Originally Posted by
law dawg
I didn't follow all court precedent when I didn't prefer charges. If I planned on filing charges, I follow all prescribed rulings. The Exclusionary Rule only applies in court. This is to keep the government from punishing people without cause. As I didn't file charges, there was no punishment. I didn't invade their home, pull guns, etc. No force was used. It was simply telling them to empty their pockets. I didn't have RS for a search nor consent nor a warrant, so technically it was an unauthorized search. But telling some kids you know are up to no good to dump their pocket trash and then flushing their dime bags isn't abusing the Constitution, IMO. Your mileage may vary, however.
I see that as taking the attitude of "I didn't get caught abusing the Constitution, so it's okay". Had you met them in court over it, you would (hopefully) have been "caught" and they would go free, as they should.
What all that does is call into question in every single encounter whether the LEO any particular individual is dealing with is playing by the rules or not. Your position is very intimidating, especially to those ignorant of the law. That's not something to be taken advantage of. To gain the trust of the public, trust is not something that should be questioned.