Pubdate: Wed, 10 Dec 2003
Source: Macon Telegraph (GA)
Copyright: 2003 The Macon Telegraph Publishing Company
Contact:  http://www.macontelegraph.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/667
Author: Harry Stewart

TRAFFIC STOP

Much has been written about the recent court decision about the legality of 
a traffic stop that resulted in two arrests for drug possession. I disagree 
with the court's decision because of one indisputable fact: the two men 
were in a car with illegal drugs. In fact, the driver admitted this when 
the officer threatened to bring in a drug sniffing dog if the driver didn't 
consent to the search. There was a confession before a search was ever 
done. The officer was wrong because he acted on a hunch.

People in all walks of life operate on hunches. Doctors have hunches how to 
treat a disease. Lawyers have hunches about how to present a case. Salesmen 
use hunches, boys ask girls out on hunches, baseball players swing at a 
pitch based on a hunch. Even the judges in this case had a hunch that to 
hold these obviously guilty people would result in a flood of illegal 
searches. I've been stopped, but officers never felt the need to search my 
car. They never accused me, and I never confessed to having illegal drugs 
in the car either. I think the judge's hunch is wrong.

Much has also been written about the recent death of the man in Cincinnati. 
I suppose that it is tragic, but it doesn't strike me as tragic as the 
deaths of police officers who are killed or assaulted each year while on 
duty. In 2002, 56 law enforcement officers were feloniously killed in the 
line of duty.

Harry Stewart,

  Warner Robins
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