Well at least in my view it was harassment. Anyway, my 3 buddies told me this story a few days ago and i had to post it on here to get some of your guys' opinions. So they were in my friend's car at around 2 am sitting on the side of the road. Lights on and shit, they were looking for something in the gps. Cop car rolled past them, stopped backed up behind em and flipped on his lights. Came up to the car, they said, and asked what they were doing. Next thing he said was that he smelled a swisher. My one buddy told him it w as a black and mild. I asked em, he didn't say he smelled weed. Just said he smelled a swisher. Pulled all 3 of em out of the car. started to search the car, without any consent. Started to search them. Found a bowl in the car. He tells them this "if one of you takes blame for this, i'll stop searching" So my one friend says it's his, and guess what the piggy keeps tearing up the car. Luckily, he didn't find the half o he had. He had it in one of those fake containers you can buy. Like fix a flit, clorox etc. Gave him a ticket for paraphnelia (sp?) and sent em home. Now down here in az it's a felony. Anything weed related is. Chances are he'll get it dropped cause his record is clean, but i told him if they even tell him about having a misdemeanor on his record to fight this. From what they told me, it sounds like that cop didn't have a reason to search the car or them for that matter. Smeilling a swisher is not a probable cause. Last i checked, cigars were legal. And yes, a lot of people use em to roll weed but just because you have a swisher or you smoked one doesn't mean you were up to no good. So what do yall think? Harassment? Going a little too far there piggies?
Whoever owned the car should have repeatedly said "you do not have permission to search my vehicle". If the cop is going to search he's going to search, regardless of what he smelled, he could later say he smelled weed, no way to prove him wrong. But if you make it clear you did not accept the search, a good lawyer might get it thrown out in court. You have a bunch of witnesses, though since they're your buddies they might not count for much. Your buddy could get the para charge dropped easy, though.
yea that's what i was telling him, about telling em you dont' consent. But i think that was the first time he got pulled over like that. Plus he was happy they dind't find the weed.
The best thing your buddies could have done when they got out of the car was lock it. Although the cop might give you extra shit for effectively locking him out of your car, anything he does to you WILL NOT get past your county judge. Like people have said before, cops have a fucking batman style utility belt full of excuses to search your car, but by having the driver immediatly available to be sobriety tested, and keeping the car locked, there are very few of those excuses that will stand up if he does decide to force you to give him your keys. Any attorney would nut all over a cop forcing you to give him your keys so he could search your vehicle without a warrant on suspicion of legal tobacco products.
try telling the judge you told him you didnt consent, after he finds shit in your car, is an uphill battle, carrying 10 elephants, that are running down the hill