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So I'm driving down the highway today, and notice a motorcycle cop with his lights flashing, stopped behind a car that is stopped on the side of the road. From a distance, I see the LEO standing next to the car writing on his note pad. The car door is open, but there is no one else in or around the car. Then the LEO leans into the open door of the car, and leans all the way over to the other side inside, apparently searching the interior of the car. As I pass by, I notice a big bright green sticker on the back window of the car, like the ones the LEOs put on cars that are disabled on the side of the road.

So, my assumption is that this was an unattended, disabled car on the side of the road.

My question is - if the assumption is correct - can a LEO legally search the inside of an abandoned car on the side of the road when the owner is not present, presumably without the owner's permission? Just wondering...

thatguyoverthere wrote:So I'm driving down the highway today, and notice a motorcycle cop with his lights flashing, stopped behind a car that is stopped on the side of the road. From a distance, I see the LEO standing next to the car writing on his note pad. The car door is open, but there is no one else in or around the car. Then the LEO leans into the open door of the car, and leans all the way over to the other side inside, apparently searching the interior of the car. As I pass by, I notice a big bright green sticker on the back window of the car, like the ones the LEOs put on cars that are disabled on the side of the road.

So, my assumption is that this was an unattended, disabled car on the side of the road.

My question is - if the assumption is correct - can a LEO legally search the inside of an abandoned car on the side of the road when the owner is not present, presumably without the owner's permission? Just wondering...

Why not? There's no one there to ask, maybe he's looking for the owner's ID?

The car is committing the crime of illegal parking, so the car can be searched incident to arresting it.

ScottDLS wrote:The car is committing the crime of illegal parking, so the car can be searched incident to arresting it.

this is pretty funny, but is probably more true than just a humorous statement.

More than likely the driver may have been arrested, and the officers are doing an inventory on the car before it is towed. And yes, incident that to arrest, opens the vehicle to search including the trunk. They do an inventory and provide the arrestee with a list of everything in the vehicle. SOP