“there was NO REASON to say, “Hop out of the car”. That’s where it all went bad.”
The officer had decided to place Massey under arrest (meaning in handcuffs, not necessarily going to jail).
The officer had decided (as he has stated) that the couples behavior was strange. So, the intelligent thing to do was search the vehicle.
Now, how do you search the vehicle, if you don’t have the driver “hop out of the car” and put handcuffs on him and put him in the backseat of the police car so he can’t shoot you while you do so?
Oh... now, you're going into an entirely new area.. I feel STRONGLY, that there was NO REASON to search this vehicle. This is another... mostly undiscussed... area where Gardner was completely outside the law. I'm sorry... asking QUESTIONS about why you were pulled over DOES NOT CONSTITUTE probable cause for drug use..
There was ZERO indication that Massey was in possession of drugs, or any illegal substance. This car search was COMPLETELY without merit... and, reason enough for Gardner to be suspended... IMHO
Has Gardner started trying to publicly defend his inexucusably unprofessional actions?? I've not seen this... pray tell... where is it?
Looks like there's another diagreement about the audio portion. Did the officer state such a thing?