Originally Posted by copwriter
You mischaracterize the procedures of profile stops to deter narcotics trafficking. First, stops are not made purely on profile. They are made for legitimate traffic violations. Granted, the officer might not stop a non-profiled vehicle for the same violation, but probable cause is still required.
Secondly, absent probable cause to search the vehicle, most searches were "consent" searches, where the motorist gave permission for the search. If the motorist doesn't know enough to say, "No officer, I don't want you to search my car. May I go now?" I think that's their problem.
But, to bring the examples together, if you saw an unfamiliar person loitering in front of your house at a late hour, I think you would be uneasy about it, and you would be justified in feeling that way. And I, as a cop responding to that call, would try and have a chat with the individual. Most people would view that as a legitimate function of the police. If you choose to regard it as a constitutional affront and decide to hire an attorney for the poor put-upon prowler/peeping tom, that's your privilege. People invest money and time in silly things all the time.
Well firstly, I never stated that the peeping tom should not be questioned nor did I state his questioning was a constitutional affront. Quite the contrary, I support the concept that such a person should be questioned and that is a legitimate function of the police.
As for the drug stops, they were certainly made by profile in a number locations, New Jersey and many Florida counties among them, and the traffic violations were usually made up or simple infractions no one would ever be pulled over for. The demeanor of the police was highly combative, dogs were trained to react to non-existent drugs at search sites to produce probable cause and motorists who refused searches were often detained while warrants were obtained. Many of the people profiled for these stops were certainly not educated or strong enough to stand up for their rights, as in many cases they were lied to by police or threatened. Countless lawsuits have been filed all over the country for violations of rights, police misconduct and retrievel of illegally seized assets.
Further searches were done at airports to confiscate cash, usually from minority passengers who were carrying the money for legitimate reasons.
The war on drugs did not justify that type of police or government behavior, and I am sorry but the war on terror does not justify marching down a similar road where people are profiled, detained, questioned oor turned in by their fellow suspicious citizens.