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talltex wrote:

bronco78 wrote:[ I did not read that from Gigs post at all, and I DO READ from yours that you are predisposed to find fault in any post that does not agree with your personal position on the topic.

In any case,, it is Texas law.. don't like it, don't whine about what is ethically and legally allowable under that law, get from behind your keyboards and do something about it..

I personally do not have an issue with the way the law is written, nor the flexibility it gives LEO's.., to do the job tasked with.. Like any other abuse of power, should it come to that where a LEO abuses that flexibility in the law.. then we can deal with THAT case individually.

You may be right...wouldn't be the first time I've been called hard headed or argumentative...but personally, I see a huge difference in "ethically" and "legally"...legally being what the law says can be done...ethically being how the individual applies it.

Fair enough

But if you will, did you read my example above? Where arresting some one for "just failing to signal" is a legal, and ethical thing? If you doubt such examples exist, Id suggest a few week ends of ride along in a larger city, or area with known bangers, drug traffickers.

talltex wrote:[His comment wasn't about whether a person could LEGALLY be taken to jail for failing to properly signal a turn...it was a statement that he could always trump up a charge to "show him who's the boss" if he gave him any "attitude". Any officer could claim any driver failed to properly "signal a turn continously for 100 feet" and any officer who did so maliciously is guilty of abusing their authority. Steve cites the Atwater case to demonstrate that it's legal to arrest someone for a minor violation. In a situation where "the rumor going around was there was a feud between her and the PD for awhile, which is why she was arrested instead of cited...guess who won the feud". IF that was the case, is there anyone who DOESN'T see that as totally WRONG?

I did not read that from Gigs post at all, and I DO READ from yours that you are predisposed to find fault in any post that does not agree with your personal position on the topic.

In any case,, it is Texas law.. don't like it, don't whine about what is ethically and legally allowable under that law, get from behind your keyboards and do something about it..

I personally do not have an issue with the way the law is written, nor the flexibility it gives LEO's.., to do the job tasked with.. Like any other abuse of power, should it come to that where a LEO abuses that flexibility in the law.. then we can deal with THAT case individually.

steveincowtown wrote:

If an LEO wants to arrest me for failing to signal, I hope he doesn't mind my laughter on the ride, the Judges laughter in court, or his peer's laughter for the next few days at work.

Grow up and don't waste your time, the courts time, or my time. Focus. Find criminals. De-poof chest.

I would hope your not the sort that would lend them self's to needing to be arrested for such a thing

But I suppose if you are that banger, who just left a known crime area, where a report of a shooting and dead guy just came in.. and you failed to signal continuously within 100 ft of turning, allowing an officer to pull you over.... Where he notices a smell of burned gun powder, but in a search, finds no gun.....And decides to arrest you for the infraction that was observed, for a law that is on the books, that the states decided to make an arrest able offence..so that detectives can have a bit of time to find evidence linking you to the death of a 62 year old shop keeper and his niece...

Well then in that case, or many others like it, I hope you enjoy laughing in jail... and making friends.... Pretty sure, the judge, the arresting LEO, or his peers will not share your opinion.

C-dub wrote:

gigag04 wrote:

WildBill wrote:

benenglishtx wrote:Surely I'm not the only one to utilize this strategy, am I?

Probably.

I can keep a straight face while taking someone to jail for failing to signal continuously within 100 ft of turning.

Really, that's a jailable offense?

In Texas, Class C charges are all criminal acts. There are a couple of exceptions where arrests are not allowed such as speeding.\.. but failing to signal a turn IS one of the arrest-able ones.

Ok assuming the stop was legit.

Asking questions during the stop relative to the infraction observed is ok.

Extending the stop by any amount of time to run a serial number with no probable cause or "reasonably articulable suspicion" is not ok.

Probing questions are fine if they pertain to the specific reason you were detained. Asking questions not specific to the stop is NOT ok.
Detaining people for longer than is required to issue the citation is not ok.

Side of the road isn't the place to argue it... the media, discussion with a lawyer and a polite but firm letter to the chief would be my response.

A-R wrote: 1. It's not a fishing expedition, the Texas statute gives LEOs clear authority to disarm a CHL

The statute allows for him to be disarmed, not have his vehicle searched, and not have his property checked against some list of stolen articles. .

What happened is the very deifinition of a LEO fishing expidition.
The officer has no PC or RS that the weapon was stolen,,, it was a traffic stop.. He was not looking for evidence in the vehicle or by running the gun serial number as further evidence of the infraction he was detained for.. as such, the officer was on a fishing expedition for evidence of other crimes... And it's wrong, it's not ethical in my opinion, but it is accepted practice by most law enforcement personal.