imported post
Slidell Jim wrote:
one thing I was advised on was this, First thing she advised me was to write every detail down, every piece of conversation you can remember, and do it tonight, don't sleep on it, then call someone else in the morning
From a "knowledgeable friend" in Montana:
Since I don't know Louisiana laws, it's difficult to comment
specifically on this case, or what latitude LEOs may have in Louisiana.
They have some odd state laws that began not with English common law but
with the Napoleonic Code. Under the federal /Terry/ standard and
subsequent redefining case law, an LEO may not disarm a citizen unless
he can specifically articulate reasonable suspicion (not probable cause
- a lesser bar than probable cause) that the person is an imminent
threat to themselves, another person, or the officer. And, although the
LEOs were certainly fixing to disarm this citizen, but they didn't actually.
He should consult a local civil rights attorney (specifically an
attorney who specializes in civil rights or maybe criminal defense) who
knows Louisiana law. The attorney will probably tell him that since he
was only inconvenienced and was not cited, arrested or assaulted it's
not worth pursuing in a legal way. So, there's probably no affordable
mechanism of litigation to correct the bad behavior of the LEOs.
In that case, if the guy wishes to follow up on this, he needs to take
it up with the entity that controls the budget for the LEOs. In Montana
that would be the Legislature for the State Trooper and the local county
commissioners for the sheriffs deputy.
This guy now has the motivation to learn more about how to assert his
rights. He should have declined the initial search, as he did later.
Plus, he should have asked earlier if he was free to go or under arrest.
However, if a citizen properly asserts rights in the face of bullying
police, he's likely to find himself arrested. Then, numerous charges
will be filed to justify the arrest, including but not limited to
obstructing a police officer, resisting arrest, making false statements,
and more. The purpose of the multiple charges is to make the encounter
painful and expensive for the citizen, to improve the chances that one
of the charges will stick, and to leverage the citizen into a plea
bargain where the citizen pleads guilty to something to make the rest go
away. This is the risk a person runs when standing up for his or her
rights in the face of badge-heavy police. And, Louisiana has earned a
reputation as having badge-heavy police.
BTW, the LEO's check of the citizen's plate will have been recorded, so
whether or not a "mistake" was made by the LEO can be verified.
However, if the LEO was lying about the mistake, such recordings have a
way of getting lost.