Food for Thought - Re: Sniper

[Luna 0]

Yet another sniper killing this morning has got me thinking. A while back there was a thread where many people expressed their vehement opposition to letting an officer search their car for any reason. So, my question to those people is this:

Say you live in the Northern Virginia/Maryland/DC area and drive a white panel truck or minivan. The cops pull you over today and request permission to search your vehicle. Would you allow it? I mean, obviously they are looking for a rifle, not drugs or anything else, and obviously you don't have a rifle in your truck. We ALL want this guy caught, so cooperation would seem to be in order. Refusing would possibly draw some unnecessary suspicion upon you. So, I'm just curious what you would do, especially because this IS happening.

I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

[slotperfect 7]

I would gladly let them search the vehicle. I have nothing in my vehicle to hide anyway, and if I owned a similar van, and they could eliminate mine from the running as the suspect vehicle, I would be glad to help.

Arrive Safely

John

[DJL 235]

Police have the right to search all vehicles operating on VA roads. It's part of the agareement for the priviledge of operating a vehicle in the state.

Now, how I feel about that....no biggy. I know I run the risk of the cop finding something that I didn't know was there.

EDIT: I'm sure the guys driving the delivery trucks are very happy to have their vehicles checked out. I was thinking that the police should set up a data-base of safe vehicles. Yeah, I know there are shortfalls there but it could be a utensil.

-Doug

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[flyhi 24]

If I drove a white van, I would not only want the police to search it, but I would want them to shoot me in the process and put me out of my misery.

Friends don't let friends drive vans.

Shit happens. And it usually happens because of physics.

[TequilaGirl 0]

Especially white ones...................

[happythoughts 0]

Quote

I would gladly let them search the vehicle. I have nothing in my vehicle to hide anyway, and if I owned a similar van, and they could eliminate mine from the running as the suspect vehicle, I would be glad to help.

"they could eliminate mine from the running as the suspect vehicle"
Really? How does that eliminate you? Do they keep a list of the vehicles that they searched? No. In fact, you are one of "those skydivers". Someone who may not have a rifle at this moment, but would bear watching in the future. Maybe flag for a future search.

[billvon 3,111]

>Friends don't let friends drive vans.

Hey! I lived in a van for six months! And you'll find that same van at half a dozen boogies any given year . . . vans make excellent poor-man's RV's. You can drink all you want, and roll out of bed the next morning and be at the DZ - and put all that hotel money towards jumping.

[nws01 0]

I agree with Bill Von on this one. Vans rock!

[TequilaGirl 0]

Literally at times.......hehehe

[freeflir29 0]

Nope...my answer is still the same. "Got a warrant?" The saying "I have nothing to hide.." is pretty stupid. No wait....JUST PLAIN STUPID.

[MarkM 0]

I would say, "No you don't have my permission to search my vehicle" then stand aside as they did it anyway and assist as requested by the officer.

[WFFC 1]

In most cases, a panel truck is usually a delivery truck. If you're working and you've got a ton of stuff in there, here's the advantage.
1. The cops will unload the truck for you, and maybe (doubtful) will help you reload it.
2. Since it's the company truck, you're getting paid.
3. It took them a while to unload it, they refused to help you reload it so you have to do it by yourself.
4. Overtime means more jump money...

If it were my person truck, I'd probably refuse. Any of the lawyers out there know of a precidence where the cops could search all vehicles of a description without a warrant?

-----
~~~Michael

[freeflir29 0]

Quote

Any of the lawyers out there know of a precidence where the cops could search all vehicles of a description without a warrant?

I'm guessing the cops will yell probable cause. However, if you DON'T give them permission and they come up with something they want to arrest you for they'll have to prove probable cause in court. Unless it is something major....like a body or 9000 lbs of Coke they probably aren't going to go through the trouble.

[happythoughts 0]

A little food for thought.
http://www.sptimes.com/News/061800/State/Crime__in_the_name_of.shtml
This is where I grew up. Lived there for 30 years. The St. Petersburg Times is a reputable newspaper, not a rag or a National Enquirer type. Want your car searched by these guys? Want to say this is isolated? A few bad apples?
"More than 100 charges have been dropped against 67 defendants"
"...a bogus search warrant...and planted crack cocaine there. A woman visiting the home was arrested. As a result of her felony conviction, she lost custody of her child. Before her encounter with the Delta squad, she had no criminal record. "
"officers conducted an illegal search...and stole $9,000 from a man, who filed a complaint... Later, deputies planted crack cocaine in the man's car as retaliation for the complaint"
"...agents routinely obtained search warrants based on lies"
"The officers brought crack with them on busts. If they didn't find ..., they would plant it. Fabricating cases wasn't the only aim. The agents wanted to use seizure laws to take cars and other property from their victims. "
"...agents were beating people, stealing money and planting drugs. "
hmmm...

[jtval 0]

Quote

>Friends don't let friends drive vans.

Hey! I lived in a van for six months! And you'll find that same van at half a dozen boogies any given year . . . vans make excellent poor-man's RV's. You can drink all you want, and roll out of bed the next morning and be at the DZ - and put all that hotel money towards jumping.

right on, Bill!!
Ive never had to live in my van but that damn thign was worth its weight in gold while i was in south georgia.(but it wasnt a pnl van it was a conversion van. temporary portable hotel room!) my friendsstopped making jokes abou it after we went to the mardi gras and live in it for 3 days! then they saw that their two seater rice eaters werent worth a thing!
if the van is a rocking...get the video camera!.

oh yea to stick to the tpoic I would let them searxch but I wouldnt get out so the sniper could get a clean shot at me!

My photos

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[Luna 0]

I realize that there are a lot of corrupt cops out there. There are some small towns south of Houston where the cops are on a real power trip and there are some serious abuses that have resulted in numerous lawsuits. My brother was routinely harassed by the cops as a teenager just for being a skateboarder. Nothing as serious as what you describe, but I am aware that corruption does happen all over.

That said, EIGHT people are dead and two injured, one a thirteen-year-old boy. This person is killing totally randomly. Personally, if I thought that letting the cops search my van/truck would help them in their search, I wouldn't hesitate for a second. Especially if, as posed in my question, I lived in the area where the attacks were occuring, so that I was putting my life in danger every time I left my house. Frankly, I am only about an hour and a half south of Fredricksburg, where at least two of the shootings have occured, and that is getting a bit too close for comfort to me. I really feel for all of you who are living up there. It just freaks me out that I lived in Bowie for a year, and that was some 4 years ago. I can't imagine what everyone in that area is going through right now. Obviously not everyone agrees, but my personal feeling is that, if I lived up there still, getting back my peace of mind and saving some lives would be worth letting them search my vehicle.

I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

[DJL 235]

http://www.sierratimes.com/whacknstack.htm

I think this site might be kind of on the anti-government side but it has a bunch of stories like that. One of my best friends is at the Wash D.C. police academy and I jump with and am friends with quite a few cops and know that they're, for the most part, good guys. Still, cops are humans and humans have power trips. It's just a little bit more fucked up when it's someone who's supposed to be protecting people.

-Doug

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[happythoughts 0]

"Personally, if I thought that letting the cops search my van/truck would help them in their search, I wouldn't hesitate for a second."
Me neither. That is the total question. Do you really think that searching your van, or all vans, is going to help? Really?
Police announcement in newspaper: "We are searching all white vans."
How long do you think the sniper is going to be driving around in a white van with his rifle?
They have huge amounts of tips coming in. Send the car-search cops out to follow up on those. That will help.

[Luna 0]

My feeling is, if they are pulling me over and want to search my van, they either have a good reason, or it is in some way part of their coordinated effort to find the sniper. So, whether I think in the grand scheme of things that it will really help their investigation to search my van or whether I don't, if they bother to pull me over, in this case, I would trust that they know more about how to catch a serial killer than I do, and I would cooperate.

And that being said, I will admit that maybe part of it is a wish to feel like I can help...like why all those people donated blood after 9/11. If they want to search my van, I am doing the only thing that I can to help catch this monster, and that's a good thing. At least then you don't feel quite so totally helpless.

I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

[christoofar 0]

Quote

>Friends don't let friends drive vans.

Hey! I lived in a van for six months! And you'll find that same van at half a dozen boogies any given year . . . vans make excellent poor-man's RV's. You can drink all you want, and roll out of bed the next morning and be at the DZ - and put all that hotel money towards jumping.

What that a van...... DAYOWN BY THE RIH-VER?????

____________________________________________________________
I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

[fasterfaller 0]

I'm with Clay , no warrent , no search .

[flyhi 24]

Quote

Hey! I lived in a van for six months! And you'll find that same van at half a dozen boogies any given year . . . vans make excellent poor-man's RV's. You can drink all you want, and roll out of bed the next morning and be at the DZ - and put all that hotel money towards jumping.

All valid. However, if I roll out of bed on Tuesday morning and drive my van to work, I will probably consider driving it into the first abutment I see on the way home.

About six months ago, we had a thread on the really hot cars people were driving. Try as I might, I can't remember anyone bragging about their vanilla bean white, chick-magnet, auto-transmissioned, soccer-ball-bumper-stickered panel van. Of course, if we wait another two weeks, I'm sure someone will start that thread again.

Shit happens. And it usually happens because of physics.

[skymama 37]

I wouldn't mind them searching my van at all, I have nothing to hide. On an airline flight that I took recently, I was one of those people that they pulled out of line and searched through every item in my bag and did the whole body search thing. I wondered why they did that, because I think I look pretty tame, but it didn't bother me. Hmmm....I wonder if they've heard stories about the REAL me!


Flyhi, your picture is hilarious! Nick Nolte should be the new poster boy to get kids to stay off drugs. Can you all believe that he was People Magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" about 10 years ago?

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[wmw999 2,587]

They just pick people at random (Southwest does it with the boarding pass). They've picked my 84-year-old blind father, and did a good job searching him, too. Which is what you want.
Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[wmw999 2,587]

A friend of mine's son is in the Army in Washington DC, and drove to NJ yesterday. He drives a white pickup (they're stopping those too), and it took him 4 1/2 hours to make it through the line.
He said that the stupid thing, though, is that they waved him through as soon as he showed his military ID. He's a crack shot, too...
Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)