Can male cops frisk females here in CA?

[Falstaff]

Two questions:
In the video linked below, an Arkanasas cop actually touches each of this womans breasts; would that be legal here in CA?

The guy videotaping the cops; was his arrest justified by CA law? (if this occurred in CA, all other things being equal).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUOsq_45SnQ

[Triad]

Thats pretty typical teaching as far as a male searching a female. Note how he's using the back of his hand, not making a groping movement/action.

I imagine policy differs department to department but there is nothing stopping a male officer searching a female. If there is a female officer available, I will make accommodations...but this is not always the case.

[tyrist]

If there is no female available and you think she is armed then yes you can do a pat down. I am not aware of all the law/codes of that location so cannot comment on the arrest.

[meangreen46]

Yes...officer safety....especially if there are no female officers around. You need to be really careful and possibly have a witness depending on the "type" of subject being frisked.

Notice how he uses the back of his hands and explains everything he is doing before touching her? Plus, Im sure there's a camera on the dash of the car she is in front of. CYA

[Ron-Solo]

Yes, but you need to be able to justify your actions based on the circumstances. Having a witness is also a good idea. These days, I'd get someone to use the video on my camera to document my actions.

[Average Joe American]

This subject is covered in pretty much every modern police academy during Defensive Tactics. Yes a male can frisk a female if you have no other options. If you think a female has a gun or a knife and she tells you you cant... are you really going to let her possibly kill you? Females can kill a police police officer just as easy as a male if she has a gun or a knife.

[meangreen46]

This subject is covered in pretty much every modern police academy during Defensive Tactics. Yes a male can frisk a female if you have no other options. If you think a female has a gun or a knife and she tells you you cant... are you really going to let her possibly kill you? Females can kill a police police officer just as easy as a male if she has a gun or a knife.

And guess where they hide the gun?

[eltee]

Sometimes on a quick pat/frisk I would use a flashlight or a collapsed ASP baton when no alternatives were readily available, but I would never hesitate to hand frisk a female if the situation warranted it and I could justify it.

[zfields]

we were taught to use our thumb (think giving someone the thumbs up) between the breast if we needed to go there, the rest like normal.

[El Gato]

Not a problem in our dept....
always try to get a female...
if not...
we search...
no stupid back of the hand thumbs stuff...either... if she's packin' sharp stuff... I NEED to know about it...
if I think she MIGHT/MAYBE/PERHAPS/MATHMATICAL POTENTIAL STUFF....carrying stuff that might hurt me...she gets searched...don't do it often... but I have....
I just wait to get her to the jail to let a female get her dope outa her bra/whatever....
it's the sharp things and the things what go bang that worries me....

YMMV.....we have a good dept. that way...

one of the funny ones only the other way around.....

short white felon...just beat his girl... sees me in the window knocking on his door...with my black partner...said felon is a racist person of questionable parentage....said felon takes foot bail out the back door... where I had strategically placed another officer... 6 ft. tall black woman....dude is like 5-3 .... I run around to the back of the house in time to see said amazon type has said felon type in "the position" hands behind his head and locked up... he's bent about in half as he has decided to struggle a bit (futile though it was) and she is pulling... stuff outa his pockets ... I come around the corner and her hand pulls his pants up by reaching outside his crotch and pulling up... he went even further up on his toes.... couldn't stop laughing as she handcuffed said miscreant.... ended up getting him on sales of meth, gun, ammo, and sundry other charges... I still have the baseball bat that he had fitted with a scythe... when asked... under miranda mind you... what it was for... he said it was to "f^%$ people up who tried to mess with his dope"... or something like that...One of those memory lane posts this has turned out to be....

but racist short man punk who beats on women searched and arrested by a sweet ( and she is by the way... a very nice lady in every sense of the word) 6 ft black amazon .........makes my heart sing it does...

[Uhhlexxxis]

the women tend to hide more stuff than the men... In my short experience so far, my partners have seen dope/weapons in the bra where the women denied having anything to begin with. They're dirt bag boyfriend is usually stashing stuff on her cause he thinks you'll cut her loose.

[jlh95811]

Not a problem in our dept....
always try to get a female...
if not...
we search...
no stupid back of the hand thumbs stuff...either... if she's packin' sharp stuff... I NEED to know about it...
if I think she MIGHT/MAYBE/PERHAPS/MATHMATICAL POTENTIAL STUFF....carrying stuff that might hurt me...she gets searched...don't do it often... but I have....
I just wait to get her to the jail to let a female get her dope outa her bra/whatever....
it's the sharp things and the things what go bang that worries me....

YMMV.....we have a good dept. that way...

one of the funny ones only the other way around.....

short white felon...just beat his girl... sees me in the window knocking on his door...with my black partner...said felon is a racist person of questionable parentage....said felon takes foot bail out the back door... where I had strategically placed another officer... 6 ft. tall black woman....dude is like 5-3 .... I run around to the back of the house in time to see said amazon type has said felon type in "the position" hands behind his head and locked up... he's bent about in half as he has decided to struggle a bit (futile though it was) and she is pulling... stuff outa his pockets ... I come around the corner and her hand pulls his pants up by reaching outside his crotch and pulling up... he went even further up on his toes.... couldn't stop laughing as she handcuffed said miscreant.... ended up getting him on sales of meth, gun, ammo, and sundry other charges... I still have the baseball bat that he had fitted with a scythe... when asked... under miranda mind you... what it was for... he said it was to "f^%$ people up who tried to mess with his dope"... or something like that...One of those memory lane posts this has turned out to be....

but racist short man punk who beats on women searched and arrested by a sweet ( and she is by the way... a very nice lady in every sense of the word) 6 ft black amazon .........makes my heart sing it does...

Are you actually admitting, on a public forum, that you stole his property?

[9mmepiphany]

well, i'd heard of it but that was the first time i've actually seen, in the field, a pat down search with the back/edge of the hand. we were taught specifically not to do that in the academy.

we used the grab search technique...professionally...if there were no female officers available

[jlh95811]

Let me be the first to point out that the videographer here is a staright up douchebag. I'm all for the constitution and rights but you don't spout stupid crap at your public servants. They have a hard job to do and although they may not always make the best decisions they do try.
He's a loud mouth jerk and I'm glad he got arrested.

[E Pluribus Unum]

Is there a distinction between gays?

Isn't being touched by a man the same as being touched by a lesbian? (for a woman)

A man is only allowed to frisk a woman if all other options are gone... what if he is gay?? Does he have to call a straight officer to frisk a male?