Kingsville, TX — Last Thursday, the Fifth Circuit US Court of Appeals ruled that it is suspicious for a vehicle to have air fresheners, rosaries, or pro-police bumper stickers.Thy were pulled over based on this stuff, searched and, of course, no drugs were found but they had money.The ruling stems from a 2011 Texas court case in which a couple was pulled over for having rosaries hanging from the rearview mirror, as well as a few air fresheners, and a DARE sticker on the back of the vehicle.
The husband, unwidely, allowed the cops to search the car without a warrant.
Yeah, the cops stole that and arrested them. Because they can.
“We do have concerns that classifying pro-law enforcement and anti-drug stickers or certain religious imagery as indicators of criminal activity risks putting drivers in a classic ‘heads I win, tails you lose’ position. But we need not decide whether these items alone, or in combination with one another, amount to reasonable suspicion because we find the more suspicious evidence to be the array of air fresheners and inconsistencies in the driver’s responses to the officer’s basic questions. We have long recognized that the presence of air fresheners, let alone four of them placed throughout an SUV, suggests a desire to mask the odor of contraband.”War on Drugs again.
Cops desiring more ways around the 4th Amendment.
This just has to stop, but it is such a lucrative, easy scam and one that crushes minorities extra hard, law enforcement just can't give it up.
ALWAYS make cops get a warrant.
Tell them they do NOT have your permission to search anything and make them get a warrant if they are so sure there's something wrong.
If you have any significant cash, they will take it and you will have to go through hell to get it back.
