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A-R wrote:BIG difference between vehicles and homes and courts have said so.

As for fishing, I dont disagree the serial # search could have been fishing (dont know enough to say for sure, but id say likely at this point) but the stop was legit (OP he admits he was speeding). If LEOs don't ask some basic probing questions when the make a legit stop/contact then when are they supposed to do so in order to catch felons/warrants, drugs, etc?

Oh would you prefer to go back to the good ol days of cops eating donuts and pretty much leaving everyone alone unless the get grossly out of line?

As you say, the stop was legit. Asking questions during the stop is also ok. Extending the stop by ten minutes to run a serial number with no probable cause or "reasonably articulable suspicion" is not ok.

Probing questions are fine. Detaining people for longer than is required to issue the citation is not.

Side of the road isn't the place to argue it... a polite but firm letter to the chief would be my response.

gigag04 wrote:
In summary to the OP, it may have been fishing, but I don't see anything wrong with that. He was doing his job. He lost me on the disarming, even if a violator were in the car, but that is his choice. I don't think you could argue that were searched, as I think the courts and public opinion about armed individuals encountering police would leave the option to enter a vehicle to secure a weapon up to the officer in the situation.

The problem as I see it is that, according to the OP, the fishing expedition added an extra 10 minutes to the stop while he waited for the results of the serial number check. In my opinion, that's an illegal seizure.

Case law on point includes a SCOTUS holding (I can't think the case name off the top of my head) that detaining a driver for 10 minutes while waiting for a drug dog to show up (without probable cause) was an illegal seizure. It wasn't a search because the dog stayed on the exterior of the car, but it was an illegal seizure due to holding him longer than they would have if they hadn't been waiting for a drug dog. I think the same would apply while running a serial number. The officer has the right to disarm the OP. And although it's a lousy thing to do, he's probably in the clear for running the serial number... but only if he can do it without extending the stop unless he has PC.