debate Wait! What can cops do in Tampa, Florida?

[Eric Lyon]

Ok, this was kind of an interesting read. I guess I was under the impression cops needed a bit more probable cause than a smell in the air near a concert, but I suppose this is a result of when the laws were ratified after 9/11, that search laws became more lax.

When Matthew Heller was walking back to his vehicle after leaving a concert in Tampa, FL he was upset to find that his truck had been broken into and torn apart.

“It was all sealed up, a parked vehicle in a private parking lot for a hip hop concert in Ybor. There were all kinds of smells, everywhere around here,” said Heller.

Nice truck by the way

A love letter from the police, classic

Looks a bit messy, but not sure "ransacked" was the right term they used.

Full Article: http://thefreethoughtproject.com/cops-break-in-search-destroy-car-consent-presence/

A few questions:
So, what are your thoughts on these lax Floridian laws?
Are you cool with random searches in your city?
Is this randomness keeping you feeling more safe from potential criminals hiding stuff?
Does your city have lax laws like these?
Good or bad use of tax payers money to randomly search vehicles near a smell in the air?

 

[Kate]

Investigating victimless 'crimes' IS a waste of time.

 

[RogueWriter]

I don't like the idea of searches being conducted without witnesses from the property owner's side. They could very easily have waited for the car owner to approach the vehicle. But, that would be inconvenient for the law officers, and it is all about convenience, these days.

 

[Mohammad]

LOL! Funny.

 

[Tia Wood]

Scary. I live very close to that town.

 

[.NJ]

He should write a thank you letter back to the police department for free national advertising!!

As for the search....

Seems a bit over-the-top in regards to "probable cause".

Unless exigent circumstances surrounded the incident, I don't think 99% of cops would have touch it.

My 2 cents.

 

[baseballworld]

I would of thought that someone would need to be there to witness it.

 

[robert_jones]

I donno about this one…I kinda got mixed feelings about it.

On one side they are violating your personal property for really no reason other than a suspicious smell.

But on the other side if they are allowed to do random searches then you technically are more safe as real criminals would be very hesitant to carry around weapons/drugs in their vehicles.

I live in Canada and I’ve never heard of anything happening like this but just as RogueWriter said, they could have easily waited for the owner of the vehicle to show up and then conduct the search.

Seems more like laziness to me.