DPS performing roadside cavity searches!

[Texas Dan Mosby]

I would ask this of my fellow citizens:

"Are there ANY circumstances that would justify manually examining the solid waste removal or reproductive areas of our fellow citizens in conjunction with a traffic stop?"

99.998% of the time, I would say NO.

IF, and this is a very big if, IF this "practice" becomes even REMOTELY acceptable in LEO circles, then I strongly believe it will be time to reexamine and REPLACE EVERY single individual responsible for developing, implementing, and enforcing such a ludicrous policy.

I do not find these actions acceptable at ALL.

[powerboatr]

OMG
i watched it again not because i am sick, but now its on fox and msn.
patting down is one thing but exploring a private region...wholly cow batman.

i always thought a cavity search had to be done out of public view and at jail when you get arrested.
if they had resisted , it would have been a whole uglier scene
these sort of actions are what makes law abiding folks turn into, non abiding persons.
is our whole world coming unglued

[VMI77]

When you give them an inch they take a mile. We allow them to have "power" they should never have been given. Citizens are treated as criminals. Disarm CHL's, search vehicles under the disguise of safety, keep you standing on the side of the road for hours waiting on the "drug dog" because you stood up for your rights and refused a search, now body cavity searches because they think they smell marijuana etc. . . etc. . .

The officer's word is LAW.

Who is "them"? A handful of the +/- 75,000 peace officers in Texas?

I understand you were a former officer at one point, and a mod on this board, both of which I respect. With that, I am having a hard time reading words like "they think they smell marijuana" and not taking them personal. As someone who frequently deals with the stuff roadside, it is an easy odor to identify. Your comment seems to call into question the integrity of what I am doing. The behavior you list compiles isolated incidents that are exceptions not the rule as to how LE in TX interact withe public. With cameras on the officers lapels coming out now, and dash cameras, this is one of the most monitored professions I can think.

If I were to make a blanket post on this board making sweeping statements lumping all CHL holders on gun enthusiasts into one group and make broad statements, I wager that the post would be moved to the invisible mod forum, and I would be sent a nasty PM.

Though offended, I think mostly I am disappointed with the content of this post.

Smelling marijuana certainly justifies a search of the vehicle. And if the officer thought the driver was under the influence, maybe a blood test or urine test? What I don't get is the cavity search. Seems unlikely to me they were going to make a big marijuana bust off it. Just what did they hope to find, a joint, an ounce of marijuana? This justifies a cavity search alongside the road? Police resources are so abundant that the possibility of a personal use marijuana bust justifies the attention of two officers, two vehicles, and cavity searches?

[Abraham]

Forgive me if I'm being naive, as I couldn't get the video: Couldn't the folks searched refused the road side search and request they be taken to jail or another facility for the search - if indeed a cavity search was demanded? Or, was there no choice - do it willingly citizen or be forced to do it roadside?

Certainly, I understand the outrage if in fact a road side cavity search was illegally forced and performed. If so, the legal repercussions will be forthcoming with a thunderclap...

In the mean time, no need to paint ALL law enforcement as martial law enthusiasts in waiting...

C'mon folks, one bad apple doesn't... (if indeed that's the case)

[VMI77]

Forgive me if I'm being naive, as I couldn't get the video: Couldn't the folks searched refused the road side search and request they be taken to jail or another facility for the search - if indeed a cavity search was demanded? Or, was there no choice - do it willingly citizen or be forced to do it roadside?

Certainly, I understand the outrage if in fact a road side cavity search was illegally forced and performed. If so, the legal repercussions will be forthcoming with a thunderclap...

In the mean time, no need to paint ALL law enforcement as martial law enthusiasts in waiting...

C'mon folks, one bad apple doesn't... (if indeed that's the case)

I think one of the concerns here is that the procedure appears to be routine. The female officer tells the male officer that since his car his closer she wants to conduct the search in front of his vehicle so that it is recorded on his camera. The impression given is that the search is SOP and not at all unusual. Also, the method of the search is revolting, as the officer explores the body cavities of both women using the same pair of gloves. Geez, just using the same glove on one woman, if the first cavity is the "wrong" cavity, can cause an infection. Having searched both cavities then using the same gloves on the second woman definitely risks causing an infection in the second woman.

I think willingly or unwillingly is irrelevant. Under the circumstances what possible justification is there for a cavity search to begin with? No marijuana was found in the vehicle and there is not even a post facto justification that the search produced contraband. It's also not all that meaningful because most people are going to be intimated into doing just about whatever an officer demands, and furthermore, knowing they were innocent, may have felt like cooperation was going to be less a problem than refusing. Anyway, do you know the legality of such a search? I don't.

[PUCKER]

To me, it appears that this TX DPS "occifer" (purposely typed this way) is setting herself up in a very bad way...if this not a case of sexual assault/aggravated sexual assault, I do not know what is.

Sec. 9.32. DEADLY FORCE IN DEFENSE OF PERSON. (a) A person is justified in using deadly force against another:
(B) to prevent the other's imminent commission of aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated robbery.

[VMI77]

To me, it appears that this TX DPS "occifer" (purposely typed this way) is setting herself up in a very bad way...if this not a case of sexual assault/aggravated sexual assault, I do not know what is.

Sec. 9.32. DEADLY FORCE IN DEFENSE OF PERSON. (a) A person is justified in using deadly force against another:
(B) to prevent the other's imminent commission of aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated robbery.

To me it seems like the officers involved are not doing something out of the ordinary but following established policy. The female officer obviously believes she is acting in accordance with policy because she deliberately conducts the search on camera. I don't know what the policy is or what their orders are, so it's difficult to know for sure whether the officers even used bad personal judgement. If these officers were following policy, it is the policy makers who need to be held to account, not the officers. Whether in the military or law enforcement, I'm sick and tired of the people in the front-line being held accountable for actions they'd never have taken without the consent, orders, or approval from those in charge. Punishment needs to flow upwards when those at the bottom are following policies and orders from those above them. The most severe punishment should be for those who gave the orders or created the policy --and many times those implementing these policies should get a pass.

[Oldgringo]

Texas really needs to get with the times and liberalize their marijuana laws.

Marijuana laws ruin more lives that marijuana itself, and this is an excellent example.

Before any/everyone accuses me of being a pothead, I never have used any non-prescription drugs including marijuana. I'm just a old, sarcastic, innuendoing, moral relativist who thinks the so-called 'War on Drugs' in an expensive waste of time, resources and money.

The police state actions depicted herein are despicable and have absolutely no place in a free country. File charges and sue big time!

[mamabearCali]

To me, it appears that this TX DPS "occifer" (purposely typed this way) is setting herself up in a very bad way...if this not a case of sexual assault/aggravated sexual assault, I do not know what is.

Sec. 9.32. DEADLY FORCE IN DEFENSE OF PERSON. (a) A person is justified in using deadly force against another:
(B) to prevent the other's imminent commission of aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated robbery.

To me it seems like the officers involved are not doing something out of the ordinary but following established policy. The female officer obviously believes she is acting in accordance with policy because she deliberately conducts the search on camera. I don't know what the policy is or what their orders are, so it's difficult to know for sure whether the officers even used bad personal judgement. If these officers were following policy, it is the policy makers who need to be held to account, not the officers. Whether in the military or law enforcement, I'm sick and tired of the people in the front-line being held accountable for actions they'd never have taken without the consent, orders, or approval from those in charge. Punishment needs to flow upwards when those at the bottom are following policies and orders from those above them. The most severe punishment should be for those who gave the orders or created the policy --and many times those implementing these policies should get a pass.

That is gets a big maybe. Look, I know better than to put my hands in another citizens orfices. If I did so I would be charged. The officer doing this is counting on getting a pass because "it's procedure".....know what, you are a human being too. If I am accountable to know when something is over the line so is she. Maybe another person said it was ok to do, but she did it. Sorry no pass here on this one. Additionally she is accoutable because she put these women in danger of infection and STD's by not changing gloves and following hygienic procedures. UNACCEPTABLE!

[Oldgringo]

To me, it appears that this TX DPS "occifer" (purposely typed this way) is setting herself up in a very bad way...if this not a case of sexual assault/aggravated sexual assault, I do not know what is.

Sec. 9.32. DEADLY FORCE IN DEFENSE OF PERSON. (a) A person is justified in using deadly force against another:
(B) to prevent the other's imminent commission of aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated robbery.

To me it seems like the officers involved are not doing something out of the ordinary but following established policy. The female officer obviously believes she is acting in accordance with policy because she deliberately conducts the search on camera. I don't know what the policy is or what their orders are, so it's difficult to know for sure whether the officers even used bad personal judgement. If these officers were following policy, it is the policy makers who need to be held to account, not the officers. Whether in the military or law enforcement, I'm sick and tired of the people in the front-line being held accountable for actions they'd never have taken without the consent, orders, or approval from those in charge. Punishment needs to flow upwards when those at the bottom are following policies and orders from those above them. The most severe punishment should be for those who gave the orders or created the policy --and many times those implementing these policies should get a pass.

That is gets a big maybe. Look, I know better than to put my hands in another citizens orfices. If I did so I would be charged. The officer doing this is counting on getting a pass because "it's procedure".....know what, you are a human being too. If I am accountable to know when something is over the line so is she. Maybe another person said it was ok to do, but she did it. Sorry no pass here on this one. Additionally she is accoutable because she put these women in danger of infection and STD's by not changing gloves and following hygienic procedures. UNACCEPTABLE!

Go get'em, Cali! Tell' em what the Nuremburg War Trials were all about.

There's a time and place for everything. It may have been the time but it sure wasn't the place. This looks like a case of sexual assault from out here in the Pineys.

[PUCKER]

Looks like the "occifer's" actions qualify as either sexual assault or aggravated sexual assault, but I am not current in laywer/legalese enough to differentiate between the two:

http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/D ... /PE.22.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[VMI77]

To me, it appears that this TX DPS "occifer" (purposely typed this way) is setting herself up in a very bad way...if this not a case of sexual assault/aggravated sexual assault, I do not know what is.

Sec. 9.32. DEADLY FORCE IN DEFENSE OF PERSON. (a) A person is justified in using deadly force against another:
(B) to prevent the other's imminent commission of aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated robbery.

To me it seems like the officers involved are not doing something out of the ordinary but following established policy. The female officer obviously believes she is acting in accordance with policy because she deliberately conducts the search on camera. I don't know what the policy is or what their orders are, so it's difficult to know for sure whether the officers even used bad personal judgement. If these officers were following policy, it is the policy makers who need to be held to account, not the officers. Whether in the military or law enforcement, I'm sick and tired of the people in the front-line being held accountable for actions they'd never have taken without the consent, orders, or approval from those in charge. Punishment needs to flow upwards when those at the bottom are following policies and orders from those above them. The most severe punishment should be for those who gave the orders or created the policy --and many times those implementing these policies should get a pass.

That is gets a big maybe. Look, I know better than to put my hands in another citizens orfices. If I did so I would be charged. The officer doing this is counting on getting a pass because "it's procedure".....know what, you are a human being too. If I am accountable to know when something is over the line so is she. Maybe another person said it was ok to do, but she did it. Sorry no pass here on this one. Additionally she is accoutable because she put these women in danger of infection and STD's by not changing gloves and following hygienic procedures. UNACCEPTABLE!

Note, I said that punishment needs to flow upwards and that many times those at the bottom should get a pass --and this should depend on the nature of the act. In this case, the search methodology alone merits punishment, because as you say, it was medically dangerous. However, I judge the person setting the policy to have perpetrated the greater evil for a number of reasons: 1) he is supposed to have greater knowledge and experience; 2) the policy he sets affects a greater number of people; 3) he has the greater responsibility both to the organization and to the public. I'm tired of seeing some private busted and sent to prison for a policy that he had nothing to do with. I'm not saying the privates should never be punished. What I am saying is that if a private gets 5 years in prison, the general or politician that made the policy should get 20 years. I don't know enough to judge what an appropriate punishment for the officers conducting the search would be here --but whatever happens to them should be visited four-fold on those that created the policy they were implementing.

[mamabearCali]

VMI I am good with that. No passes allowed for the brass while a private gets thrown in the slammer. If a person's fingerprints were anywhere near this they need to pay.

[Jaguar]

This sickens me to my very core. There is no reasonable excuse to violate a woman (or a man) on the side of the road, and coming up with nothing proves this is no more than jack-booted thugs gone wild. With more reports of DPS troopers acting in this fashion, doing serial number searches without cause, slamming suspected drunk drivers into concrete walls, and my own run in when a DPS trooper pulled me over for "disregarding a stop sign" that I sat at for 30-45 seconds before proceeding, I am quickly losing all respect I had for the DPS.

This appears to be an us vs. them where we have our rights violated and they may or may not be reprimanded for it. I am a "civilian" who isn't privy to the inner workings of law enforcement, but as suggested earlier in this thread the DPS are considered the top tier of the LE community in Texas. This may or may not be factual and I am having more doubt about this as we see these issues cropping up with DPS troopers, but it is/was the perception none the less. When these folks are routinely violating our rights, putting women in danger of infection, running gun serial numbers without cause, and Trooper Arturo Perez slamming the woman into a concrete wall because she tried to pull away while handcuffed, it not only affects the perception of the DPS, but of all law enforcement overall.

Maybe these women did not know the phrase, "I do not consent to searches", but it seems this trooper has smelled pot so that would be considered probable cause and no consent would be needed. There is still a line there that need not be crossed, and roadside sexual assault would be over that line. If there are no drugs in the car, then even if they have a joint hidden in their orifice cut them loose and call it a night. Making body cavities searches routine on the side of the road goes against ever fiber of my being, and is in direct opposition of the clear and plain language of the Fourth Amendment, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated."

I hope these women prevail in their lawsuit, and I hope that the powers that be at the DPS are hung out to dry, fired, stripped of any responsibility, sent to jail, and someone with a little common sense instilled who will stop these activities and put the DPS back on top of Texas law enforcement.

Were I in this position I would state that I do not consent to searches, and when the hand starts down my underwear I would react enough to be taken to jail, but hopefully not enough to be tazed, knee in the neck, and cuffed and stuffed. But I will willingly go to jail to be searched in the proper manner, and then they can do with me as they please, my lawyer will be happy to hear from me.

[RX8er]

The female DPS is suspended however, with pay.

DALLAS - One of the Texas Department of Public Safety troopers being sued over a body cavity search along a North Texas highway has been suspended.

Read more: http://www.myfoxdfw.com/story/20387557/ ... z2FYfhoQCV" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;