"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 02 Nov 2007 12:15:59 GMT, "JoeSpareBedroom"
wrote:

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
. ..
On Thu, 01 Nov 2007 23:11:01 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Thu, 01 Nov 2007 16:08:58 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:

Which is now why they call checkpoints "safety checks" or "enforcement
checks" instead of whatever they were called at the time.

I believe the issue is "probable cause". If you run an explicit DUI
checkpoint you are stopping people without probable cause.

That too.

Your son should be able to shed some light on all of this.

Let's say there's a burglary in my neighborhood, and the homeowner is
roughed up a little bit by the perp. So, the cops aren't there just to
give
the victim the 7th-layer illegible pink carbon copy. They're interested in
whoever touched the victim.

It's dark, and they see 3-4 people out for walks. Aren't the cops allowed
to
stop their cars and ask pedestrians a few questions? They don't know which
pedestrian, if any, may be the perp, but they do know that some people
walk
regularly and may have seen something unusual. (Here, they ignore such
information, but that's another story).

Extend this to DUI checkpoints. How are they supposed to ask questions
without stopping cars? Searching cars is another story. I'm talking about
just asking a question or two.

Just wondering.

I don't know.

I woudl suspect that if they were responding and after obtaining
information, they would stop and ask the walkers if they had seen
anything at such and such a time.

Other than that, I just flat don't know.

Well, I wish they would, although that's based on an experience I had here.
One night, around 1:00 AM, I saw two people on bikes at the end of my
neighbor's driveway. I'm sure they heard my screen door open & close, but
they didn't split especially fast. Just left "normally". Next morning, the
neighbor says his cars were broken into.

Next night (or maybe 2 nights later), I see two bikes again, a few houses
down in the other direction. I call 911, tell the ****** "It's dark. No, I
can't tell you if they're Puerto Rican, Venezualan, Mexican...just get a cop
here. And, ask them to stop at my house after they check it out".

What does the cop do? He stops at my house FIRST, and tells me he can't just
question people because they're on bikes. I explain reality to him, but the
guy just doesn't get it: Robbery that probably involved 2 people on bikes.
Neighborhood streets all go in circles, so nobody here is going from one
part of town to another. If it's 1:00 AM, they either live here, they're
visiting, or they are "anything unusual", and "Your chief keeps saying
citizens should help the police by reporting "anything unusual".

Blank stare.