Crime

StarTrek Fans Pulled Over for ‘Weaving’ — But Was It Constitutional?

StarTrek Fans Stopped for Weaving Was It Constitutional?A Star Trek fan, two cops, and traffic stop. It isn’t a bad joke, but a real-life story that’s raising constitutional concerns.

Two Ohioans recently driving home from a StarTrek exhibit in St. Louis through Illinois were pulled over by a local police officer. They weren’t speeding though, according to the Collinsville officer. He pulled them over for allegedly weaving. The events that transpired during that traffic stop — video and audio were captured by the cop car and posted on YouTube by Terrance Huff who was driving the PT cruiser — have called up questions of constitutional rights and the boundaries of law enforcement. Here’s the video with some voice-over and analysis by Huff (Note: Some strong language):

In the video, Huff says he believes officer Reichert is “morally compromised for fabricating a reason to pull me over.” Huff doesn’t see getting pulled over for crossing a lane line — something he says he didn’t even do — but deciding in the end to not change lanes as a reason to pull someone over. Huff explains in the video that Reichert took both his and his passenger Jon Seaton’s I.D.s to check for warrants. What Reichert did find was that Huff was arrested a while back — an arrest that should have been expunged from his record after it was court dismissed. The audio picked up in the police cruiser reveals Reichert calling one of the men a “mother f******” — Huff presumes it was directed at him over Reichert finding his previous arrest. Huff goes on to explain that a second officer was called and video captures Reichert handing Huff a warning while the other officer stands nearby. Huff’s voiceover says, “this should have been the end of it. But it wasn’t.” From there, Reichert asks Huff if there is a reason his friend might have been acting nervous — Huff doesn’t believe Seaton was acting nervous. Then the truth comes out: Reichert reveals they’ve had a major problem with people running drugs and guns on the highway and he asks if the men had any of this sort of contraband. Huff offers to show Reichert proof they had been at the StarTrek exhibit — the purpose of their journey — and shrugs his arms saying, “We’re not drug runners. It’s my birthday and we were on vacation in St. Louis.” StarTrek Fans Stopped for Weaving Was It Constitutional? For the next few minutes, Reichert appears to try and get Huff to admit to having some sort of drugs in the car, even saying he “isn’t worried“ about a ”personal amount” of marijuana in the vehicle. Reichert also asks Huff if he would object to a search of the car, to which Huff doesn’t submit, but he is reluctantly OK with Reichert letting his K-9 sniff around it. After more discussion that leaves Huff feeling as if he doesn’t have much choice in the matter, Huff and Seaton are patted down for weapons and drugs, and Reichert speaks with Seaton privately explaining the situation and saying Huff seemed nervous. The K-9 run around the car occurs around 9:50 in the video, and Huff makes an observation that it seems the dog has been trained to indicate a presence of drugs at the front of the car — outside of the cruisers’ camera view. If this is case, it would give Reichert the opportunity to “manufacture” probably cause and search the vehicle. This is speculation by Huff, but it is what ends up occurring in the video. Reichert searches the vehicle and doesn’t find any drugs but does say he found “shake,” marijuana residue. The men eventually leave with just a warning for weaving. StarTrek Fans Stopped for Weaving Was It Constitutional? Huff believes the dog may have been trained to false alert for drugs. He provides an example of a trained dog searching for narcotics without the praise or other audible cues seen in the footage by Reichert and also includes footage of what it looks like for a dog to exhibit false alerts. The Huffington Post, who interviewed Huff, the police department and legal experts about this video, said that it “raises important questionsabout law enforcement and the criminal justice system, including the Fourth and Fifth Amendments, the drug war, profiling and why it’s so difficult to take problematic cops out of the police force.” In the Huffington Post, Huff poses the question: “If he thought Jon was nervous, and that might indicate drug activity, why did he wait so long to bring it up? And why did he wait until he had basically told me I could go?” Public defense attorney in Madison County John Rekowski is reported as calling this a “common tactic” and even says the handshake is significant here because the officer “thinks he’s establishing that everything that happens after the handshake is consensual.” So why didn’t Reichert let Huff go after issuing the warning and the handshake that Huff thought was the end of it? HuffPost cites the potential for asset forfeiture, which is when property is taken because it is suspected to be tied with illegal activity. It notes that 80 percent of the time, the owner is never charged with a crime but it is their own responsibility to get the property back, which can “sometimes exceed the actual value of the property.” HuffPo reports that interstates are prime targets for asset forfeiture. Here’s why:

Interstates are a particularly rich ground for forfeiture. Law enforcement officials say that’s because interstates are ideal for drug running. Critics say it’s because police can target out-of-state drivers, who are more likely than local residents to accept a police officer’s baseless accusations and turn over their property, rather than refuse and face arrest, multiple returns to the state for court dates and thousands of dollars in legal expenses. Faced with that choice, it isn’t difficult to see why innocent people would opt to hand over their cash and head home. “The joke around our office is that all you need for probable cause in Madison County is an Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, or Florida license plate,” says Rekowski, the public defender. Collinsville defense attorney Jessica Koester says she’s seen the same thing. “If you’re from out of state, they’re simply going to find a reason to pull you over.”

So, what’s the incentive for police officers in asset forfeiture? HuffPo reports that in Madison County, police using “constitutionally suspect” tactics to pull over drivers has brought in a significant sum of money, some of which the prosecutors handling these cases benefit from as well:

The Edwardsville Intelligencer reported in 2010 that the Madison County State‘s Attorney’s Office has reaped a half-million dollars from the policy over eight years, which at the prosecutor’s take of 10-12 percent suggests a total bounty of $4.5 million to $5 million.

Madison County is by no means the only area to which fingers can be pointed. HuffPo cites several other example, and last year, Mlive reported Genesee County, Mich., had started warning of drug checkpointsthat would stop cars as well. Drug checkpoints have been ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. HuffPo reports legal experts as saying the tactics seen in Madison County — and elsewhere — are more common than many may realize:

“When we saw the Huff video in our office, we just laughed,” Rekowski says. “Not because it wasn’t outrageous. But because it’s the kind of thing we see all the time. The stop for a so-called ‘inappropriate lane change,’ the games they play in the questioning, the claims about nervousness or inappropriate behavior that can’t really be contradicted. It’s all routine.” According to Koester, the defense attorney in private practice, “The dog alert that happens off-camera isn’t unusual either. You see that all the time.” Koester and Rekowski say the Huff stop has all the markings of a forfeiture fishing expedition. “You see where he asks if [Huff] is carrying large amounts of U.S. currency,” Rekowski says. “It‘s pretty clear what they’re after. These kinds of cases put my kids through college.” He laughs, then adds, “I’m only half joking.”

Former narcotics officer Barry Cooper has also said the search of Huff’s car was illegal. He also says he is 100 percent positive the K-9 false alerted. Reichert was not available for comment to the Huffington Post but it does report Collinsville Police Chief Scott Williams saying he doesn’t have any reason to distrust his officers. Still, he said that the department will look into the case and any officer found violating civil rights would be fired. Although the roadside incident involving Huff occurred on Dec. 4, 2011, Reichert appears to have a history dating back several years of questionable police work.

Comments (130)

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  • KevINtampa
    Posted on April 2, 2012 at 4:38pm

    It used to be you needed a writ from a judge to search your property, now they just need to get permission from a dog. You read that right, the American people have turned over their 4th Amendment Rights over to the Canine species. If people can’t recognize the folly of that, well, I guess they don’t deserve liberty anyways.

    Report Post »  
    • Baddoggy
      Posted on April 2, 2012 at 5:33pm

      people dont get it. Besides that, you cannot win. I had a friend that won 3500.00 at a casino in Louisiana. He did not make it out of the State. They said it was drug money. THIEVES!

      Report Post » Baddoggy  
    • FreedomPurveyor
      Posted on April 2, 2012 at 8:34pm

      This kind of abuse of power deserves jail time.

      Report Post » FreedomPurveyor  
    • justsayin225
      Posted on April 2, 2012 at 11:08pm

      I am a police officer & am completely disgusted & horrified at this officer’s blatantly illegal conduct. He violated these people’s rights hands down & conducted an illegal search! How sad this officer has no honor or respect for the badge. Unfortunately, it’s officers like this who give all a bad name. My question is how is he still a cop with the alleged conviction or even a charge involving perjury? And why aren’t the feds investigating this misconduct?

      Report Post »  
    • db321
      Posted on April 3, 2012 at 1:56am

      Good Story – this cop seem to be a very abusive type – He should be fired before he gets Ohio in a Law Suite.

      Report Post » db321  
    • scruffycat
      Posted on April 3, 2012 at 8:04am

      Yeah, well, maybe my deflector shields ain’t up to stopping your craft as it weaves into me. You go Highway Patrol and keep pulling those weavers over. If they react too violently to you, or have an uppity attitude towards you like a smelly ows protester, check them closer, they may be Klingons in disguise transporting stolen Romulan Ale…

      Report Post » scruffycat  
  • OutofSympathy
    Posted on April 2, 2012 at 3:56pm

    LOL, was pulled over for tailgating in bumber to bumper rush hour traffic before.. YUP you guessed it OUT OF STATE TAGS.

    Report Post »  
    • Bubblehead706
      Posted on April 3, 2012 at 10:18am

      I was pulled over when I was being past by a group of cars going 15-20 mph faster than me. I was going 60mph in a 55mph zone. It was a speed trap with 5 police vehicles, and we were all pulled over in mass. I was the only one who got a ticket and was told that they only wrote it up for 10miles over the limit because I was active duty military. All the other vehicles had in-state tags. I got it thrown out in court when none of the officers showed up. There were 10 of us in court from that day and all of us were from out of state.
      I guess the police figured that out of staters will just pay the ticket and be done with it. There were over 300 tickets written that day on that spot of highway. It appears that Highwaymen are still around!

      Report Post »  
  • carbonated
    Posted on April 2, 2012 at 3:55pm

    The Constitution is null and void in Illinois. If you drive through the Communist State of Illinois, you better hope you don’t get pulled over. Just keep your head down and shut up. Better yet, drive AROUND Illinois. Missouri and Kentucky might be a little more accommodating to the U.S. Constitution.

    Report Post »  
  • Endstatism
    Posted on April 2, 2012 at 3:48pm

    This Reichert thug has a long history of being investigated by state and federal officials. He was fired at one point, but a court ordered him rehired. Here is what I think we need to do as constitutionalists. A website needs to be started exposing and naming all these rotten apple officers and making their names well known. The vast majority of LEOs are honorable men and women, but jackbooted goons and KGB wannabes like this Reichert will stain and bring disrepute to those serving in protecting lawful citizens

    Report Post » Endstatism  
  • justangry
    Posted on April 2, 2012 at 3:48pm

    Yay, Police State!! Of course everyone knows they manufacture probable cause. The bad ones anyway. Sure seems to be a lot of those these days. Oh and… a few days back I read an ariticle claiming the US prison population has topped Stalin’s. It’s great to be an American!! Well it used to be.

    Report Post » justangry  
    • Cap8tain
      Posted on April 3, 2012 at 8:08am

      Thast because Stalin murdered 11 million people. Why Build prisons?

      Report Post » Cap8tain  
  • youdidthis
    Posted on April 2, 2012 at 3:44pm

    east oakland

    Report Post »  
  • youdidthis
    Posted on April 2, 2012 at 3:43pm

    5 killed at univ in california

    Report Post »  
  • Lion420
    Posted on April 2, 2012 at 3:43pm

    Shake is not residue, it‘s marijuana that’s been seperated from the stem and seeds. The cop seems to be a pain in the ass and possibly a lil out of line, but at least they didn’t get arrested. I‘d say that’s a happy ending. I had a cop pull up behind me in the parking lot directly outside my mothers apt. ransack my car and arrest me for tiny amount of weed. Cost me a lot of time, trouble and money. All I was doing was making a cell-phone call. I couldn’t get a signal inside the building. Cops are people. Some are total dicks who don’t care about you or your rights, others are more level-headed.

    Report Post » Lion420  
    • macpappy
      Posted on April 2, 2012 at 4:09pm

      See, that’s what happens; you get stopped for nothing, they let you go because you are not dirty, so you go home smoke one, Mr. Lion420 and say to yourself, “Well, at least I didn’t get arrested”.
      That is what has to stop.
      People that have been handled like this have to protest, take it to the top, until you are standing in front of an elected official. Then, this will stop.

      Report Post » macpappy  
  • Endstatism
    Posted on April 2, 2012 at 3:43pm

    This story has been heavily discussed on many websites. Americans must sit down and read the Constitution and educate themselves so they know what their rights are and then stand firm against violations of those rights. That means if you are pulled over for a traffic citation and the police officer demands a search of your vehicle, invoke the Fourth Amendment in a polite and firm manner. Traffic citations are civil violations, not criminal, therefore there is no basis for probable cause. Asset forfeitures are also civil actions, no criminal. You can refuse to hand over the items seized and law enforcement cannot use force or violence, because it is a civil action. The only way you can be arrested in a civil matter is for contempt of court. According to the Fifth Amendment you cannot be deprived of property without due process. A police officer`s claim is not due process. Nor can a officer detain you based on a civil matter.
    I have discussed this issue on other websites and I hope this is not true. There are people from the state of Illinois claiming that if you exercise your constitutional rights in a peaceful manner or refuse to hand over items to be asset forfeited, you might end up dead. I would almost believe it, considering how much corruption there is in Illinois

    Report Post » Endstatism  
    • macruadhi
      Posted on April 3, 2012 at 2:56am

      Wish you could give us some direction as to where we can read about this stuff for ourselves.

      Report Post »  
  • scrapadapolis
    Posted on April 2, 2012 at 3:42pm

    Whats nice someone put it out there.hey mike try that here..you will wind up in the klondike..

    Report Post » scrapadapolis  
  • right-wing-waco
    Posted on April 2, 2012 at 3:40pm

    Now just imagine if this cop had decided to plant drugs so he could arrest a guy that may not have ever had anything to do with drugs. And he could have gone to prison for years.

    Report Post »  
    • FleeWacoWhileYouCan
      Posted on April 2, 2012 at 5:32pm

      This kinda stuff happens in a certain suburb of Waco quite often. The Woodway, TX police k-9 unit was the one that got the Supreme Court to rule that a dope dog is an expert, therefore if the dog indicates dope, then it gives probable cause to search (even if your car is just sitting in a parking lot and you are not present).

      Report Post »  
    • ASE
      Posted on April 2, 2012 at 8:12pm

      That is the kind of cop that would be hunted down for ******* on the wrong guy. What is a year of a man’s life worth, esp in prison if something happens to him? That guy that was wrongfull charged would have a SERIOUS bone to pick with the crooked cop.

      Report Post »  
  • TheCoffinMaker
    Posted on April 2, 2012 at 3:38pm

    My God, this is sickening me.

    At every turn, Americans are being bent and crushed by government.

    Report Post » TheCoffinMaker  
  • youdidthis
    Posted on April 2, 2012 at 3:33pm

    qouta’s for tickets
    qouta’s for misdameanors
    qouta’s for felonies

    cops are fine collector’s…nothing more.

    never needed one, never will…

    Report Post »  
    • Donut132
      Posted on April 2, 2012 at 5:04pm

      I thought quotas for tickets were illegal? Because it creates a conflict of interest . So ticket money goes to the state right? I’ve seen cops in my home town have “quotas” which I thought were not only bullcrap, but illegal. If the more tickets you write begets you more $$$, Then you will write more tickets. Regardless if there are more law breakers , you will make lawbreakers out of innocent civilians. Reminds me of atlas shrugged , if you make the laws impossible to follow, then everyone is guilty.

      Report Post »  
    • Lt_Scrounge
      Posted on April 2, 2012 at 11:48pm

      The entire traffic ticketing situation is rigged. I was stopped recently by a town po that I have every reason to believe was outside of his jurisdiction. I have to drive through that area a few times a month, so if it turns out that officer was outside his jurisdiction, I’m going to fight the ticket.

      The way that the ticketing situation is set up, if you pay the fine you can have the ticket not show up on your MVR. If you don’t pay the fine, or miss work to show up in court, you can be arrested for failure to appear.

      Report Post »  
  • right-wing-waco
    Posted on April 2, 2012 at 3:33pm

    And you thought we weren’t living in a police state. They can do anything they want to do. They just have to make up a reason to get away with it. Very scary.

    Report Post »  
  • macpappy
    Posted on April 2, 2012 at 3:33pm

    That good old war on drugs, taking our rights away from us now for over 40 years. This along with the Patriot Act are even defended by the so called conservatives now. Giving up liberty for security is not such a good idea. Especially since the security is a facade.

    Report Post » macpappy  
  • eternal_vigilance
    Posted on April 2, 2012 at 3:26pm

    This isn’t anything NEW, it’s been going on for probably decades and not necessarily in “the South.” The’ve used the “drug problem” forever against everyone just like the used the “terrorist problem” and you let them.The proverbial wolf is no longer at your door, he’s in your living room watching TV, smoking and asking you (or your spouse or child) to fetch him a drink. You” find out if they confiscate your property that it’s a “civil case.” One where YOU have to PROVE your innocence. I wonder how many of “them” could do that.

    Report Post » eternal_vigilance  
  • Thighmaster
    Posted on April 2, 2012 at 3:26pm

    another example of why cops don‘t want to be recorded but it’s also an example of why they should in EVERY instance..

    Report Post » Thighmaster  
  • Gold Nugget
    Posted on April 2, 2012 at 3:22pm

    Emergency beam out Scotty! Energize!

    Report Post »  
  • biohazard23
    Posted on April 2, 2012 at 3:16pm

    I wonder if the guy had to practice kolinar to keep himself from freaking out on the cop……

    Report Post » biohazard23  
  • Chet Hempstead
    Posted on April 2, 2012 at 3:12pm

    If there’s video of the guy getting pulled over, there must be video of him just before he got pulled over. Show us that and we would all be able to see for ourselves who’s full of crap, and who, if anyone, is telling the truth.

    Report Post »  
  • Exrepublisheep
    Posted on April 2, 2012 at 3:12pm

    Hazard County.

    Report Post » Exrepublisheep  
    • qzak491
      Posted on April 2, 2012 at 3:32pm

      .
      We don’t have a hazard county but we do have a town named Hazard. As a matter of fact the cast from the Dukes of Hazard show made an appearance there once.

      Report Post »  
  • Itsjusttim
    Posted on April 2, 2012 at 3:11pm

    The more people whine about violations of the Constitution the softer people get about allowing violations of the Constitution, it’s like getting programmed. If Americans haven’t done anything about it yet, they aren’t going to do anything about it. And every time they ratchet up more Constitutional violations, you’ll all just whine. It’s what you do.

    Report Post » Itsjusttim  
    • Itsjusttim
      Posted on April 2, 2012 at 3:18pm

      You see, Glenn Beck should have taught people about American History, and the true American history to make you proud of it, to harden you as stone to your heritage. But Glenn Beck couldn‘t resist showing everyone how much he knows what’s going on, and as a result he softened and prepared everyone for what is coming so people are more accepting of it, and not so shocked. Glenn Beck is actually helping the Communists by default.

      Report Post » Itsjusttim  
    • FleeWacoWhileYouCan
      Posted on April 2, 2012 at 5:37pm

      What do you suggest people do? Your comment does not make much sense to me. Seems like if this kinda thing is exposed to more and more people, then maybe they will finally wake up and do something about it. Video and article does not seem like whining to me, seems like a couple of guys letting the rest of us know what happened to them.

      Report Post »  
    • RoqueGerig
      Posted on April 3, 2012 at 5:53pm

      I think you are on to something there Tim.

      Report Post »  
    • libsaredangerous
      Posted on April 3, 2012 at 5:59pm

      So the more people complained about slavery, the more it softened people to the idea of slavery? The more the government oppresses you and takes away your rights, the best strategy is to sit, hide, be quiet and the government will stop?

      Report Post » libsaredangerous  
  • KidCharlemagne
    Posted on April 2, 2012 at 3:11pm

    Unlike any other crimes, the federal government pays ‘commission’ to local law enforcement to find drugs….

    This is just another example of a guy who is working on a ‘commission’ type of compensation plan…

    You‘d think they’d be paying out commission/bonuses to solve violent crimes……however, there is no money or return on investment in it for them in the long run, so they don’t.

    Report Post »  
  • CatB
    Posted on April 2, 2012 at 3:06pm

    This is why I NEVER drive through Illinois …

    Report Post »  
  • Baddoggy
    Posted on April 2, 2012 at 3:04pm

    That does it. I am never leaving Texas again.
    SCOTUS has taken the 4th ammendment and flushed it down the toilet….

    We are living in Libtardia.

    Report Post » Baddoggy  
    • Marine25
      Posted on April 3, 2012 at 10:17am

      Good. Certainly don’t want the likes of you here in Utah.

      Report Post »  
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