DUI Checkpoint advice.........Possibility for general police stops in Indiana?

[MCgrease08]

I remember a few years back I took the wife out to dinner in downtown Indy and had a glass of wine with the meal. As we were walking back to the car I could see the lights of the checkpoint a few blocks up the road. For some reason I got real nervous at first, thinking I would have to drive through it. Then I realized , not only was I not drunk, I wasn't even in the car yet.

I waited around a few minutes and then proceeded to turn around and take a different route home.

 

[nra4ever]

Is that a jackboot?

 

[sidewinder27]

Maybe they can make it up. But harder to do with dashcams.

Have you seen some of the beatings caught on dash cams and yet things still get made up?

 

[Drail]

Police dash cameras would seem to have an extremely high failure rate. They just break down all the time, you know?

 

[Paul30]

Per US Supreme Court you have to at least say I don't answer questions or along those lines. Just not saying anything somehow doesn't show that you chose not to answer questions.

Can you do it in sign language? I guess they don't know if you can speak or not. Like the guy next to the president faking sign language to the crowd who was not suppose to be there, and didn't know sign language. I believre part of the questioning is to get you to talk, so they can smell the booze on your breath or detect what they perceive to be abnormalities. Some people speak with abnormalities anyway, but they would likely try to take it a step farther to verify it's not booze or drugs. I believe in Indiana it is the officers discretion as to if they do a breath, urine, or blood test at the station. Something else I don't agree with, but it's good to know.

I am constitutionally against them, but I also have 0 tolerance for drunk drivers. If I had my way they would be illegal, and drunk drivers when caught would get worse punishment than they get because they are risking everyone's life over a cab fare. It seems like they are generally used for fishing expeditions. The courts have gone back and forth on if they are legal. Currently they are, next year they may decide they aren't again.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

what do you mean by Silly marketing gimmick?

The silly sign that you hold up. Marketing gimmick.

 

[g00n24]

So, is it against the law to light up the LEOs face with a few hundred lumens like they do to you? Just curious.

 

[VUPDblue]

Can you do it in sign language? I guess they don't know if you can speak or not. Like the guy next to the president faking sign language to the crowd who was not suppose to be there, and didn't know sign language. I believre part of the questioning is to get you to talk, so they can smell the booze on your breath or detect what they perceive to be abnormalities. Some people speak with abnormalities anyway, but they would likely try to take it a step farther to verify it's not booze or drugs. I believe in Indiana it is the officers discretion as to if they do a breath, urine, or blood test at the station. Something else I don't agree with, but it's good to know.

I am constitutionally against them, but I also have 0 tolerance for drunk drivers. If I had my way they would be illegal, and drunk drivers when caught would get worse punishment than they get because they are risking everyone's life over a cab fare. It seems like they are generally used for fishing expeditions. The courts have gone back and forth on if they are legal. Currently they are, next year they may decide they aren't again.

What kind of fishing expeditions do you think they are used for, if other than finding impaired drivers?

 

[seedubs1]

I had had a buddy get a PI for walking home drunk (no, not doing anything destructive, just walking down the sidewalk home at 3am with a .1bac).

Also had another friend get a PI while getting into a cab to go home (again, not doing anything destructive). He was entering the cab just outside the bar property. Lafayette cops are trash.

There's really no winning.

Not sure what I dislike more....police checkpoints or people that drive while under the influence of booze or dope. Can't really stand either one. I have zero tolerance for drunk people, and less than that for drunks that insist on driving. Call a cab, dial a friend, take off walking...

 

[seedubs1]

My my zebralight puts out 1,020 lumens. I think they'd get me for assault.

So, is it against the law to light up the LEOs face with a few hundred lumens like they do to you? Just curious.

 

[Kutnupe14]

I had had a buddy get a PI for walking home drunk (no, not doing anything destructive, just walking down the sidewalk home at 3am with a .1bac).

Also had another friend get a PI while getting into a cab to go home (again, not doing anything destructive). He was entering the cab just outside the bar property. Lafayette cops are trash.

There's really no winning.

This obviously happened a long time ago. Was the second guy convicted?

 

[RobbyMaQ]

ok, I draw the line at outrunning the cops while on foot.

 

[Beau]

Not true...I've followed cars that made zero traffic violations. Now there are drivers that do violate the traffic law every mile...they are called IMPD DRIVERS. I see it every day. It is quite possible to drive without violating traffic laws.

FIFY

 

[seedubs1]

Yup. It was about 6 years ago. If memory serves right, it was outside the neon cactus.

This obviously happened a long time ago. Was the second guy convicted?

 

[Paul30]

What kind of fishing expeditions do you think they are used for, if other than finding impaired drivers?

It depends on the officer. Most I have met are upstanding officers and it's always a relief to meet a good one. I have also known some in an area I grew up in that are as crooked as they come. Our local sheriff did 10 years in prison for multiple rapes, and several others were crooked too. Different officers have different ideas on what their duties are. Some believe it is their job to sniff out crimes no matter what rights they violate. I know one who constantly asks people he pulls over if they mind if he searches their vehicle. This one asked my brother that and he is about an upstanding person as you can find. He used the old "if you have nothing to hide you should not have a problem with it". When I hear that question, I actually hear "I don't have probable cause to search your vehicle and see if I can find something to arrest you for, but would you give me consent to do so anyway?" There are thousands of laws on the books, and many people are breaking a law weather they know it or not. A young local guy here had purchased a neclace with a small throwing star on a chain. He thought it was cool and had it in his console for a long time. This same cop asked him if he could search his vehicle and he said no problem, he did not believe he was breaking any laws. He found that "throwing stars" are illegal in Indiana, even if they are in the form of a neclace. They arrested him, towed his car, etc. He had to post bail, go to court for the charges, pay for his car tow, etc. All he really had to say was "No, I do not consent to a search of my vehicle". My automatic response is No, because I feel it's a safer bet to not gamble at all rather than give up a constitutional right. For all I know my girlfriend has dropped one of her many medications she takes under my seat. I find them on the floor where she keeps her meds at the house, and she thinks nothing of carrying them with no prescription bottles since she has so many she takes. I have personally seen her get in the car after walking a while, and immediately open the purse and medical bag inside to get a prescription pain pill. She fumbles it and of course it drops between the console and the seat which will end up under the seat eventually.

I believe most officers are strait, and really appreciate the job they do. I have needed to call them a few times and the ones I personally interfaced with were professional and I was glad to see them. When the stakes are your freedom, property, and personal rights I just like to err on the side of caution. I have a deep appreciation of the rights we have in this country, and the blood that was spilled throughout history to achieve and retain them. When I think about other countries that are government controlled instead of controlled by the citizens, I feel a bit sick when things seem to be moving in that direction. Asking for your papers at check points, warrantless searches, etc. in other countries make me feel very lucky to have been born in a free country. If they started using DUI check points as vehicle search points, interrogations, etc. then it just makes me feel like the country is moving towards what other countries I have visited.

 

[CathyInBlue]

I want a pair of sunglasses that are like auto-darkening welding helmets. Without bright light in front of them, they're perfectly clear. Step out into sunlight, they darken instantly to an appropriate tint. Get a policeman flashing a klieg light, they darken farther so you can still see whether your photonic assailant has a gun drawn on you. Even better if the frame hinges feather high intensity LEDs that come on full intensity if the light intensity coming at the front of the glasses goes too high, too fast, indicative of an attempt to blind the wearer.

 

[RobbyMaQ]

I was with vupdblue once, in a darkened area. I was wanting to show him something but it wasn't very well lit. He immediately pulled out his flashlight to view what i was trying to show him. But secretly I knew he was just trying to blind me instead of trying to see what was in front of him clearly.

 

[VUPDblue]

Read Indiana V. Gershoffer to learn how DUI checkpoints in Indiana MUST operate to remain legal. I assure you they are not fishing expeditions and really are aimed solely at impaired drivers.

 

[Lex Concord]

Here is a point I don't recall seeing posted on here before; Police, fire, EMS etc... vehicles are not exempt from checkpoints. If they end up as part of the random selection process then they must go through just like everyone else.

Call me naive, but somehow I have a hard time envisioning any vehicle with all red or, especially the combination of blue & red lights, on top being selected to endure additional scrutiny.

 

[pitbulld45]

Call me naive, but somehow I have a hard time envisioning any vehicle with all red or, especially the combination of blue & red lights, on top being selected to endure additional scrutiny.

It happened to me on duty by a State Trooper.