Police Stopping All Cars Entering BWI (Baltimore-Washington Int'l Airport)

ABC 7 News ^

[Sub-Driver]

Police Stopping All Cars Entering BWI Tuesday January 06, 2004 11:20am

Linthicum, Md. (AP) - Maryland Transportation Authority police are stopping all cars entering Baltimore-Washington International Airport for security checks.

Police officials say that the "100 percent security checks" began after 10 a.m. Police say the sweeps are not a response to a specific threat.

Police aren't saying how long they will continue checking every car that enters the airport.

Airport officials say that the sweeps are not expected to create major delays entering the airport. And they still recommend that passengers plan on arriving 90 minutes before their scheduled flights.

[Naspino]

Police officials say that the "100 percent security checks" began after 10 a.m. Police say the sweeps are not a response to a specific threat.

No. I am sure it was a veiled threat.

[maestro]

What would be the point of this other than to search the vehicle?

Govnt Lottery winner?

[Naspino]

Sounds amazingly unconstitutional, but I guess we've evolved well past that annoying and antiquated document.

How?

[lasereye]

What would be the point of this other than to search the vehicle?

If they see something suspicious, they might search. It's called probable cause.

What do cops do at drunk driving checkpoints? Search everyone's car?

[Viva Le Dissention]

don't expect a positive response around here anymore.

Yes. Where do you go when conservatives aren't conservative anymore?

[breakem]

Question? Is BWI part of the DC traffic pattern?

[SamAdams76]

True story. There was a meeting in New York City for some of the sales staff in my company (Boston office). One of the salespeople wanted to drive to New York rather than fly because he planned on staying over for the weekend to visit relatives. So he dropped off his two co-workers at Logan Airport and drove from there to New York City.

He got to the office (in NYC) about 15 minutes before his co-workers arrived by cab. Everybody joked that he should have just swung by LaGuardia and picked them up - would have saved the cab fare.

[Naspino]

I would agree with you -- but you don't HAVE to drive a car to the airport. If they put up blockades on an interstate or public road then I would agree. Searching cars that enter the airport could very well be in response to reasonable suspicion or known facts that someone was intending to detonate a bomb in front.

[RightWhale]

You are absolutely correct

Such a statement is in itself absurd. However, in the idiom, it is taken as agreement even if the position is not understood.

[Viva Le Dissention]

They tried this in Indianapolis v. Edmond and lost.

You can't use roadblocks for general law enforcement. And, frankly, if the drunk driving checkpoints ever comes up before the Court again, I'm not sure they would hold up anymore, either. Thomas has said that he wants to revisit the holding. Given the votes in Edmond, you might see that one bite the dust, too.

[eastforker]

What is it about a restricted area that you do not understand lasereye.An airport is not public property per se. Condition of entry is no defferant than condition of employment. Don't want to get searched than drive don't fly.

[RightWhale]

The property rights to what?

Wherever the stoppings are being done. Whose property is it?

[independentmind]

I live in Central VA, so I'm not sure, but it certainly seems that way. I can truly say that the traffic around DC is the worst I have ever seen. Over Christmas, I discussed this with a brother-in-law who works in Manhattan and he agreed with me.

BTW, BWI is generally considered an alternate airport for the Washington metro area.

[Viva Le Dissention]

But reasonable suspicion that someone is about to commit a crime isn't enough. You have to show reasonable suspicion to the person that you wish to search.

If the police got a credible tip that 35 year old woman with brown hair driving a red volvo station wagon was bringing a bomb into the airport between 3 pm and 5 pm, that would give the police reasonable suspicion to search red volvo station wagons entering the airport driven by women. It doesn't give police the right to search brown Honda hatchbacks driven by senior citizen men.

[mountaineer]

The conversation you described in your post - chatting about the weather - certainly wouldn't go like that, and you know it. More like: "Why are you coming to the airport?" Once the driver says it's to pick someone up or to take a flight, and assuming he and his passengers are not behaving strangely or - frankly - they don't appear to be Middle Eastern terrorists, that's probably the end of it.

[Robert357]

Perhaps the following may shed light on the "specific threat." I suspect that since Logan Airport was used by Saudis for bad things in the past when other Saudis were doing bad things in other places that all airports are on extremely high alert.

A Saudi man is facing federal felony charges after three small "firecracker-type" pyrotechnic devices were found during a search of his backpack after he arrived at Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts.

I am sure that the Saudi just wanted to celebrate a kind of "new year." (/sarcasm)

[Viva Le Dissention]

My car is always my property, no matter where I am.

[Naspino]

Atlanta-Hartsfield-Ugh-Jackson is private property. Don't know about this one. I'm sure driving a personal vehicle is not the only way into the airport. Searching cars that enter would be in response to a particular threat. I don't see anything unconstitutional about it. You have a right not to consent by not driving into it.

Now -- I thought what they did during the DC Sniper was a CLEAR violation. They shut down public transit preventing people from making it to random point A to random point B.

[RightWhale]

My car is always my property

You have a point there. However, your right to operate your car is limited.

[Redbob]

"Sounds amazingly unconstitutional..."

I'm not a Constitutional scholar, so I may have missed it, but where does the Constitution guarantee a right to drive up to an airport without stopping?
Was that in the original document, or one of the amendments?