Here's yet another example of "abuse of power under color of law" | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This article originally appeared in the Beaufort Observer.

We'll tell you one way you can protect your rights

    We recently published an article here that reported on a case in Pennsylvania in which law enforcement officials detained an American citizen apparently only because a "friend" called police and told them he was concerned about the victim's state of mind. The article linked above contains a link to the full story of what happened in Pennsylvania.

    We said at the time that we have been accumulating a number of reports of Americans being detained, search and in some cases arrested without apparent probable cause. It appears that some law enforcement agencies and officials are violating constitutional rights of law abiding American citizens simply because they "suspect" the person may be going to commit a crime.

    But it is worse than that locally. From reports we have received, which we are still investigating, it appears that some law enforcement agencies and officers sometimes go on "fishing expeditions" to see if they can find something to arrest the person for. For example, a recent report was that a woman was stopped for having an inoperable tail light. That stop results in her husband, a passenger in the car, being searched because he had been seen walking in "the wrong" neighborhood.

    It is well established law in the country that law enforcement officials do not have the authority to stop, detain, search, seize or arrest a person except where they have probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed. It gets to be a very gray area when law enforcement officials exercise their powers because the suspect a crime might be going to be committed.

    Such is the case in yet another of these cases where police anticipate a crime that might happen because of something that somebody posted on social media or on the internet. CBS in the District of Columbia has that story. Click here to read that story.

    Commentary

    This situation has got to be stopped. Americans have long enjoyed the inalienable right to be free from police action unless they have obviously violated the law. The is a long tradition of the concept of a "person is presumed innocent" and the burden is on the police to have probable cause based on reasonable belief.

    The problem in preventing abuse of this right is the method used to protect our right to be left alone unless we commit a crime. The current method is that any evidence gained from an illegal search and seizure cannot be used in court. But that is not sufficient any longer. What is needed is a way to sanction illegal police activity. Any police officer who is found to have abused a citizen's rights should have to pay for doing so. And by "pay" we mean literally pay. That is, at very least, the officer should have to pay the legal bills the citizen incurred in defending themselves. In egregious cases punitive damages should be award against an abusive official. In other words, qualified immunity for police officers needs to be revamped in this country at the local, state and federal levels. And while we are at it, the posse comitatus, which bars the use of military forces to enforce criminal statutes, should be reformed.

    We don't think the problem is as much with the issue of probable cause as it is with rogue law enforcement. If police have probable cause they should be allowed to exercise legal law enforcement authority. But when a rogue officer crosses the line and abuses his authority there should be a significant sanction against them personally, and that such include recovery of legal fees by the person victimized by a rogue officer.

    Most law enforcement officer we know are good, honest law abiding people. They have a tough job and we respect that. But there are a few bad apples. The good people should not have to suffer because of the illegitimate abuse of power by a few rogue cops.

    The ACLU has a good idea, we think. They are publishing a smart phone app that allows a citizen stopped by a police officer to record the action. You can find that app at www.aclu-nj.org. That same link will give you some valuable information about what your rights are and how to handle a illegal "stop." Above all you will learn when and when not to consent to a warrantless search and what question you must answer and what you are not required to answer. Until our legislators correct this problem, perhaps the best defense is to know your rights.
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