March 31, 2014
Idaho Police Sued in Federal Court for ‘License Plate Profiling’
A civil lawsuit has been filed in Idaho Federal District Court by plaintiff Darien E. Roseen alleging that several defendant Idaho law enforcement agencies including the Idaho State Police, the Fruitland City Police Department, and the Payette County Sheriff’s Office committed acts under the color of law which deprived Roseen of protected rights, privileges, and immunities secured by the Constitution and laws of the United States.Specifically, the lawsuit alleges the ISP and other law enforcement agencies target vehicles traveling in Idaho and bearing license plates from states such as Washington and Colorado which have legalized the possession of marijuana. It implies that when necessary, the ISP and others have used pretexts to stop vehicles and then intimidate vehicle operators to give consent to search vehicles without sufficient probable cause.
The lawsuit was reported in the Denver Post online article dated March 29, 2014, and headlined Colorado man sues Idaho police over “license plate profiling” in marijuana case. It was also reported on the website weedist.com on March 28, 2014, in a post entitled Troopers ‘License Plate Profiling’ in Idaho for Marijuana.
The 25-page civil complaint supporting the allegation was filed in the Federal District Court of Idaho on March 26, 2014.
Nothing illegal was found during the search of Roseen’s vehicle
This post came from OPEN CDA Blog run by Bill McCrory there are several links on his blog you might find of interest: http://opencda.com/?p=15975
paul
Sounds like an interesting story to monitor.
ReplyDeleteThe cops need to back off!
ReplyDeleteWhat is more worrisome to me is who gave the order to do this kind of profiling. The copper on the road didn't come up with this deal nor did he come up with the tactics. It is very troubling to me as a law abiding citizen.
ReplyDeletePaul,
ReplyDeleteYour comment was very likely on point. At the very least, the ISP command structure turned a blind eye to this practice thereby encouraging it. That is despicable for many reasons, but not the least of them is the message it sends to younger Troopers: Violating the law and the rights of others is permissible, even encouraged.
Which raises what is probably a more important point: Who gets to decide whose rights and what rights will be violated "for the good of the state?" That's the problem with tolerating or encouraging violation of anyone's rights. In this instance, apparently Idaho law enforcement has decided that it is permissible, maybe even desirable at evaluation and promotion time, to infringe on the rights of out-of-state citizens.
To many issues have been diverting us from our 4th amendment rights. We better start paying attention to what the good ole boys in our upper echelons of state government are up to.
ReplyDeletePot paranoia has filled jails and prisons to something well beyond design capacity. Now we have the ISP exacerbating the problem and harassing law abiding citizens while carrying out this gestapo set of tactics. I say go up the food chain and file charges against those responsible for the implementation of this nonsense. Washington, Oregon and Colorado have recognized the fallacy of their pot laws and in the case of Colorado determined they can tax the "hell" out of it and make it a plus for their state economy. Has it lead to any serious law enforcement issues? I think not and the ultra right wing politicians of Idaho are worried. They worry about gay marriage, they worry about abortion, and now they have a new worry... out of state geezers driving cars with Colorado license plates in Idaho.
ReplyDeleteOn the abortion issue in Idaho, I think their next and best move is to outlaw masturbation. Think of all the babies they will save. Meanwhile, the annual party in Boise is over for the Legislature. They can all come back to town next year with a fresh set of plans to torment the world.
I can only wonder how they are going to sweep this under the rug. I am still waiting to hear about the Nampa Police Dept. Rodeo that crashed four of their patrol cars in a high speed chase of a drunk driver through residential neighborhoods last July.
ReplyDelete