Logal guy is uncooperative at DUI checkpoint. Hilarity ensues.

[Bruno]

So this guy stops at a DUI checkpoint on the 4th. He has his window cracked, and the cop tells him to roll his window down. He tells him it's fine where it is.

The cop tells him to pull over to the side. He asks if he is being detained. That pisses off the cop. He repeats the order without answering the question.

They wind up running the dog around the car, the dog allegedly gets a hit, they search the car, and find no drugs, only the camera, which they apparently left in the car, but not before flipping it over or covering it.

No charges were pressed. It is not yet clear whether he is planning to sue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=w-WMn_zHCVo

It's not something I would have done, I have denied consent to search my car in the past because they had no reason to search, other than the fact that I had long hair and it was a shitty car. Also, the tags belonged to another vehicle which belonged to me.

I'm not particularly sympathetic to drunk drivers, though. I always just go along with it, you know, for the good of society and of course, the convenience.

I try to be respectful, without being too kiss-assey. I don't say "sir".

I find the flashing lights disorienting, especially at night, so I might seem a little googley-eyed to them sometimes. On one occasion, I had to go through the same checkpoint twice because it made me miss a turn. I got extra attention for that.

[Left]

I try to be respectful, without being too kiss-assey. I don't say "sir".

You don't live in the south, then.
If you ever do travel in the south, I will warn you that the failure to address the officer as "sir" or "ma'am" after every sentence would be received as actively rude.
...OTOH, I say "Thank you, sir, have a nice night," to the convenience store clerk.

I too approve of stopping blitzed drivers, as I have been hit by one before, and very nearly hit numerous times.
Most recently the near-head-on I had on the freeway.  I stayed on the side of the road (shaking) and watched the moron run 6 more cars off the freeway before he figured out that HE WAS GOING THE WRONG WAY.

Cops have never searched my car. Ever.
...If you looked inside my car you would totally understand this.

[Bruno]

I am in the south, actually. The same city where this happened, Murfreesboro, TN.

You know, the one with the Mosque.

[Bruno]

People are saying this is the same guy whom, in these two videos, harasses some people panhandling outside the motel they live in.

http://youtu.be/e80tJ2g6StM

http://youtu.be/WBvt89aRwqQ

Seeing as this most recent video has gotten over a million hits so far, I'd say he's finally hit the Youtube Jackpot.

[Left]

I am in the south, actually. The same city where this happened, Murfreesboro, TN.

You know, the one with the Mosque.

I'd use the honorifics...but I use them with everyone. YMMV.

I hope they don't Mosque with your Mosque any more...
I'm not necessarily a fan of any of the Abrahamic faiths, but that doesn't mean I want haram to come to people.
Religious persecution makes me Sihk.
Fundamentalists of any faith disturb and Confucian me.

[Q. G. Pennyworth]

 

I started "sir"ing everyone the last couple of years, not so much out of respect but because it amuses me.

[East Coast Hustle]

Fuck the Police.

but seriously, how anybody could ever be OK with random checkpoints is utterly beyond me. Those people should move to Germany circa 1938.

[tyrannosaurus vex]

Fuck the Police.

but seriously, how anybody could ever be OK with random checkpoints is utterly beyond me. Those people should move to Germany circa 1938.

But think of all the children being saved.

Besides, it isn't like this is an infringement or anything. These wacko constitutionalists keep talking about a "right to travel unmolested," but I don't see any amendments saying that. And even if it was true, you don't HAVE to go through a checkpoint if you don't want to. Just stay inside where it's nicer anyway. Driving is risky no matter what you do, so I'm just glad they finally have a good reason to put up checkpoints. Hopefully they can catch other people doing other dangerous things while they're at it, not just drunk driving. Like terrorists or illegals or those guys who wear fedoras all the time.

[AFK]

Fuck the Police.

but seriously, how anybody could ever be OK with random checkpoints is utterly beyond me. Those people should move to Germany circa 1938.

I'd rather have Drunk Joe getting stopped and having an overnight stay in lock-up as opposed to plowing into a family sedan full of family.  Public roads are public and thus it is perfectly valid to institute procedures to protect safety on those public roads.

[tyrannosaurus vex]

Fuck the Police.

but seriously, how anybody could ever be OK with random checkpoints is utterly beyond me. Those people should move to Germany circa 1938.

I'd rather have Drunk Joe getting stopped and having an overnight stay in lock-up as opposed to plowing into a family sedan full of family.  Public roads are public and thus it is perfectly valid to institute procedures to protect safety on those public roads.

Yes, but you are RWHN. Of course you would feel that way.

[Bruno]

He's almost up to 2.5 million hits. Anybody know how much that is in Youtube Dollars?

[Q. G. Pennyworth]

He's almost up to 2.5 million hits. Anybody know how much that is in Youtube Dollars?

Depending on where his traffic is from, anywhere from $2.13 to $0.12 per 1000 views.

[Bruno]

He's almost up to 2.5 million hits. Anybody know how much that is in Youtube Dollars?

Depending on where his traffic is from, anywhere from $2.13 to $0.12 per 1000 views.

So he's probably made a few hundred to maybe over a grand, so far. Not bad.

[Bruno]

Here's an article from the largest local newspaper.

http://www.dnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013307070030

Most of the comments are from local people.

:"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

I watched the video of MTSU student Chris Kalbaugh crashing a Rutherford County Sheriff's Office DUI checkpoint on July 4 by essentially denying the officer's demands by claiming constitutional rights.

Two things immediately struck me. My first thought was, "What are you hiding when you won't roll down the window farther when an officer asks you to?"

The second thought was the suspiciously scripted and deliberate nature of Kalbaugh's approach and the high production value of the video.

Although eventually confirmed, I needed nobody to tell me this was a planned effort. This was no Rodney King moment, in which George Holliday filmed from his apartment balcony officers beating King. It was a PR stunt, similar to when Oscar Mayer sends the weenie mobile into towns hoping the news media will cover it.

It's a smart stunt. It makes for exciting video for people who believe we live in a police state. This video was shown on libertarian websites and posted to Facebook pages like Police State USA: Land of the Checkpoints. It serves to inspire people who are against DUI checkpoints.

Some courts have found checkpoints unconstitutional, including the Michigan Supreme Court. After that decision, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, ruled that when handled properly, they are constitutional.

What bothers me is not that people want to see if a checkpoint is being conducted under the restrictions stated by the U.S. Supreme Court. It also doesn't bother me that people oppose the checkpoints or think we're in some sort of police state.

Nazi.

That really bothers me. It was a word used to describe the checkpoints by Axl E. David, the MTSU student who serves as the communications director for the Libertarian Party of Tennessee.

Nazi's killed millions in an attempt to take over the world and annihilate a race. And it was the word a communications director of a state political party used to describe the checkpoint.

He's not alone. As I looked around, a lot of people in social media are calling our deputies and A.J. Ross, the deputy in the video, Nazi, bully and other unsavory terms. It makes for exciting Libertarian video, but it does nothing but create division.

The problem is that I don't think these "checkpoint crashers," who most certainly are well-intentioned, understand police work. I don't think they understand the dangers these men and women put themselves in – for them.

I'm reminded of the name Tracy Alan Hansen. In one of the most difficult situations of my career, I covered his execution. On April 10, 1987, he was pulled over by a state trooper during a traffic stop. He pulled a gun on the officer, David Bruce Ladner, and shot him to death.

Welcome to the job of law enforcement, where any moment on the job could be your last. I remember that, as well as my own experiences on Coast Guard boarding teams, when I see people busting the chops of cops who are trying to keep folks safe.

When you won't roll your window down more during a DUI check, I believe the officer has every right to get suspicious.

I do not know what kind of deputy A.J. Ross is. We checked our archives, and his name appears largely on routine arrest reports and articles about supporting the efforts of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers. He may be a great cop, or he may be a bad cop. But on the video I watched, the only thing I see he's guilty of is letting a guy push his buttons.

And he was participating in no Nazi checkpoint. After all, Kalbaugh is still alive and walking around. Did the Nazi's allow that sort of refusal? I doubt it.

I know Rutherford County Sheriff Robert Arnold and Murfreesboro Chief Glenn Chrismann, the two senior law enforcement officials in Rutherford County. I don't agree with all their policies or the all the steps they take, just as they don't always agree with my stances or columns.

Both are strong men of faith. They have good hearts, servants' hearts. They want a safer community. I believe this desire filters down to their officers, who put their lives on the line for all of us, including the checkpoint crashers who want to make them look bad.

The video is what it is, production value and all. I believe the intent was to make the RCSO look incompetent. They got their viral video, and they got their media coverage. They even got to comment on the DNJ Facebook page, and David had a guest column in Saturday's paper. It's the First Amendment at work.

As a tactic, it fires up the Libertarian base and drags the name of a man who may be quite a good public servant – and a good person - through the mud. It also takes aim at a practice that gets a lot of lawbreakers and threats to public safety, off the street.

It's a stunt, nothing more.

[tyrannosaurus vex]

That article just pukes up the same thoughtless crap you always hear from police state apologists.

"The cops are putting themselves in harm's way to protect you, therefore your rights are irrelevant."

"Cops are people too, and we shouldn't expect them to live up to the ideals their badges represent."

"If you refuse to give up your freedom from an illegal search, I'd be suspicious too."

"Don't compare them to Nazis, they're not running a gas chamber [yet]."

Yes it was planned, yes it was a stunt. But the police in the video weren't in on it, so what's this guy's point? Who cares if he went there with the specific intention of documenting the way real cops react to real rights when they're demanded? I see no problem with that at all.