UnSubRocky wrote on Oct 2
nd, 2016 at 11:44pm:
miketrees wrote on Oct 2
nd, 2016 at 12:51pm:
I could not stand watching that right through.
I hope he got smashed at some point.
I have watched a number of these videos. In Australia, he would have been dragged from his car after a refusal to answer a question and then a request, and detained. Screw his "rights". He should be responsible for just answering a question, and then going about his way.
Its easy to be dismissive of rights when its somebody else whose rights are being 'screwed'.
It is a well regarded right, clearly, in the US, that prevents the abuse of detain and search actions by those in (apparent) authority.
The border guards would have had the right to detain and search if, on stopping the vehicle, they had the 'probable cause' required to proceed... What this video is showing, I think, is the officers constructing 'probable cause'... What does it mean to answer one simple question in this context? Does it reasonably permit the officer to ask and expect ID, as the driver has made a statement about his nationality? Does it mean the driver has acknowledged the authority of the officer? What does it mean to comply with the officer and leave the vehicle? Would the driver no longer be in a private place for the purposes of 4th Amendment rights? The female officer in the video who finally yielded and quickly lifted the tarp on the back of the truck was indicating she was well aware of the 4th Amendment issue from the start (that does allow for a quick search)...
The officers were not being honest when they persisted with their questioning, knowing, as they would, that they did not have the right to proceed to detaining and searching... Unless the driver voluntarily yielded to their request or left the vehicle... A version of entrapment more than good 'policing'.