The question is. They can ask you anything they want to ask you, and they are trained to get you to incriminate yourself. How you answer their questions is still up to you. As for, "Have you been drinking?" I always answer no, and truthfully, since I never drink and drive. If you actually have been drinking, no is probably still the best answer, since you're not getting any worse of a DUI if they figure out you're lying.

__________________
Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

That is what I was thinking.

Adolf would be proud.

__________________
Jim

Don,

You are wise beyond your years, young man.

Bingo.

The whole random stop thing (in NYC it's random stop and frisk) is a direct violation of constitutional rights.

However, the place to challenge those rights is in court, not with the enforcement division. He's damn lucky they didn't plant some evidence. If they did, he's totally f'ed without ANY defense.

Police can be very dangerous when challenged. Don't do it without real good reason. The fact that your constitutional rights are being violated is not a good enough reason unless you're prepared for the consequences and the aftermath (which could get very costly for you).

I hardly think the officer is a punk kid who looking for youtube hits....

oh... wait..... you're talking about the driver??

Kid should be applauded for standing up for himself and his rights.
More people should be as protective of their constitutionally granted rights and less inclined to toss them away as soon as a bozo with a badge tells them to.

I'm guessing from your comment that you are not one of these....
Maybe the next cop to pull you over will instruct you to squeal like a pig...

__________________
On some nights I still believe that a car with the fuel gauge on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio. - HST

1983 300SD - 305000
1984 Toyota Landcruiser - 190000
1994 GMC Jimmy - 203000

https://media.giphy.com/media/X3nnss8PAj5aU/giphy.gif

Postulating from afar?

Would you do exactly has the kid did?

Run the risk of jail for the next 10 years?

Standing up on principle can get your head blown off...................

I have with an internal Border Patrol checkpoint. Refused to answer any questions about where I was going, how long I was staying in California, with whom I was staying. I did very clearly state that I was taking video and that said video was being uploaded in real time.

All they were legally supposed to ask for was proof of US citizenship, and I was happy to show them a passport.

I'm glad it worked out for you.

Your risk with the Feds in such a situation is far less than with the local yokels. The Feds might actually know the law and will probably be less likely to plant something on your vehicle.

However, advocating such behavior as a general principle will likely get you "killed". The cops can't stand it............and, you're at their mercy once you begin it.

Absolutely. I'm strictly a "Yes sir, No sir" kind of guy when I deal with cops anymore.

I had some very similar discussions with LEO when I was considerably younger and full of ideals... (it was college filling my head with dang-fool ideas....) spent a few nights in the tank because of it too.

Of course, the world was a little simpler back then. Seemed like eventually you would end up speaking with someone who had some sense, and they would politely explain how my actions did not.... then they let you out of the room and send you on your way.
Pretty sure my actions had a huge impact on the fabric of our society....

__________________
On some nights I still believe that a car with the fuel gauge on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio. - HST

1983 300SD - 305000
1984 Toyota Landcruiser - 190000
1994 GMC Jimmy - 203000

https://media.giphy.com/media/X3nnss8PAj5aU/giphy.gif

Protesting would be great but it would have to be planned and executed in mass. It could be interesting if 30 protesters pulled up to the checkpoint within a few minutes and all followed procedure.

There are so many DBs today that inevitably some will be officers, most are not. It's not a job I would want and I have to be thankful for those who do.

That would be awesome. It would be even better if lots of folks contacted their local elected officials to let them know we don't want checkpoints. Considering these are usually about DUI, and half of Carson City seems to have at least one, I'm surprised it hasn't happened here yet.

__________________
Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

Which is why I hate cops.

You might be right and win but it will cost you $100k+++ in court.

At least in 3rd world countries you can pay them with $20 to go away, we are not their yet. Plus ours are to highly paid.

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

YMMV but in my experience the further up the food chain you go the more professional the law enforcement. Federal is actually pretty good and they tend to be very highly trained and know the law. Such a response to our friend stating his rights sounds about right. The Coast Guard for example is Federal LEO and they are extremely competent, and very pleasant to deal with.

Local morons especially in small towns are rather scary. They are LEO their because they couldn't hack it in the big leagues and have an ax to grind. I know people who have gotten shaken down for the cash in their wallet in small towns by dirty cops.

Small towns scare me, I don't want to deal with LEO unless I'm with a local. OTOH camping I did get away with some shenanigans because a local smoothed it over.

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200