I need some advice on what I can do about this, if I can do anything at all... Plz excuse the graphic text, but im going to tell it how it is. My gf called me and told me she was getting off of work, so I said ok, ill meet you at your apt. I got there a few mins before her. But I knew she would be right behind me. So I got out of my samurai and stood beside it and waited for her. 1 cop and 1 sherriff comes up to me and asks me for my ID. I asked "did I do something wrong". The lady cop said "yea, your suspicious and acting funny". I said "how am I acting funny, I parked my car and was standing beside it. She said "Do you want to go to jail!!!. Give me your ID!!!". So I gave it to her. She said "what are you doing here?". I said "waiting on my gf to get home, she should be here any second". The lady cop said "What apt does she live in?" I was a bit confused as to what was going on and I accidentally said my apt number, then I corrected it, I said "Apt 92, no, I mean 219." She said "Well, which is it!!!?". I said 219. She said 219 or 218? I said 219. She said "im going to run your record and see if I can find anything". The sheriff comes up to me and TELLS me to put out my ciggarette. I bend down and put it out on the ground. Then he tells me to pick it up or he is going to give me a ticket for littering. I picked it up, and set it on my tire. He then TELLS me, not asks, TELLS me to put my hands against the car. I turn around, put my hands up against my car. He says "leave your hands on the car and take 2 steps back". I did so. He says "now spread your legs". I did so. He said "spread them more!" Then he went on to kicking my leg so I would open it more. It wasnt a painful kick, but agressive. He searches me. Feels me and up and down. He pushes his fingers into my a$$!, Then reaches around and is searching me some more and grabs hold of my genitals and squeezed to the point of pain. He is rubbing me up and down looking for something. He bends down and grabs the tops of my shoes and pulls them open trying to look in there. He then gets up and tells me to turn around and put my back against my car and DO NOT MOVE. I said ok. He walks over to the lady cop who is running my clean record, and my phone rings. Its my gf calling to let me know she is here now. I said "I cannot talk, im being harrassed by cops, see you in a second" and hung up. The cop is searching me so thorough, that he is determined to find something on me, yet he never once told me to empty my pockets... What the **** is up with that. The lady cop comes walking up with her flashlight (This is 6pm, still day light), and asks them to scan my records in other counties because its coming up clear. I told her "I have a clean record. I wasnt doing anything wrong". She said We will see about that, a clean record is a rare thing around here" She then went on to threaten me by saying that I would be seeing more of her. She then went on to look through my car. I dont have $h!t in my car. Not anything. She looked around inside and found nothing... She asked me "why are you sweating?". I said because its hot, and I drive a hot car." (The humidity is killer). She then asked, which apartment does your gf live in, did you say 218?". I said "No, its 219". My gf is now pulling up to park looking at whats going on. The report on my records for Galveston county comes back to her on her radio and they tell her im clear. I looked at her and said "I told you". She hands me my license and her and the sheriff just walked off. No sorry, no have a nice day, nothing. Not even a "sorry I just stuck my fingers in your a$$ in front of everybody!". If they were so determined to find something on me, why didnt they run my license plates? Also, if I am right, in the state of texas, they have to ask you if they can search you, or your vehicle. You have the right to say NO. Which then would mean they would have to go and get a search warrant. I seriously believe this was a clear case of police harrassment. There was a blue chevy truck that lives in the same complex that drove by as he was searching me. There was a lady standing next to a white minivan with her kid watching as all this happened. And a green dodge truck drove by either, during or after I was being searched. Those are my 3 witnesses. They all live in the same complex and I see them like every day. I am going to try to contact them over the next day or so and ask them what they seen to see if they can help me out. I dont know the name of the Sheriff, nor was he in a sheriffs car. He was in his own personal vehicle, a 2001-2003 Black single cab, short bed Chevy Fullsize. He was wearing a sheriffs jacket, a belt with a gun and cuffs, blue jeans and a baseball hat. I dont know where the lady cops car was, but her badge said Gunther, or something along those lines for her name....
Contact a no-fooling honest to God Lawyer and present exactly what you just posted to him or her. While it is legal for law enforcement to demand your ID now for no reason, their treatment of you was not. The names of the two law enforcement officers should be easy to get, the lawyer will help you with that.
police have a right to ask for id , and a right to pat u down , as a protection to themselves . u must , however , give permission to search your vehicle unless they find contraband on your person or the contraband is in plain view .
Personally, I think the line between what was in their rights and what was not was crossed because of the cavity search. For two reasons 1)They seriously thought he had a weapon up there? 2)He has Rights himself, and I beleive that although there is no point in the Constitution that he has the right not to be anally invaded in Public, I am sure that it is nonetheless illegal I'm going to resist commenting on this further as it gets me more mad every time I think about it.
I agree with Chris, present it to a lawyer. Get a few written statements from your witnesses and write everything you can remember down. The only thing I would REALLY hope for is that it wasn't just some strange couple getting their jollies!
Man that would tick me off... you should have asked for their badge numbers, I'm sure they have to provide them if asked.
:eek2: This could be a looooong thread. Starr, I'm a part time cop. So, what I tell is from my experience brother. I only know what you wrote above. If it is all accurate, they may have voilated several federal laws. But let me tell you about articulation. Peace officers must always be able to articulate their actions. In other words, they need to explain exactly why certain actions were taken. This is something every cop should be able to do. It covers your/our butt. If you were in a high crime area, and you looked suspicious, etc, I would be able to "articulate" asking you for you're ID. Also, if any public citizen was worried about you're presence, and informed me about it, I could ID you. Asking for ID is a police power that is very flexible. In other words, asking for ones ID is almost always OK. NOW, police officers cannot just walk up and search you unless: 1. They believe you may be armed, and may be a threat to them or others. This must be articulated very well though. I have done this when someone matches a suspect of a crime. I am not going to get shot, and ID them later. The supreme court allows me to protect my life. 2. They ask you, and you say "ok". They cannot perform a thorough search in this case though. It's called a Terry stop, or pat down. The primary "pat down" is a weapons search. Do not confuse this with a full arrest search. If you are under arrest. I can search you very well. However, if you're arrested in your car, I can only search the immediate area around you....but technically not the entire vehicle...this is where it gets confusing though. If I arrest you, I can impound your in some cases. Guess what? I now need to inventory the car! That makes everything I find fair game! Believe me, search and seizure issues are the most complicated there are for a cop. Every situation is different...there are a million other situations. Police officer's in most cases need a court issued warrant to perform a body cavity search (US Customs is a different story!). If they pushed thier finger into your anal area while clothed, that is not a cavity search. However, he should not have been anywhere near that aggressive or involved unless you were under arrest, or had given him a reason to believe you were armed. I can "arrest" you for an arrestable offense, search you completely, and then "un-arrest" you. It really is so frickin complicated, you would not believe it. I have actually had people tell me that I cannot ID them, and guess what? They are wrong. AS LONG AS I CAN ARTICULATE IT, I can. Your story sounds terrible. It is why some people hate cops. Just be careful though, some cops would be able to articulate everything that was done to you. Get a good lawyer. One last thing...did you tell the officer that he could search your car? If you did, he could until you told him to stop. You can say no to them. Sorry to be so long winded man, it's just that most people think they have some rights and don't, and don't have rights that they actually do! Keep us posted and up to date.
no, it happened in Seabrook. I am still trying to get ahold of the people that I seen witness it... Thanks so much everybody, youve all really given me something to think about as to what can be done....
