It pains me to say it…but Seal appears to have been correct

[TimS]

For decades, American courts have had to take it on faith that drug-sniffing dogs were impartial. Testimony by a dog's handler, along with training records and credentialing by a local K-9 organization, were usually enough. But the recent spread of body cameras now threatens to upend that faith.

A newly filed federal lawsuit in Texas shows cameras' potential to undermine K-9 unit legitimacy. Houston resident Alek Schott accuses Bexar County Sheriff's deputy Joel Babb of pulling him over on Interstate 35 on false pretenses, and then, when he refused to give permission to search his pickup truck, he says K-9 unit deputy Martin A. Molina III prompted his dog to "alert" to the scent of drugs.

"These guys are trying to destroy my life"

Historically, that claim would have been nearly impossible to prove. But in this case, Schott requested and received the officers' body camera footage, giving him almost the same view the K-9 handler had — including the moment the handler's right hand made a gesture toward the attentive dog, which then jumped up on the pickup's door.

"It's clear to me that he's telling the dog to alert," Schott says. "I thought, 'These guys are trying to destroy my life.' "

No drugs were found in Schott's pickup, and the county later reimbursed him for damage done during the search — including dog scratches outside and inside the truck. The sheriff's office would not comment to NPR on the case, citing "pending litigation."

Thirty-seven-year-old Schott, who works for his father's company supplying the oil and gas industry, is represented by Christie Hebert, an attorney with the Institute for Justice, a civil liberties organization focused on search and seizure. She says they're pursuing the lawsuit because they believe the deputies violated Schott's rights — and did so in part by relying on the dog.

 

Cops caught telling their dogs to ‘alert’ should be grounds for dismissing any case that has ever been built on a dog alerting as probable cause…and that opens a whole bunch of cans of worms  

 

I hate it when Seal is right

[Kings over Queens]

He's probably right more times than not, but like a broken record, is annoying after a while, and nobody like the annoying guy harping on the same thing, over and over and over.

 

 

 

 

[TimS]

4 mins ago, Kings over Queens said:

He's probably right more times than not, but like a broken record, is annoying after a while, and nobody like the annoying guy harping on the same thing, over and over and over.

Agreed. It’s not always about just being correct, it’s often about not being a dick while expressing yourself

[Tom T]

**** him anyway.  

[Ditchbag]

18 mins ago, Tom T said:

**** him anyway.  

X 1000

[blastwater]

30 mins ago, Kings over Queens said:

He's probably right more times than not, but like a broken record, is annoying after a while, and nobody like the annoying guy harping on the same thing, over and over and over.

 

 

 

 

If I spent my days and nights in mom's basement smoking weed and searching YT and cop hater websites to cherry-pick the one or two bad interactions among the thousands and thousands of courteous or brave police-public interactions then I'd be right more times than not too.... what's amazing is that, given his dedication to the ACAB cause, the amount of free time that he has and his ability to selectivity post ONLY bad cop videos, he should be right ALL the time but he's not and that makes him an abject moron. 

[Daughter of a fisherman]

35 mins ago, TimS said:

Agreed. It’s not always about just being correct, it’s often about not being a dick while expressing yourself

Exactly.   Our Constitution states your Rights are only valid if you're not being a dick!

[blastwater]

1 min ago, Daughter of a fisherman said:

Exactly.   Our Constitution states your Rights are only valid if you're not being a dick!

where in the constitution does it state that you have the right to post inflammatory content on a private website? 

 

[Sandflee]

1 hour ago, TimS said:

 

 

 

Cops caught telling their dogs to ‘alert’ should be grounds for dismissing any case that has ever been built on a dog alerting as probable cause…and that opens a whole bunch of cans of worms  

 

I hate it when Seal is right

Hold up… are you saying they can train a dog to sit and then search based on that to determine probable cause? I’m shocked 

[Sandflee]

We need to put those Belgian Malinois on the witness stand 

[Reel Deely]

2 mins ago, Sandflee said:

We need to put those Belgian Malinois on the witness stand 

Those dogs are gorgeous 

[Kings over Queens]

2 hours ago, Tom T said:

**** him anyway.  

Goes without saying.

[21parker]

Cop was being a dick. Simple as that. Some people let the power get to their head. 

[Tom T]

37 mins ago, Kings over Queens said:

Goes without saying.

I like saying it

[Jetty Jumper]

3 hours ago, TimS said:

 

 

 

Cops caught telling their dogs to ‘alert’ should be grounds for dismissing any case that has ever been built on a dog alerting as probable cause…and that opens a whole bunch of cans of worms  

 

I hate it when Seal is right

I had a cop tell me, "If we need to get in the car we use the dog." Think about that.