. (Of course this is only in America)
Sure, occasionally one will be a jerk, but if remain nice, he'll usually mellow out too.
"Why does the land of the free have police checkpoints in the first place? Does this not seem strange?"
Because the facists/facilism mentality has taken over. It does seem strange. I live here and I can't get over how being in this country is like living in an old nazi movie or an outdoor prison! It is becoming like everything I was taught Americans were supposed to be against. I think most everyone has gone mad.
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