The first officer was mostly likely following his intuition (as he must) that told him something was suspicious about this kid who gave the legitimate, but evasive, reply to his standard question. It's not unreasonable the the officer might even feel taunted by the response. It wasn't hidden drugs or alcohol but a hidden camera that the driver had on his mind (possibly showed in his face).
The driver is right that he shouldn't be detained and have his car moved for no cause. But he is almost begging for trouble. He didn't do anything wrong, technically, but he made himself look suspicious, whether or not that was his intention. Most likely just an innocent accident of being a teenager, an impractical application of being principled.
Give the cops a break. They're not trying to create a police state. They're trying to keep drunk drivers off the road, etc. and it's not all a straightforward thing to do. They have to ask questions like that to get a sense of who they're dealing with. If the kid just said, "I'm headed home," or just said what part of town, that would probably be enough, and it's not like the officer is going to probe much further in any way unrelated to driving and sobriety. If he's really worried about his privacy, the destination wouldn't even have to be true (just plausible, who's to say he doesn't change his mind along the way).
"The first officer was mostly likely following his intuition (as he must) that told him something was suspicious about this kid who gave the legitimate, but evasive, reply to his standard question."
That would be a "hunch" and that is not enough to create reasonable suspicious especially at a DWI checkpoint as much as officers wish it did.
"Give the cops a break. They're not trying to create a police state. They're trying to keep drunk drivers off the road"
Well I might believe that if they had proof that checkpoints were effective. I also might believe that when they stop hassling people that obviously aren't drunk.
"They have to ask questions like that to get a sense of who they're dealing with. If the kid just said, "I'm headed home," or just said what part of town, that would probably be enough, and it's not like the officer is going to probe much further in any way unrelated to driving and sobriety."
Oh really? You don't think it would have gone on and on until the officer got me to say something that he wanted? What does my destination having anything to do with sobriety? My willingness to answer that question and not others makes me suspicious. That's why you don't answer ANY questions.
I'll give the cops a break when they stop trying to randomly turn every dirt path in America into a toll road.