DUI checkpoint caught on film

[Ford8N]

I feel out of the loop, I didn't hear a thing on that vid.

[gn3hz3ku1*]

i have seem some CA cops that are wayyyy worse.. but i am 100 percent sure there are good cops just the bad ones giving the good ones a bad name.

with that said. i know a LAPD swat team guy who gets harassed when he is not in uniform by LAPD.

i like to call it DWM .. driving while minority
but its easy to talk crap about cops... until you get robbed

[antarius]

Here's what I saw:

1) A civilian (roadside lawyer) looking for trouble.

2) That same civilian consenually enter a DUI check point. He did not take a detour or exit prior to the check point. (In California, there is always a way to avoid the check point, otherwise it could be seen as an illegal detention. We usually place the check point in a location that allows people to make a right turn onto a side-road, to avoid the check point if they so wish.)

3) An officer act professionally and responsibly during an investigation.

4) That same officer decide to conduct the investigation in further detail for reasons that I am unaware -- as I cannot see the drivers eyes, mannerisms, or any other objective signs of intoxication that may or may not have been present.

5) The roadside lawyer begin to whine and complain about something that I didn't see occur on the video.

What I did not see

A violation of anyones civil liberties
Unprofessionalism on the part of the officer or officers
Anything resembling a "Police State."

[M. Sage]

Read the transcript. The cop ordered him out of the car just because he wouldn't talk about where he was headed. Refusal to answer a question does NOT equal probable cause. You don't have to answer any questions per your Fifth Amendment rights.

@ gnehzekul: I talk MORE crap about SFPD after having my car burglarized three times in 6 months.

[antarius]

Read the transcript. The cop ordered him out of the car just because he wouldn't talk about where he was headed. Refusal to answer a question does NOT equal probable cause. You don't have to answer any questions per your Fifth Amendment rights.

@ gnehzekul: I talk MORE crap about SFPD after having my car burglarized three times in 6 months.

M. Sage,

I heard that part. You are assuming that because he did not answer the officers question, that was the only amount of reason the officer had to pull him out of the car. Show me the proof of this? You can't say that the driver wasn't showing some objective sign of intoxication; Or that there was no odor of an alcoholic beverage.

I can't say that he did, obviously, but my point is that you or I really don't know. And since you don't know, you can't go and make judgements about someone or someones actions unless you have the facts.

If you think that you, for some reason, are allowed to make judgements on a persons actions without knowing the facts -- then don't complain when you get yanked out of the car for no reason -- the cop will just tell you "I'm allowed to make judgements without knowing the facts."

In short, don't be a hypocrit. If you don't want to be judged, then don't judge others yourself.

[GJJ]

Antarius, you have got to be kidding me. You make it sound like motorists have a choice whether they want to enter these things. "Golly, I have a few minutes to kill, I think I'll drive my car over there and get treated like a criminal." People get caught in these things against their will and if you try to deny this you are a liar.

If they are so darn voluntary, then why not post a sign indicating you folks have some questions for motorists if they have the time? Heck, you could pass out free coffee on the taxpayer dollar while you are at it.

Another government employee that likes to pee on your leg and tell you it is raining.

[MinorDMaverick]

Americans will give in to just about anything.

[Uberdummy]

You know... whenever they set up a checkpoint at this one place not far from my home (every couple months), they do NOT leave a way out in one direction. The checkpoint is after a curve in the road right before another curve. Coming from my home you cannot see it until you are there, and the side streets are coned off. No way out of it. Coming the other way you can cut into a Stater Bros parking lot.