Two Irving women have filed a federal lawsuit against State Troopers and the head of their department alleging that they were subjected to a humiliating and illegal “cavity search” during a traffic stop.
38-year-old Angel Dobbs and her niece, 24-year-old Ashley Dobbs, were pulled over last July near the area of Highway 161 and Beltline Road for allegedly tossing cigarette butts out of the window of their vehicle while on a ‘road trip’ to Oklahoma.
The women’s attorney Scott Palmer says State Trooper David Farrell claimed he smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle and performed a search, which turned up nothing.
Trooper Farrell then called in a female trooper, who proceeded to do a very personal cavity search to see if they women were hiding any illegal items.
The women said that the female trooper, Kelley Helleson, proceeded to use her fingers to search their anuses and vaginas, using the same latex glove on both women, on the side of the road in full view of other passing vehicles.
Wow....they done this on the side of the road in broad daylight!?
I don't agree with this kinda search at all, but they atleast could have taken them someplace out of the view of the general public...unreal...it shouldn't have happened to begin with!
Wouldn't this kind of search violate the Terry Standard?
heh talk about going too far. All for thinking he smelled weed. after the vehicle search being empty he should have just given them the citation for littering and moved on.
I mean I could see this if he saw stuff related to other harder drugs such as a few crack pipes on the back seat. But he only suspected weed.
Yes, they could refuse, but it wouldn't matter. All a cop needs at a traffic stop is probable cause to search the vehicle. Automobiles do not have the same 4th amendment protection as the home. However, if the cop doesn't have probable cause yet he asks the person if he can search the vehicle, he can LEGALLY do it if the person consents. That's why it is always smart to refuse searches; Cops will often try and trick you with the "consent" clause. You should make them come up with probable cause.
But searching the actual person is more dicey. Cops can legally do a frisk without a warrant but, like with the vehicle, they also need probable cause (they can't do it randomly). A good example is when the individual is suspected of just robbing a bank, the cop can pull him over and search his person for weapons. However, I don't know about strip or cavity searches. I would assume one would need to be in custody and the Cop would need a warrant to do that, so I think these Cops are on pretty shaky ground legally.
Sounds like overkill to deter littering, but I'll bet prople will think twice about tossing cigarette butts out the window in that jurisdiction.
Hopefully the officer in question is fired. It sounds like judgement and common sense went out the cruiser window at the same time the cigarette butts went out the litterbugs' window.
Sounds like overkill to deter littering, but I'll bet prople will think twice about tossing cigarette butts out the window in that jurisdiction.
Hopefully the officer in question is fired. It sounds like judgement and common sense went out the cruiser window at the same time the cigarette butts went out the litterbugs' window.
And considering the fine in many cities for littering, the PD/state could now risk losing way more money than they would have gained by issuing the littering citation and collecting a nice fat fine.(was on a freeway once and saw a sign where the maximum fine for littering was $2k. It will cost the state more than 2k just to get a lawyer on the phone.)
what the cough officer cough did is called rape. Plain and simple. illegal penetration of a person. This particular case could be punishable for 5 years in medium security prison for the normal people without badges.
Officers have done this rape on the side of the road to get their rocks off. It is disgusting.
Cavity searches would require a warrant and to be done in a secure place. Caution must be taken for potential medical issues(anal tares, internal hemorrhoids).
Cavity searches are generally done when there is 'definite evidence' of hidden weapons or drugs hidden internally. Approval by a Judge is highly preferred, otherwise the perp will be put in solitary until the search is done to avoid contaminating other prisoners.
There are many cases where innocent protesters are routinely taken from the herd and taken in for a strip search without any criminal activity present. No ticket is ever written(occasionally with no mention in duty logs) and the officer will keep claiming 'Obstruction of an Officer/justice' during the whole ordeal.
According to the Law, what the TSA does is considered a crime. Police officers ignoring the crime are also guilty as an accessory. Police officers are not allowed to do what the TSA does on a routine basis. Martial law is very entrenched in North American culture(Canada and U.S.A).
Officers will claim a marijuana smell as an illegal method to go on a fishing expedition. It is a crime that Judges get very frustrated over.
