SonicPainter

sigh, i held this in. and it keeps eating at me, so i might as well ask. .

while on a x-country trip last year in a rented motorhome, we were pulled over by Illinois state troopers for a quoted 5mph over the speedlimit. when asked where the sign posting this new limit was, the officer stated we had not come to it yet but it was about a half mile up the road, then he asked to search the motorhome, it was at this time i was asked to join the sargeant in his patrol car, my lady was in the cab of the motorhome, the officer interrogated me and his partner her, and they listened to each other over earpeices, comparing our stories... , they asked where we had any drugs or automatic weapons. (heh riiight, my lady made me sell my shotguns years ago, she hates the things) the other two officers then took screwdrivers and started removing access panels, looking in cupboards,tearing things up, looking in boxes and one was very very fearful of my dogs ( i have two very large, yet mellow dogs appprox, 75 kilos each...bernards), one officer loved them. the other was petrified of them. the one the dogs loved up was actually a really nice guy the other musta had a bad day goin on..bet he owns a cat..heh) . After a while it was apparent we had nothing contraband wise on us. the officer then stated he had pulled us over because we had california plates. (guess thats probable cause) I know we could have probably stood firm and said no to the search, but they were showing a lot of intention to make life very uncomfortable for us until they got a warrant. not to mention they added pressure on us by stating they wanted us to let our dogs out. (this was on the side of interstate 80 in heavy traffic)
now all would have been cool. but they caused a lot of damage to the interior of the motorhome, causing almost 1000.00 worth of damage (so says the motorhome rental company) Letters to the Ill. state police are not returned, and the motorhome company says the deluxe insurance we bought doesnt cover damage caused by searches by law enforcement. even tho no citation was even issued!

thier probable cause story was that they busted a california registered motorhome a month previous contaning 4 tons of prime BC bud (the officers words) I think it was all BS, they saw a motorhome with a couple of hippie lookin middle agers, california plates and perhaps to give them the benefit of the doubt, maybe they were tipped to look for motorhomes! (its perfectly possible) etc.

am i screwed here? I keep fighting..but its getting redundant. redundant. redundant.

any hints from those in the know on what to do to get these guys to stand up and pay up?? im sure curious!

also, as a segway. one other question for nite, is california the only state who requires officers to have POST (police officer standard of training) certification?

btw, it was this behaviour, sancioned by the "war on drugs" that really brought me back to my roots advocating legalization..I dont hate cops or dislike em. in the end. they have a lot of good to do as well as enforce the laws we dont agree with. Just gets me hot thinking of all the drugs that drove by while they were wasting thier time with me

thanks much in advance. best!
D.

Niteshift

I'm going to refrain from commenting on the PC for the stop for a couple of reasons........primarily because you may not know all of it at this point. It is perfectly legal for the police to have a number of reason amounting to PC and not tell them all to you at roadside.

It's also perfectly normal to seperate the occupants and check there stories. It's amazingly effective and costs nothing to do. It also roots out those who have practiced the story a little too much.

My best advice for a quick solution is to file a claim in small claims court. This can be done without the expense of a lawyer (in case things don't go your way). The majority of the time, if an agency actually receives a lawsuit like this, their insurance simply pays it off. It's cheaper than paying their attorney to go to court and fight about it.

Now, if you start getting into higher dollar amounts, trying to get money for "mental anguish" etc., they will fight it and they have the advantages. They have more money than you do, so they can pay a lawyer to drag the case out. Also, they're in Illinois, which is where the case will be heard. That means either you, or your attorney (which means you pay), will have to start appearing for every silly motion they make and you'll go broke flying back there.

My advice: Small claims court for the actual damages (documented as best you can).

"is california the only state who requires officers to have POST (police officer standard of training) certification?"

Absolutely not. Almost every state requires a certification. The difference is the length. Some states, like CA, TX, FL and NC are fairly long. Others are shorter. But I can't think of any that don't require some sort of certification.

IL State Police run their own academy. It is a lengthy academy and is a live-in academy, similar to boot camp.

__________________
A burning desire for social justice is never a substitute for knowing what you're talking about. -Thomas Sowell

Sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel is muzzle flash.

bcbudman

thats pretty crappy , i cant believe they were going to let the dogs out.
what would have happened if you would have asked for more officers to be present - or is this just asking for trouble.
The only thing I can think of is writing as many letters to the bosses of those involved regarding your experience maybe it will be documented somewhere. its lucky your dog didnt bite then there may have been real trouble. Cops can be real dicks sometimes but they can also be pretty cool we had heaps of them at the marijuana march on saturday and they all seemed to be enjoying the show and having a laugh at thier situation. It really sucks being in that position but i would imagine your cops are pretty stressed out with all the guns out there. These guys are trained that drugs ALL DRUGS ARE EVIL. Maybe they see no difference between a cracked out murderer and a sunday avo smoker. way to keep your cool though. very commendable. Being put in that submissive position especially in front of your old lady , by someone you totally disagree with can be pretty hard.

SonicPainter

First let me give you a big vote of thanks for your speedy reply nite, the idea of small claims had entered my mind, but I didnt think it would be worth it to travel back to Ill for court etc. (for obvious cost reasons.) I think now about possibly filing a small claims date by mail which is allowable in some states and not in others. but ill do my homework.

you remind of of a couple of LEO's who are dear and close to my heart. friends in days before they entered law enforcement and they stayed friends after. always open and ready to help no matter the questions posed or who asks.

I know some of the posters here really delite in givin you a case of the a** over minutia...but IMO, you are a true asset.

thanks again. best of luck
D.

Niteshift

"the idea of small claims had entered my mind, but I didnt think it would be worth it to travel back to Ill for court etc. (for obvious cost reasons.) I think now about possibly filing a small claims date by mail which is allowable in some states and not in others."

I agree that it wouln't be worth it for that amount to travel, but if IL allows you to file it by mail, you're only gambling a small filing fee to do it.


"These guys are trained that drugs ALL DRUGS ARE EVIL. Maybe they see no difference between a cracked out murderer and a sunday avo smoker."

I must have missed that training class.