The 3rd page of the article had important information.
Here’s my take:
The driver was speeding, the cop pulled him over. Before leaving the cruiser, the cop ran a license plate check and saw the owner had a CC permit. He took the driver to his cruiser and asked about any weapons in the car, then cross-questioned the wife and got a different answer (might be one in the car).
Decided to search and needed probable cause so ‘suddenly’ smelled pot, and ‘felt threatened’ by the driver’s ‘hidden’ hands.
Basically, the cop fabricated the reasons for probable cause to try and snare a handgun.
My take-away, the driver needs to get his wife onboard with what to NOT say about his guns..
Passengers in a vehicle that has been stopped by the police are under NO obligation to speak, answer or manipulate the vehicle and its contents in anyway (i.e., roll down a window).
During a traffic stop, the driver would do well to tell passengers, “Don’t say or do anything and keep your hands visible.”