Sailorman13

There seems to be a rash of "got a ticket" threads lately that include the LEO asking for consent to search the bags on the bicycle involved. Some people are suggesting that a cyclist consent to mollify the LEO, possibly avoid a ticket and get on their way. Others would exercise their rights and refuse, despite the scowls and the chance of antagonizing the LEO.

What would you do? Consent, refuse, or consent only if you had nothing to hide?

Assume you are in no particular hurry and that you are being stopped for something very minor where there was virtually no chance of being arrested. Also, assume you are on a normal public road or right-of-way and not on a military base or airport property or something like that. In those situations, you generally don't have the right to refuse a search if you want to actually be granted access to the property. If you're already on the property, they usually have a right to search, and they won't ask you, they'll tell you.

Spasticteapot

No. I'm perpetually late even without having to wait for a cop to shuffle through my backpack.

gmule

I don't have any thing to hide but, no way I would not let them search my house car or bike. They may be able to show probable cause but that will be up to the courts to decide if my rights were violated and if anything in the search was used in court. I value my rights and they are being chipped away a little every day.

SeattleShaun

I have nothing to hide, but I am very disturbed by the agressive police state mentality of many of our folks in blue today.

I have no interest in seeing our civil liberties further eroded so I will most certainly not agree to let the police search anything of mine.

kombiguy

I would always refuse.

chipcom 

D'pends the the result of the ensuing discussion.
If he's cool and I'm cool, it's cool.
If it feels hinky or he's a dick, f him.

DX Rider

From what I understand the Supreme court just ruled that probable cause or no probable cause, the police need a warrant to search your house or vehicle without your constent. That hasn't always been the case.

Blue Order

I'm squeaky clean, no criminal activity, I don't consciously violate the law, nothing to hide.

And I'm not going to consent to a fishing expedition. If they have probable cause, they don't need my consent. If they don't have probable cause, "move on, there's nothing to see here."

Sailorman13

Wow, I seriously doubt that but It'd be nice. Got a link?
I do know that they recently ruled that police can't search your car anymore if they already have you detained in their squad car. They used to do that routinely to go fishing while claiming it was for their safety. But the court, correctly IMO, said that a driver poses no risk if he's detained away from the car, so there's no reasonable reason to search it without reasonable suspicion or probable cause.

Of course, they'll just get around it by NOT securing you in their car until they finish the search. They'll just have you stand there, probably cuffed, near your car so they'll have an excuse. If they can find a reason to arrest you for something and they can't manage to trump something up to prevent another passenger from driving your car away, they'll just use the "inventory" excuse when they call a tow truck.

Square & Compas

I selected the second one, politley refuse. But just to be a funny guy I might let an officer search if pulled over while I was commuting just to see his or her response to digging through my bags of dirty cloths, underwear included. Especially if it is a pair with skid marks. Not sure if I'd warn them ahead of time, unless they asked what are in my bags.

mustang1

I think if you gve them permission to search your bike, then it opens up doors and the LEO automatically gets rights to do other stuff.

CB HI

On a public road, I would always refuse a request for a consent to search and I would answer as few questions as possible, mostly limiting information to full name, date of birth and address.

On a military base, I would deal with the situation on a case by case basis, considering if the base entrance had the signs posted about searches or not, and what the stated purpose of a search request from the MP was.

Airports, I let them waste time looking in my bag. When I am carrying environmental samples for work, my checked baggaged seems to always get a visual search, the x-ray check must look really interesting. I always put the environmental samples under my dirty laundry.

maddyfish

Does search your bike include dis assemble it?

ChipSeal

My recent experience with an off-duty cop attempting to enforce imaginary laws on me can be found here.

In Texas, a cyclist is not required to produce a driver's license. The cyclist must give the officer upon request his real name and current home address. If the officer suspects that you are giving him false information, he may detain you until your information can be verified.

Often, types of ID other than a DL will be sufficient to satisfy this suspicion.

This is all of the information a Texas citizen who is not operating a motor vehicle is required by law to give to a LEO.

Rollfast

Yes, it would.

Look, while you guys run off on tangents looking for West's Law volumes I'm going to hop on my bike and not be harrassed or harangued or paranoid with speculatory furies dancing in my head.

Sorry you have these troubles and best of the day.

Wanderer

I'd refuse! it's very nice that the Supreme Court of the US has ruled that those kind of things are unconstitutional.

Even though they would find nothing wrong - they don't get to look.

BurnMyEyes

I'm glad so many people are answering "refuse"!

remsav

Maybe if I was in a hurry. But definitely not if I've something to hide. I'm just amazed how many people consent to a search on COPS and they get busted for drugs all the time on that show. I can see why LEO goes on fishing expedition when they don't have cause but suspect something fishy.

I'm sure we'll be "safer" if they could search anytime anywhere like at airports for our protection and sadly I can see that coming if a terrorist blows up a bus or use a car/bike bomb in the US.

Blue Order

+1

Sailorman13

I suppose it could, I didn't think of that contingency. I kind of doubt a cop would do all that work for a fishing expedition. Now if he had probable cause or reasonable suspicion, he might disassemble your bike, but then he wouldn't be asking you for consent to search in the first place. For the sake of the poll though, we're assuming it's just a public road and a regular cop with limited tools.

Blue Order

I always wonder "what are they thinking," but I guess they're not the brightest bulbs to begin with.

Sailorman13

If they asked, you could just say "clothes". No reason to elaborate. They'd find out soon enough.

Sailorman13

Me too! And frankly I'm kind of surprised. Although I have to wonder how many really would when it came right down to it. Maybe I should have added couple options asking if you have actually refused or granted a consent to search request.

Sailorman13

Imagine what they're thinking when they find out they could have refused a search. Duh!

CB HI

There was the story where the college student had a sticker on his bike advertising the folk-punk band "This Bike Is a Pipe Bomb"
read the news section
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Bike_is_a_Pipe_Bomb


And the Memphis International Airport incident:
https://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/16/tenn.bike.bomb/