Duty to Inform

[TheSpark]

What if you stepped on someones discarded joint and tracked it into the car? I assume they can stick to the bottom of a shoe just like a cigarette or any other trash.

Yea, that guy needs to learn he can't be certain of anything. Someone could have planted drugs in/on his car and then got the police to pull him over by calling 911 saying he just witnessed a drug deal. If you have kids, especially teens, you never know what they might have hidden in there. Many parents are oblivious to the fact that their kids do drugs for example. If you have a used car you can't be 100% at all unless you strip the car apart. Goes back to what I said earlier, cops know the hiding places the previous owner might have forgot stuff at. You likely don't. Or maybe you had a prescription a while back for pain and a pill feel out you didn't know about. Since you probably no longer have the subscription bottle you just got a charge for having a narcotic or controlled substance. Or maybe a law changed recently you didn't know about and your switch blade is no longer legal, or that magazine holds too many bullets, or your knife blade is too long, or that spice you bought when it was legal is no longer legal. Yes, many crazy examples but people who thought they were 100% in the clear end up in jail everyday because they submitted to a search and got busted for one of those reasons or something like it.

This is not about being paranoid though. Why do you feel you must prove to the officer you are innocent. We are suppose to be innocent until proven guilty in America. Why help an officer possibly prove you are guilty of something? Even if you think you are 100% in the clear, why? Will you not sleep at night unless you think the officer believes the same as you do that you are a good citizen? Do you like strangers going through your stuff? You like your privacy being invaded for no reason? And most importantly (at least to me): Why take the chance?

 

[The Bubba Effect]

I've got 99 problems.

 

[TheSpark]

On another note, as the Driver of the vehicle, you are the ONLY one that has to answer questions or provide identification. He can not interrogate the other passengers of the vehicle... (there is a case on this, but Im too lazy today to look it up...). He has stopped you the driver, not the others as passengers, incident to the stop...

Even the driver does not have to answer questions. As far as I know, and IANAL, all you really have to answer is questions like name, birthday, and address. Any other questions you can refuse to answer such as "do you have any weapons", "do you know how fast you were going", "where are you going", "where are you coming from", etc. Those are a few examples of common questions you don't have to answer. But you can refuse to answer anything else as well.

To be honest, as long as you have your drivers license you don't even have to verbally answer identifying information.

 

[Bunnykid68]

Even the driver does not have to answer questions. As far as I know, and IANAL, all you really have to answer is questions like name, birthday, and address. Any other questions you can refuse to answer such as "do you have any weapons", "do you know how fast you were going", "where are you going", "where are you coming from", etc. Those are a few examples of common questions you don't have to answer. But you can refuse to answer anything else as well.

To be honest, as long as you have your drivers license you don't even have to verbally answer identifying information.

Frank will tell ya, you can just hand him your ID and registration and keep your mouth shut, he will take them and come back with your ticket and tell ya to have a nice day.

 

[Booya]

Ultimately I'm trying to distinguish the difference between not answering truthfully and lying.

 

[TheSpark]

Ultimately I'm trying to distinguish the difference between not answering truthfully and lying.

Not sure what you mean? Unless you think "I have nothing illegal" is not answering truthfully? However, when you answer that way you are not answering, you are making a statement. You are not saying "Yes" or "no" you are just telling what you believe to be the truth: Nothing illegal in this car.

It is dodging the question and basically refusing to answer. Again, this pretty much tells the officer you do (he will assume as much). But if you say "yes" they might be able to take the gun "for their safety" during the stop. One thing for sure if you don't say yes and dodge the question that way he can't demand you hand it over or search for it. This avoids lying, basically says yes, and prevents seizure (if legal).

This is the course many people, from what I've read, on INGO take.

 

[Booya]

Good enough!

 

[public servant]

What if you stepped on someones discarded joint and tracked it into the car? I assume they can stick to the bottom of a shoe just like a cigarette or any other trash.

Then how did it get tn the ashtray?

And the crack pipe is in your pocket because they are your cousin's pants, right?

 

[Bunnykid68]

Then how did it get tn the ashtray?

And the crack pipe is in your pocket because they are your cousin's pants, right?

Propped his feet on the dash maybe?

 

[ticktwrter]

Folks, we hear all sorts of tales from people caught in the act. Sorry, we can't always tell who is lying and who isn't. We do our job and if you get to court and we don't convince a jury or judge beyond a reasonable doubt then you get acquitted. You might also need to put up a defense like it or not.

 

[KG1]

Propped his feet on the dash maybe?

They were your cousin's shoes.

 

[Bunnykid68]

They were your cousin's shoes.

 

[Tay]

Even the driver does not have to answer questions. As far as I know, and IANAL, all you really have to answer is questions like name, birthday, and address. Any other questions you can refuse to answer such as "do you have any weapons", "do you know how fast you were going", "where are you going", "where are you coming from", etc. Those are a few examples of common questions you don't have to answer. But you can refuse to answer anything else as well.

To be honest, as long as you have your drivers license you don't even have to verbally answer identifying information.

I like this.

 

[Dead Duck]

The only statute I know of that deals with lying to the police is when one refuses to identify themselves when stopped for an infraction or ordinance violation. You have to provide your correct identifiers. Other than that, you can lie all you want.

So - no code for lying to the police, and there is no duty to inform. Yes - one could just plead the 5th the whole time.

But - If you pull me over for a traffic violation and ask about weapons in the car or on my person and I tell you there's none, then ask me to exit the car for whatever reason and you see my bulge (yes my gun) or you notice a gun in the car. You're saying that you aren't going to go ballistic on me for lying to you?
I'd be pissed off myself.
I can't see this ending well for me.

Regardless that my guns have nothing to do with the "investigation" of my broken tail light. I thought the police had some recourse against this.

 

[Frank_N_Stein]

So - no code for lying to the police, and there is no duty to inform. Yes - one could just plead the 5th the whole time.

But - If you pull me over for a traffic violation and ask about weapons in the car or on my person and I tell you there's none, then ask me to exit the car for whatever reason and you see my bulge (yes my gun) or you notice a gun in the car. You're saying that you aren't going to go ballistic on me for lying to you?
I'd be pissed off myself.
I can't see this ending well for me.

Regardless that my guns have nothing to do with the "investigation" of my broken tail light. I thought the police had some recourse against this.

I don't ask people about weapons in the car unless I have a good reason to. And if I did and you lied to me there is nothing I could charge you with as far as the lie itself.

 

[nakinate]

 

[Mark 1911]

Then how did it get tn the ashtray?

And the crack pipe is in your pocket because they are your cousin's pants, right?

I used to work for a company that did contract work for the Navy. Co-worker checks a van out of the company car pool and drives it over to Norfolk Naval Base. Entrance to base is manned by armed guards and drug sniffing dogs. Dog detects roach in ashtray. Co-worker is detained by armed guards. He doesn't smoke, didn't know anything was in the ashtray. When we got the call from the naval base none of could believe it because co-worker was the most straight laced guy you would ever meet. The culprit was eventually identified and fired, but not without a lot of hassle to co-worker who just happened to be the next guy who drove the van.

Moral of story, you might honestly really not know how that roach got into that darn ashtray!

 

[TheSpark]

I don't ask people about weapons in the car unless I have a good reason to. And if I did and you lied to me there is nothing I could charge you with as far as the lie itself.

Question for you. Why would you even bother asking at all? If the person knows they have an illegal weapon or, even worse, plan to use it against you they are not going to admit to it. So even if you do suspect or have a good reason I'm not sure what you would gain. If they tell you the truth then, most likely, you had nothing to worry about to begin with. If they say no you still have to assume they are armed for your safety and basically ignore the answer.

This is what I've always wondered about any officer ever asking. Would be nice to hear a response from one.

 

[Dead Duck]

I don't ask people about weapons in the car unless I have a good reason to. And if I did and you lied to me there is nothing I could charge you with as far as the lie itself.

Huh - I did not know that.

You seem like a very mellow dude.
How do you vent at the end of a crazy circus shift?........kick dogs?........yoga?........pop bubble wrap?

 

[bobzilla]

Question for you. Why would you even bother asking at all? If the person knows they have an illegal weapon or, even worse, plan to use it against you they are not going to admit to it. So even if you do suspect or have a good reason I'm not sure what you would gain. If they tell you the truth then, most likely, you had nothing to worry about to begin with. If they say no you still have to assume they are armed for your safety and basically ignore the answer.

This is what I've always wondered about any officer ever asking. Would be nice to hear a response from one.

This is my view as well. No idea why they bother unless it's to lead to more questions on differnet topics trying to troll for more?