Free Republic

Authorities plan to crack down on impaired drivers – either drunk or under the influence of drugs – using new DUI technology this New Year’s holiday. A state grant will allow Los Angeles police officers to expand its use of swab testing at DUI checkpoints and jails to check for narcotics use, city officials announced at a press conference on Friday.The grant comes at an opportune time as authorities said they are seeing more incidents of motorists driving under the influence of marijuana and other drugs. Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer said the prevalence of medical marijuana dispensaries throughout...

Labor Day: another holiday, another excuse to push the limits of the police power over citizens. All across the state, Tennessee police will be performing another round of highly-publicized “no refusal” blood-draw DUI checkpoints this weekend. With police armed with a 2012 law that allows them to forcibly extract blood from drivers, its a bad time to be a citizen who does not consent to searches. Forcible blood draws began in Tennessee in 2009, being used only for cases of vehicular assault. In all other circumstances, the blood draws were not forcible. They could be declined, with the understanding the...

Guy gets stopped at a DUI checkpoint: Encounter with police officer

*VIDEO* Police open fire on a car sitting at crowded DWI checkpointBRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WECT) – A couple celebrating Father’s Day with their baby found themselves in the middle of a shootout at a DWI checkpoint when officers unloaded on a car sitting in heavy traffic. The couple, Jared and Rose Cleerdin were hoping it wouldn’t be their last Father’s Day together as the officers fired dozens of rounds in the direction of on-coming traffic. Jared Cleerden believes the officers acted way beyond what was necessary for public safety saying, ”Every cop turned around and started unloading like super...

I told them I was a US citizen. I told them I was on a business trip. I told them I had no drugs or humans in the car. That wasn't enough. They wanted to search the car, and I invoked my 4th am...

Missouri: Police Roadblock Harassment Caught on TapeSt. Louis County, Missouri threaten to arrest a teenager for refusing to discuss his personal travel plans. A teenager harassed by police in St. Louis, Missouri caught the incident on tape. Brett Darrow, 19, had his video camera rolling last month as he drove his 1997 Maxima, minding his own business. He approached a drunk driving roadblock where he was stopped, detained and threatened with arrest when he declined to enter a conversation with a police officer about his personal travel habits. Now Darrow is considering filing suit against St. Louis County Police. "I'm...