Go Back  FlyerTalk Forums > Travel&Dining > Travel Safety/Security > Checkpoints and Borders Policy Debate
Reload this Page >

US Border Patrol checkpoint on I-10 in west Texas

Community
Wiki Posts
Search

US Border Patrol checkpoint on I-10 in west Texas

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Jan 31, 2012, 7:30 am
  #181  
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: DCA / WAS
Programs: DL 2+ million/PM, YX, Marriott Plt, *wood gold, HHonors, CO Plt, UA, AA EXP, WN, AGR
Posts: 9,388
Originally Posted by T.J. Bender
$1500 shouldn't have. Hell, you're going through an internal checkpoint, so no amount should have been an issue. If you were at the border, anything north of $9,999 has to be declared, and if it's not, you have a problem. At internal checkpoints, you can carry $100k in unmarked singles in your trunk, and there's not much they can do about it because there's no law against carrying your life savings in small bills in the back of your car.
If they're going to go to the trouble of planting drugs, they're going to seize a load of cash and make up a story. Remember that a huge percentage of US paper currency has traces of drugs.
Global_Hi_Flyer is offline  
Old Jan 31, 2012, 7:45 am
  #182  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: DFW
Posts: 28,115
I think the use of Drug Detection dogs pretty well proves what CBP is really doing in the "Constitution Free Zones" on our nations highways that do not cross the border.

I also believe that a dog handler can cause a dog to alert at will or even lie about an alert just to create probable cause.

Some may find this article of interest.

Drug dogs false alert over 200 times in UC Davis study

http://blog.norml.org/2011/02/04/dru...c-davis-study/

There shouldn’t have been any alerts, but, in fact, handlers indicated their dog had alerted in every room. There were more alerts in rooms with red paper (which piques the cop’s interest) and no corresponding increase in rooms with sausages and tennis balls (which would pique a dog’s interest).
Boggie Dog is online now  
Old Jan 31, 2012, 8:57 am
  #183  
Ari
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Chicago
Posts: 11,513
Originally Posted by T.J. Bender
$1500 shouldn't have. Hell, you're going through an internal checkpoint, so no amount should have been an issue. If you were at the border, anything north of $9,999 has to be declared, and if it's not, you have a problem. At internal checkpoints, you can carry $100k in unmarked singles in your trunk, and there's not much they can do about it because there's no law against carrying your life savings in small bills in the back of your car.
I believe it is any amount over $10,000.00. That means $10,000.00 does not need to be declared but $10,000.01 does. That's what I recall, anyway.
Ari is offline  
Old Jan 31, 2012, 8:59 am
  #184  
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: where the chile is hot
Programs: AA,RR,NW,Delta ,UA,CO
Posts: 41,704
Originally Posted by Firebug4
No lying is not probable cause. Error is if it is in good faith. FB
How can you tell the difference between an agent who is lying and an agent who is acting on good faith 'error'?

Seriously. You are suggesting that a highly paid, experienced officer never lies as an excuse to act on a strong suspicion or 'hunch'. If an agent lies and says a dog alerted or that he/she smelled or saw something suspicious and his/her suspicions prove to be wrong after a rigorous search, then it is called a 'good faith error'.

If an agent lies and a rigorous search turns something up, then it is called a 'good catch' and in most cases, the agent's initial lie is going to be difficult to disprove.
chollie is online now  
Old Jan 31, 2012, 4:26 pm
  #185  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Marriott or Hilton hot tub with a big drink <glub> Beverage: To-Go Bag™ DYKWIA: SSSS /rolleyes ☈ Date Night: Costco
Programs: Sea Shell Lounge Platinum, TSA Pre✓ Refusnik Diamond, PWP Gold, FT subset of the subset
Posts: 12,509
Originally Posted by Firebug4
Why would agents risk losing there lively hood making easily 80 to 90 thousand dollars a year to plant a joint that they are not even going to charge over it just doesn't make a lot of sense.
At least it sounds like there's a mechanism for disciplinary action. Perhaps that's what should have been done in this case so it doesn't happen again to someone else.


Originally Posted by Firebug4
As for the OP being a guilty party complaining, the OP is not complaining to the agency. The OP is complaining on an internet forum where ultimately there is no way whatsoever to verify the claims either way so the complaint in and of itself proves nothing.
Okay, well here's another:



Originally Posted by Global_Hi_Flyer
That's a real good question, but a very similar thing happened to a friend of mine who was piloting his own plane (he is a doctor - and an FAA medical examiner - and happened to have an LEO riding as passenger/copilot on the trip) and crossed the border from Mexico. I don't recall all the details, but they were told to leave the plane and stand away (LEO sensed that something wasn't right, so he watched carefully & IIRC saw the plant take place). CPB claimed to have found a joint in plain sight in the cabin (absolutely impossible with these two folks). LEO/copilot made a quick call, and a few minutes later the CPB folks (very red faced) got a call and told the two of them to leave. LEO told my friend that they really shouldn't report it because "sometime I might need them to cover my back".
Amazing.
N965VJ is offline  
Old Feb 3, 2012, 9:22 am
  #186  
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Northern VA
Posts: 1,007
Sorry, but nobody smokes joints these days. Today's stuff is way too powerful. A joint is major overkill and a waste of good weed. Not to mention that the chances of throwing something out the window and having it land on the door handle are nigh on ZERO.
Pesky Monkey is offline  
Old Feb 3, 2012, 4:01 pm
  #187  
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Houston
Posts: 8,956
Originally Posted by Firebug4
Back to the original post. I can tell you as an agency Border Patrol is not interested in a partially smoked joint. They are interested in trafficking not personal use quantities. When personal use quantities are found it is nothing but a headache and wasted time for the agent. What is gained by planting a partially smoked joint as the OP infers that the agent did? The agents didn't charge the OP with anything they let him go. The agents don't get any gain from it other that additional paperwork not the agents favorite thing to do I can promise you.
Really? You may want to tell that to Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg and Armie Hammer who were all busted for marijuana at this same checkpoint. Does that change the dynamics at all?

Originally Posted by Firebug4
Law Enforcement at all levels have used drug dogs as part of many different types of detentions not just brief stops for citizenship determination.
I am unaware of another situation where an LEO can detain and run a K-9 around your vehicle without any suspicion at all within the United States. That is the reason these detentions that occur miles from the border are an issue.
ND Sol is offline  
Old Feb 3, 2012, 4:33 pm
  #188  
Moderator: Travel Safety/Security, Travel Tools, California, Los Angeles; FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: LAX
Programs: oneword Emerald
Posts: 20,642
Originally Posted by ND Sol
I am unaware of another situation where an LEO can detain and run a K-9 around your vehicle without any suspicion at all within the United States.
Same here.

I have lost count of the suppression motions that I have won because the police officers thought their knowledge of the law was superior to the lawyers or the judge's.
TWA884 is offline  
Old Feb 3, 2012, 8:46 pm
  #189  
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 200
Originally Posted by chollie
How can you tell the difference between an agent who is lying and an agent who is acting on good faith 'error'?

Seriously. You are suggesting that a highly paid, experienced officer never lies as an excuse to act on a strong suspicion or 'hunch'. If an agent lies and says a dog alerted or that he/she smelled or saw something suspicious and his/her suspicions prove to be wrong after a rigorous search, then it is called a 'good faith error'.

If an agent lies and a rigorous search turns something up, then it is called a 'good catch' and in most cases, the agent's initial lie is going to be difficult to disprove.
Perhaps the dog made an honest mistake? (but if someone has a dog who's capable of lying, please call CNN or ASPCA ASAP. )
MissyH is offline  
Old Feb 3, 2012, 8:51 pm
  #190  
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: where the chile is hot
Programs: AA,RR,NW,Delta ,UA,CO
Posts: 41,704
Originally Posted by MissyH
Perhaps the dog made an honest mistake? (but if someone has a dog who's capable of lying, please call CNN or ASPCA ASAP. )
See Boggie Dog's post #182. It is not the only example of dogs alerting 'honestly'. And there have been reports of handlers who lied and said the dog had alerted when it had not.

Not all CBP interactions involve dogs, of course.
chollie is online now  
Old Feb 3, 2012, 8:52 pm
  #191  
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 200
Originally Posted by chollie
See Boggie Dog's post #182. It is not the only example of dogs alerting 'honestly'. And there have been reports of handlers who lied and said the dog had alerted when it had not.

Not all CBP interactions involve dogs, of course.
someone call the dog's union rep....
MissyH is offline  
Old Feb 3, 2012, 11:10 pm
  #192  
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: where the chile is hot
Programs: AA,RR,NW,Delta ,UA,CO
Posts: 41,704
Originally Posted by MissyH
someone call the dog's union rep....
Where do you think the phrase "It's a dog's life" came from? If I were a dog, I'd much rather chase sticks for a treat than hang around harassing people and smelling nasty stuff all day. And then get dumped when my nose was fried from sniffing all that stuff repeatedly during training and on the job.
chollie is online now  
Old Feb 4, 2012, 8:26 am
  #193  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: An NPR mind living in a Fox News world
Posts: 14,165
"The actions of one dog in no way reflect on the professionalism of the over 50,000 dogs employed by the CBP. The CPB has a zero tolerance policy towards any canine misconduct. Such misconduct will be dealt with quickly and completely."
FliesWay2Much is offline  
Old Feb 4, 2012, 10:39 am
  #194  
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 200
Originally Posted by FliesWay2Much
"The actions of one dog in no way reflect on the professionalism of the over 50,000 dogs employed by the CBP. The CPB has a zero tolerance policy towards any canine misconduct. Such misconduct will be dealt with quickly and completely."
Why is the CBP so harsh on its canine employees? I'm willing to be that in the last hundred(or even thousand) years, not a single dog was convicted of lying to humans.

Or does CBP really mean Cat Border Patrol?
MissyH is offline  
Old Feb 4, 2012, 10:55 am
  #195  
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Houston
Posts: 8,956
Originally Posted by FliesWay2Much
"The actions of one dog in no way reflect on the professionalism of the over 50,000 dogs employed by the CBP. The CPB has a zero tolerance policy towards any canine misconduct. Such misconduct will be dealt with quickly and completely."
In my case, I am pretty certain the dog was used as a ruse to find probable cause. After the dog did his thing, I heard the handler say the dog didn’t alert. But that wasn’t good enough, so the handler was ordered to have the dog search again. I didn’t hear the handler say anything this second time, so I asked if the dog now alerted. No one would answer my simple question, but they decided to search my bag anyway without my consent. That camera bag never had anything in it that would have been illegal in the year that I had owned it (and I had purchased it new).
ND Sol is offline  


Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.