Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003
From: ---------------

I also commend and support Terry's action 100%. I have my own Border Patrol harassment story from three weeks ago that I've already shared with Terry but will share with everyone else.

------ ----- and I have some friends who were living near Three Points for a few months (I think they moved within the last few days), and we would regularly drive there on Monday nights to have dinner and play music, and we would come home to Tucson late at night.

On June 2, we left their house around midnight, and we were driving north on AZ-286 approaching the intersection with AZ-86. About a mile before the intersection, we passed a USBP SUV with the lights and engine off, and it then turned on the engine and lights and pulled onto the road behind us.

It was pretty obvious that I was going to get pulled over. I could have pulled into the Chevron & convenience store parking lot at the intersection and let him come up to the vehicle at that time. But I considered that this behavior might give the BP an unreasonable fear that I might be preparing for an armed standoff, so I drove to the stop sign, stopped, looked both ways, and made my right turn onto AZ-86.

The BP just blew through the stop sign at about 30 mph, fast enough that it was impossible for the driver to keep his vehicle on the right side of the road. By doing this, he was able to catch up to me shortly after turning onto 86. He then waited another mile before flashing the lights. I pulled safely off to the side of the road, shut off the engine, and kept my hands on the steering wheel.

The two BP agents approached the vehicle, one on the driver's side and one on the passenger's side. Both ----- and I rolled down the windows. The exchange went something like this:

DE: "Good evening."
BP: "Good evening. Where are you coming from?"
DE: "Our friends' house."
BP: "What are you doing out so late?"
DE: "Playing music and visiting friends." (the amp and one guitar
were in the uncovered bed of the truck)
BP: "It's kinda late dontcha think?"
DE: "No."
BP: "Where ya headed?"
DE: "Home. Tucson."
BP: "Mind if I search your vehicle?"
DE: "I don't consent to a search of my vehicle. I'm a criminal
defense attorney (chuckle)."
BP: (chuckles too) "Where are you coming from?"
DE: "Our friends' house."
BP: "What are their names?"
---: starts to answer
DE: cuts off ------, "our _friends_."
BP: "mind if I bring the K9 to sniff around your vehicle."
DE: "Yes I mind because I'd like to get home. However, you have the
authority to bring the dog around without my consent, so if you want
to do that you're within your authority."
BP: "Yes I am." bring the dog around, dog finds nothing
BP: "OK you're free to go."

Reasons why I type this exchange out:

1) There is a fine line between standing up for your rights and ensuring that you'll spend the night in a federal holding cell. I could have simply refused to answer ANY of his questions, but it was easier on everyone if I answered a couple just to expedite the matter.

2) Know the extent of the authority of law enforcement officers at a roadside stop. They may not search your vehicle without your consent, but bringing the K9 out to sniff outside is not considered a "search" for Fourth Amendment purposes.

3) Not everyone who gets pulled over is an attorney. But feel free to bluff by saying "I've done work with attorneys" as you are refusing consent to a search. Gives the officers a sense that you are refusing on the basis of defending your rights, as opposed to having something to hide.

4) DON'T BE NERVOUS. They'll pick up on it and try to rattle you.

5) USE GOOD JUDGMENT.

I think everyone in Tucson should expect to go through a similar encounter in the near future if they leave the city limits for points south/west/east. I've seen the Border Patrol buildup that Terry is describing with my own eyes, and it's pretty scary.