I agree with you about being polite. And I agree with the poster you quoted about not giving up your rights. Ever. If the LEO has PC, then he will search. But he will never get my consent. I will be polite. But I will also be firm and clear in stating that I do not consent to any searches.E.Marquez wrote:Ignoring your attempt at belittling fellow members for now, I also happen to think your way off base, at least for me personally.twomillenium wrote:The mentality that "you have nothing to worry about if you are doing nothing illegal" comes from the mindset of sheeple.
My mindset of I have nothing to worry becuase I am not doing nothing illegal is what puts me at ease when I'm stopped, and I assure you, I'm anything but your insult of "sheeple".
Playing indignant guy during a stop is adolecent at best. They can ask the passange for ID, the passanger can say no thank you and that is all it needs to be...Or you can go in to I know my rights guy and see where that gets you.
They can ask the driver to search, every cop I know tells me, they ask even when they already have PC because it looks better if the case goes to a DA.
So yes they all seem to ask, the driver is free to say no, if they already had PC as Im told they often do, the car is getting searched anyway. If they do not have PC, again from what I have seen personally and what Im told by cops, thats the end of it unless they really do think there is cause and they just need to continue the contact to establish it better before forcing the search.
None of that is being a sheeple nor am I saying give away rights....But a polite no thank you works, so getting all up in arms about how you say no is just petty.
From my personal examples, I have had a LEO ask to search my vehicle twice, and my apartment once. I politely refused all three times. Apparently, none of those officers had PC because they let it go and did not conduct a search. Nothing good can possibly come from consenting to a search. Nothing. On the flip side, plenty of bad things can come from consenting to a search. At a minimum, you will prolong the traffic stop or other interaction significantly, but there is a very real risk of far worse outcomes.
If you have more cash than that particular officer is used to seeing, he might seize it under Civil Asset Forfeiture. If you have legal weapons and ammo in at least one Texas town, you might be spending a few days in jail (see the other active thread on this). In life, when we are facing a choice and one alternative has no upside and only downsides, it is usually best to not pick that alternative.