Originally Posted by
Trollkiller
He did not state he took constitutional liberties. Taking an item that a person has no right to have is not a 5th Amendment violation.
I take, from a trained officer of the law who knows Constitutional boundaries, "And maybe..." to be a beat-around-the-bush admission to exactly what he describes he "might" have done.
Originally Posted by
Trollkiller
Using no force as Law Dawg contends, and requesting someone to empty their pockets does not violate the 4th Amendment. An officer is under no obligation to tell someone that can refuse a request to search.
But if the officer comes up with something in that search and is asked in court why he felt compelled to ask and the answer is "Eh, just felt like asking for no particular reason." (not that any officer doesn't have an arsenal of shady reasonable suspicion excuses to draw from, true or not) does it hold up?
Originally Posted by
Trollkiller
"I don't like the looks of those youngsters" is very much reasonable suspicion, as long as you are not being prejudiced. If you see a group of kids hanging outside the liquer store where normally kids dod not gather it is enough cause to go aver and say "howdy".
I agree with you when you add in the liquor store, but any random group of kids in not inherently suspect based solely on their being kids. Also, it's not just saying "Howdy." It's all in
how they say it. They know they're cops and kids are easily rattled by authority. Again, that power is not something to be taken advantage of.