Imagine you’re driving down the road and then see the blue and red lights flashing in your rearview mirror. You may not know why you’re being pulled over. Perhaps your taillight is out. Perhaps your tags have expired. Perhaps there’s a more serious reason why a police officer may pull you over. It’s also possible that there is no discernible reason that you know.

However, just because a police officer pulls you over, you do not lose your rights to be secure in your car.

When can a police officer pull you over?

A police officer can pull you over if she has reasonable suspicion. There’s no cut and dry definition of reasonable suspicion. It’s a lower standard than probable cause, but a much higher standard than simple a “hunch” or a “feeling.” A reasonable suspicion is one that a police officer can articulate as being a specific reason to believe that people in the car have committed a crime or are currently committing a crime.

For example, it would be reasonable suspicion if a car zoomed passed at 20 miles over the speed limit. It would not be reasonable suspicion if a driver had no warrants, the car was in good repair, and the driver broke no laws but simply had an “I Hate Cops” bumper sticker.

How long can you be pulled over?

There is no set time, so long as it is reasonable. An officer may pull you over for a short period of time, long enough to determine if you have committed a crime, if you’re wanted by the police, or if there is any reason to ticket you or arrest you. For example, a police officer can’t pull you over for suspicion of driving drunk and compel you to sit on the side of the road for an hour until he thinks you’ve sobered up enough to drive. Likewise, you can’t be forced to sit on the side of the road and wait for two hours until a K-9 unit can come do a drug sniff on your car.

You do have to show the officer your ID, and you do have to get out of the vehicle when asked.

You’re not required to show a police officer your ID simply because she’s asked for it. Citizens aren’t required to have government-issued IDs, much less carry them on their person at all times. However, if you’re driving a vehicle, you have to produce your license and registration, because drivers must have an active, valid driver’s license to drive and the vehicle must have a valid registration to be on the road.

You DON’T have to let the officer inside your vehicle or allow them to shine a light and look through your car.

An officer only needs reasonable suspicion to pull you over and detain you for a short period. Being detained, however, doesn’t give the officer permission to enter your vehicle. This means leaning in, reaching in, or putting a flashlight in the vehicle to shine it on persons or the car itself.

Search of your vehicle – Can they? Do I have to let them?

The answer is it depends. The Fourth Amendment protects against unlawful searches and seizures. A police officer doesn’t have a right to search your car simply because you’ve been detained, so the police officer must have a permissible reason to search your vehicle.

The police can search your car if:

• You give them permission,
• Your car is impounded,
• They have a valid search warrant,
• They’re arresting you, or
• There is probable cause.

 

But do you have to give them permission? First, you’re not required to consent to any searches of your person, your home, or your belongings, and refusing a search is not evidence of guilt, nor does it create a reasonable suspicion. However, since the other reasons a police officer can search your car don’t require your permission or input, it’s likely that the police have no lawful reason to search your car, so they’re seeking permission. Only the owner can give permission to search the car; passengers without ownership cannot.

If the police don’t have permission, they need either a warrant or probable cause to search the vehicle.

What is Probable Cause, and When Would the Police Have It?

Probable cause is a standard above reasonable suspicion. It means that due to what the police officer can observe (not just what she thinks or believes), a crime was likely committed or is likely being committed. Probable cause is needed before the police can search the car. However, this usually means that the police can only search what is visible, like the dashboard, the console, the floors, and the seats.

The police can also only search the parts of the vehicle they can see from the outside unless you give them permission, or if there’s probable cause to search the unseen places of a car for evidence of a crime. For example, if a police officer pulls a driver over and sees them reach under their seat before the officer comes, the officer has probable cause to search for contraband under the seat. However, if nothing is found that leads to an arrest, the officer can’t go on a fishing expedition and check under all the seats, the trunk, or the glove compartment.   

Do you have to take the field sobriety and Breathalyzer test?

In short, yes, and you’ve already given the police permission to conduct them. In every state in the United States, there is an “implied consent” law, meaning that if a driver chooses to drive on the public roads, the driver automatically gives the police permission to check the driver’s sobriety if there is reasonable suspicion that the driver is intoxicated.

While Breathalyzer tests are considered a search under the Constitution, they are not considered unreasonable searches the same way that demanding a blood test will be. Thus, if you are driving on a public road and you are pulled over under suspicion of driving under the influence, you must take the field sobriety test and the breathalyzer test if requested since you have already given the officers permission to search your body for drugs or alcohol under the implied consent laws.

What happens if you refuse the Breathalyzer test or the field sobriety test?

This depends on the state where you are arrested and where you are licensed. In many states, refusing a Breathalyzer is an automatic six-month suspension of your driver’s license for six months up to one year. In other states, you may have mandatory jail time for refusal.

However, the police make mistakes, and sometimes they violate driver’s rights by unlawfully pulling them over and searching them. Sobriety tests can also have false positives. If you’re currently facing charges due to being pulled over by a police officer, speak with a criminal attorney.

Whether you’re in prison for the worst of the worst crime or something nonviolent, you still have the same basic rights as an American under the U.S. Constitution.

Inmates’ rights are a controversial topic sometimes, as some people believe in the mantra, “Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time,” but inmate abuse is a common occurrence in prisons across America.

If you have a family member or a friend in prison, you should be aware of the rights of inmates.

 

What are the basic rights of inmates?

Here are some of the most basic rights of people who are incarcerated:

• The right to humane living conditions and facilities: Extreme prison overcrowding, broken toilets and showers, and extreme heat or extreme cold are just a few things that prisoners should not be subjected to, because every prisoner has the right to humane conditions under the Eighth Amendment that outlines cruel and unusual punishment.
• The right to not be sexually assaulted: The Prison Rape Elimination Act protects prisoners from unwanted sexual contact behind bars. It’s an effort to fix the long-term problem with sexual abuse in prison.
• The right to not be segregated due to race: Inmates cannot legally be segregated in their cells or pods by race, unless exigent circumstances arise and the segregation is temporary and for security purposes.
• The right to file a complaint: If an inmate believes he or she is being treated unfairly, the inmate must have an avenue by which to air his or her grievances. One method is to file a federal complaint with the U.S. Justice Department, which investigates allegations of civil rights abuses in institutions and also investigates police brutality. Police brutality can extend to corrections officers in prisons.  
• The right to adequate medical care: Whether it’s a short-term illness like the flu, or a long-term condition, inmates have the right to be treated by medical professionals in a timely and competent manner. This includes the right to mental health care, as a large number of prisoners in America suffer from mental illness.
• The rights afforded under the First Amendment: Inmates have the right to read, write, speak, pray, practice religion, and communicate with the outside world. These rights can be curtailed in some ways — prison guards can read your mail and monitor your phone calls — but they are still rights that all inmates have unless they have lost them because of disciplinary or security issues.

 

If you or someone you love has had their civil rights violated in prison, you need the help of an experienced civil rights attorney. Contact Jacqui Ford’s office today.

 

Increased media attention on both police misconduct and violence against police officers might lead you to believe that there’s been a sharp rise in the number of police officers being killed in the line of duty each year in the United States.

According to researchers, that assumption would be wrong, but it’s important to note that in 2016 there were more police officers killed by gunfire than in 2015 — significantly more.

How many police officers are killed in the line of duty?

Here are some numbers on police officers killed in the line of duty:

• Overall, the number of police officers killed in the line of duty in 2016 rose by just 10 percent, but the number of officers who died after being shot rose by 56 percent.
• In 2016, 64 police officers were killed in gun incidents, up from 41 in 2015.

Former police officer Seth Stoughton, now an assistant law professor at the University of South Carolina, told NPR that it’s misleading to compare the numbers from year-to-year. Although there have been some fluctuations with the numbers over the past few years, overall, police killings are only half as high as they were four decades ago.

There has been a change, however, in the perception of violence against police officers, thanks to high-profile killings of multiple police officers in 2016, including in Dallas and Baton Rouge, where snipers targeted officers.

How many people are killed by police each year?

The number of people killed by police officers each year is much higher than the number of officers killed. Here are some statistics:

• About 1,000 people are shot and killed each year by on-duty police officers, according to CNN. Those numbers come from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• As of September 2016, only 77 officers have been charged with murder or manslaughter since 2005.
• Of those 77 charged, 26 were convicted, 28 were not convicted, and 23 of those cases were still pending as of last year.
• Of the 26 convictions, 13 of the officers pleaded guilty.
• In 2015, a year in which several high-profile cases of black men being killed by police came to light, 18 police officers were criminally charged. That’s three times more than usual.
• Collecting data on police misconduct and crimes committed by police officers is no easy task, because there is no official national data set.

 

If you or someone you love has been the target of police misconduct, you need an experienced attorney on your side. Contact Jacqui Ford’s office today for help.

 

 

 

With police officer-involved shootings making headlines and viral social media posts across the country, you might be tempted to think that a large percentage of police officers have been in a situation in which they have fired their duty weapon.

According to the Pew Research Center, that assumption would be false.

A survey conducted by Pew showed that only 27 percent of law enforcement officers have ever fired their service weapon while on duty. But there is question as to whether some officers are more prone to fire their weapons than others.

Who is more likely to fire their gun in the line of duty?

Pew’s survey found the following when conducting research on which officers are more likely to fire their service weapon:

• Male officers are more than twice as likely as female officers to shoot their service weapon. Thirty percent of male officers have fired their weapons, while only 11 percent of female officers have done the same. This is still true even after taking into account the differences in what kinds of jobs they have, the length of time they have served, their age, and the size of the city and department where they serve.
• White officers are more likely than minority officers to have shot their duty guns — the statistic is 31 percent vs. 21 percent.
• Did you know that military veterans account for 28 percent of all police officers in the United States? And it turns out, a higher percentage of veterans who are police officers have fired their weapon while on duty.
• Another interesting fact is that in cities with higher violent crime rates, fewer officers have fired their guns. In cities with lower violent crime rates, police officers were “significantly” more likely to have fired their weapon.
• In larger cities with larger departments, there’s a higher chance that an officer has fired his or her weapon.

What are the characteristics of people who have fired their service weapon?

Here are a few key findings of the survey that might also surprise you:

• Officers who have fired their weapons while on duty are “somewhat” more likely to favor harsher, more physical interactions for dealing with suspects.
• They are more likely to believe that civil rights for black Americans are up to par and don’t need any tweaking.
• Officers who have fired their weapon while on duty are more likely to favor Second Amendment rights and gun ownership as opposed to gun control.

Regardless of officers’ attitudes, firing a gun while on duty is a serious situation that calls for a thorough investigation.

If you or someone you love has been the victim of police brutality or excessive force, you need an experienced civil rights attorney on your side. Contact Jacqui Ford’s office today for help.