When is it OK for a Police Officer to Search Me?
Most people understand that the 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects us from having to submit to unreasonable search and seizure, but there is considerable confusion about the details. A police officer can stop you and ask you questions, but he or she is not permitted to search you unless they have probable cause to believe that you committed a crime according to the U.S. Constitution. If the police officer has reason to suspect that a person has committed a crime, and that person is walking around in public, then the officer does not need a warrant. The officer may arrest the person and search them as a part of the arrest procedure.
A police officer can ask you for identification, but anything beyond that depends on whether or not you want to answer. If the police officer asks you if they have your consent to search your person, you have the right to say no. They may not give you a pat-down search unless they can explain their probable cause for why they suspect that you have committed a crime or why they think you might pose a threat to their safety. If they pat you down and then ask if they can search your pockets, you are within your rights to refuse, and they are not permitted to search your pockets without your consent.
What happens then, if a police officer seems to have a bogus story, or no story at all about why they are roughly conducting a pat-down search of your person? If there is someone with you, tell them that the police are searching you without your consent. If you are alone and there are witnesses close by that can see what is going on, make sure to say that the police are harassing you and conducting an illegal search. Fortunately, these days almost everyone who carries a mobile phone has a video camera in their pocket, so a bystander may even be filming the incident without your knowledge.
If you say know to the search, the burden is now on the officer to prove in court that they had probable cause to search you. It is helpful if you can remain calm, but firm despite the officer’s demeanor or emotional state. It is important that you know and assert your rights, but in the heat of the situation you will not accomplish much if things escalate. You know that the officer did not have any probable cause because you know that you have done nothing wrong. You will have every opportunity later the challenge the officer’s conduct if it was inappropriate.
Have you been charged with a crime in Tennessee? You will need an aggressive Franklin criminal defense attorney to protect your rights. You may contact the Law Offices of Adrian H. Altshuler & Associates today. We also have offices in Brentwood and Columbia to serve you.
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