Originally Posted by tkey75

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.

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?

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.