Is Drinking From What Looks Like a Beer Bottle RS for a Stop?
Does drinking from a brown glass bottle, similar to what a beer bottle looks like, give an officer reason to suspect a violation and stop someone to investigate a potential open container violation or DUI? So, look, this question comes from a retired officer who wanted to bring something to my attention. He was in […]
What is the Motor Vehicle Exception?
The automobile, or motor vehicle exception allows officers to search cars for evidence, contraband, and fruits or instrumentalities of crimes without a search warrant. When you ask cops, “What does it take to search these cars?” Many of them will just say, “Probable cause.” Well, let’s be technical, Technically, legally, there are four factors to […]
Single Purpose Container Doctrine
Today’s question is from an officer in Indiana; Would the single purpose container doctrine allow cops to search a vehicle’s hidden compartment? The first thing we want to learn is: What is a single purpose container? The single purpose container doctrine basically says that some containers, due to their shape, weight, size, material and the […]
Vehicle Trunk Search
This question came from an officer in New Jersey. Can police search the trunk of a car on the motor vehicle exception? The hypothetical goes something like this: patrol was notified of a suspicious person and vehicle. They found a male under the influence of heroin located right outside the vehicle. A semi-conscious female was […]
Running Firearm Serial Number During Traffic Stop
Our next question is: Can you run the serial number of a firearm that you are holding during a traffic stop? The answer is; most likely, but there are some caveats I want to go over. First of all, we do know that if you are lawfully seizing a gun, for example, during a pat […]
Searching Passengers for Marijuana
Today we are going to answer a question that a lot of you have on your mind. Can you search a vehicle’s passenger for marijuana? And the answer is: probably. However, I have to go into some legal reasoning here because the answer is really not that clear. There are two key cases I want […]
Traffic Stop Searches with Consent
Here’s a question from Texas. The officer says, If I get consent to search a vehicle, does the traffic stop have to end before I can search? And the answer is”No.” Consent includes with it the agreement to extend the traffic stop. Does that make sense? We know that when it comes to traffic stops, […]
Consent from Intoxicated Vehicle Owner
This question comes from an officer in the great state of Texas. Maybe it’s the Great Republic of Texas. (I don’t know, technically, if that’s what they call it down there.) This officer has a great scenario. Basically the question is: Can an intoxicated owner of a vehicle give consent to search? (Right, despite being […]
Towing a Rental Car
Hello everyone. It’s Anthony Bandiero, attorney and legal instructor for Blue to Gold Law Enforcement Training. Here is today’s question. Can cops automatically tow a rental car if the driver is not on the rental agreement? Well, the answer is that we don’t really have a lot of case on this very issue. Because really, […]
Consent from Non-Owner to Search Vehicle
Let’s talk about non-owners of vehicles and getting their consent to search, and a few twists on that as well. My name is Anthony Bandiero, answering another roadside chat question. Alright, this question comes from an officer in Minnesota. He says, “Could a driver of a motor vehicle who is not the owner, consent to […]
Extending Traffic Stop to Get Consent
Can police continue to ask for consent if the person is not giving an answer? This question is from an officer in Minnesota. Basically he asks this; “Say I’m looking for consent to search a motor vehicle. I asked the person if they would allow me to search their car, they beat around the bush […]
Reasonable Suspicion Stop for a Texas Buyer Tag
Did the Texas buyer plate give the officer proper reasonable suspicion to make the traffic stop? So this officer sees a vehicle at almost midnight in an area that’s kind of known for high crime and so forth, and sees a vehicle bearing a Texas buyer’s plate. Okay, so here is the reason why the […]