Posted on 03/13/2015 8:13:22 AM PDT by Timber Rattler
A routine traffic stop turned into a drug interrogation for an elderly couple in Walton County.
CBS46 began investigating the incident when the couple passing through Georgia complained that a deputy crossed the line.
Charles Tharp, 69, never expected that his family vacation would end the way it did.
He and his wife had just visited their grandchild in Texas and were headed back home to North Carolina when a Walton County Sheriff's deputy stopped them.
“It just seemed a little unusual because we're not speeding and we're always careful drivers,” said Charles Tharp.
Tharp and his wife were told their windows were too dark. The deputy checked the tint and found it was not within the legal limit. But, on the contrary, the Tharp's Toyota dealership tested the tint and got a different reading that was legal.
“I thought that was awfully strange since these are factory tinted Toyota windows and it seems so peculiar that someone would stop you for something like that,” said Charles Tharp.
It turns out the window tinting was just the beginning of their troubles.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbs46.com ...
Sounds to me like he was angling for an easy seizure of the vehicle.
Or he realized it wasn’t what he expected and tried to get out of it by blaming them.
And that's the problem - this kind of 'policing' actually undermines the rule of law.
For all this cop knew North Carolina might allow darker tinting (which they do, by the way: they allow 1% less transmissivity).
I wonder how those folks feel about the drug war before and after this incident.
If they were black the deputy were have strewn everything in their car on the side of the road if they were dumb enough to let him. Probably would have seized any cash they were carrying after it tested positive for drug residue (like the vast majority of cash).
ID yourselves to cops, but DO NOT spend 20 minutes answering their questions. Ask them if you’re under arrest and if you’re free to go.
When the only tool in your belt is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
BINGO !!! That Toyota Rav4 will bring in top dollar, and sell in minutes at any seized property sale.
Time for the Tharp’s to lawyer up and sweeten their retirement account! Deputy pays, then the county forks over the rest!
And that’s the problem - this kind of ‘policing’ actually undermines the rule of law.
The government is the enemy, pure and simple. EVERYTHING they do is interpreted within that context. And as I read more and more stories like this, that is a very healthy perspective.
If a cop stopped me for such a thing, it would become a very one-sided conversation.
Apart from invoking my 5th Amendment rights and making sure he knew that I did not and would not consent to a search of my vehicle, he would be doing ALL of the talking, because I would not answer one single question he asked.
“I tell you what, I respect the law less today than I did before,” said Charles Tharp.
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That’s the money line in the article. It’s unfortunate that bad cops (yes, I’m including this ‘ROID taker in that category) such as this clown reflect badly on the majority of cops who are competent and honest and work hard to protect their jurisdiction.
1. No, you may not search my vehicle.
2. Yes, the Factory tint is legal.
3. Are you arresting me or can we be on our way?
Sounds to me more like simple stupidity on the part of the police. This deputy didn’t have enough to keep himself busy... so he is just out harassing innocent looking people.
Pulling over an old couple on the highway and questioning them about drug smuggling probably looked like an easy and safe way for the deputy to spend part of the day. If he pulled over people who looked like they really might be smuggling drugs he most likely would have had a much more stressful and dangerous situation on his hands.
My wife and I are middle aged, friendly, and completely cooperative in every way. So who do you think got pulled out of line and strip searched by the TSA at the Orlando International Airport? There were all sorts of people who looked much more suspicious, but they probably looked like they would give the TSA workers a hard time while reaching their daily strip search quota.
After all, the 'perp' is a mime - which should be a crime in all 50 states.
;-)
Because he is an icehole.
Looks like I-20 but Walton County only has about a mile of that interstate in their county and that is the only interstate in Walton County, GA. The deputy would have to be ready to act quick to make any sort of stop. That stretch of I 20 on into Rockdale County two counties to the west has a history of stopping cars with Carolina plates. Having said that, drug smugglers are always looking for non suspicious folks to carry for them.
On the contrary, the GA Supreme Court years ago threw out GA’s window tint law because is did NOT include out of state cars. The new law does.
I would have to agree, but those type of people need to go find a different line of work. The minute the old man rolled his window down Barney should have figured out his mistake. The boy ain’t smart enough to spot a crime.
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