For the last couple of years I’ve been noticing that police will find any excuse to pull someone over, particularly during the Witching Hours — 1am to 3am. Obviously, they’re looking for drunk drivers — and I suppose that’s a good thing, but are they going too far? Is this eagerness to pull over every car that leaves the vicinity of a bar or night club justified or is it an abuse of the peoples rights?
Tonight, after a group of my friends and I were dropped off by our designated driver, he was pulled over for no apparent reason. He wasn’t speeding, used his turn signals, came to complete stops and drove as well as any sober person on the road is expected to.
Once pulled over, he did not smell of intoxicants, didn’t slur his words, provided the officer with proper ID, registration and proof of insurance. He was polite to the officer and did everything by the book. Even after all of this, he was still asked out of his car to do a series of sobriety tests, which he passed with flying colors, and then asked to take a Breathalyzer (Breath Alcohol Test) which showed a negligible .003 (a .080 is the legal limit in Michigan, and a .003 is equal to a glass of grape juice being consumed).
Even after jumping through all the hoops, he was still detained for over 20 minutes while the police did god-knows-what in their car.
So, is this police doing their job or is it misconduct?
What makes it worse is that Saturday night, another friend of mine suffered through a very similar situation. He did manage to get the cops to give him a reason for being pulled over — which was, get this, because he used his brights and didn’t turn them off fast enough when another car was coming from the opposite direction. In other words, they saw him leaving a bar and decided to use whatever excuse they could to pull him over.
I just don’t get it — I love the police for protecting the public from drunk drivers, but how far is too far? Where is the line between duty and our rights to move about freely without being harassed? Do we turn a blind eye because they’re just trying to keep us safe? Should the police be accountable for haphazardly pulling people over and subjecting them to sobriety tests without any probable cause?
Tags:breathalyzer, breath alcohol test, designated driver, drivers rights, drunk drivers, misconduct, negligible, sobriety tests
Is 20 minutes really too much to ask for to have safe roads?
If your friend is really concerned, they should file a complaint. Otherwise, how will the Police know he was offended by the 20 minute stop.
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