Police Confiscating My Property

[ENASNI]

oops

Sorry Judge.
Harry S Truman
Don't throw the book at me. It won't happen again.
I did cut and paste and they got it wrong and I was looking for my Hazmat suit with one hand and typing with the other.

Do I get any points for quoting such a great man...

 

[seniorjudge]

Do I get any points for quoting such a great man...

...Yep...

 

[You Are Guilty]

Hello, You Are Guilty.

Sorry. I must have missed your post.

I understand that I voluntarily gave the offiicer the PBA card I had in my possession…and if I illegally possessed the PBA card I would have no problem being charged with an offense for illegally possessing a PBA card. Yet the officer who told me he was confiscating my PBA card did not admonish me, nor did he advise me I was in violation of the law for possessing the PBA card.

The difficulty I am experiencing is understanding what authority of law the officer was acting under when he informed me he was “confiscating” the PBA card that I voluntarily gave to him when he requested to see it.

If I am not committing an offense and there is no offense being committed in relation to me possessing the PBA card, under what authority of law does the government (police) have to take the card?

It's quite simple actually. If the officer asks you for your thong, and you hand it over voluntarily, and it just so happens you have crack in it (yes, pun intended), then that is a valid search. Consent validates an otherwise illegal search. (This case has a easy-to-understand explanation: http://www.ca7.uscourts.gov/op3.fwx?yr=95&num=3692&Submit1=Request+Opinion )

For those outside NY, the background info you need to make sense out of this is that PBA cards, which come in different "denominations" (officer, sergeant, etc.), while ostensibly are to show your "membership" in the PBA, are in practice "get out of jail free" cards. As a professional courtesy, some officers will, upon ascertaining the relationship between the card holder and the PBA member, will be more likely to cut them some slack. PBA cards from higher ranks confer proportionally more clout in this regard.

Frequently, they are accompanied by "courtesy badges" (I assume these exist in other states), which are miniature badges of an actual officer that are traditionally given to family members. A combo of a current PBA card and a courtesy badge almost ensures that for all minor (and some major) infractions, you'll be let off with a warning.

That being said, I have seen many times where an officer will take the PBA card/badge and contact the officer who handed it out to have him/her come collect it, frequently right at the traffic stop. Not funny when the person who gave it to you is your Detective father

 

[CdwJava]

For those outside NY, the background info you need to make sense out of this is that PBA cards, which come in different "denominations" (officer, sergeant, etc.), while ostensibly are to show your "membership" in the PBA, are in practice "get out of jail free" cards. As a professional courtesy, some officers will, upon ascertaining the relationship between the card holder and the PBA member, will be more likely to cut them some slack. PBA cards from higher ranks confer proportionally more clout in this regard.

Frequently, they are accompanied by "courtesy badges" (I assume these exist in other states), which are miniature badges of an actual officer that are traditionally given to family members. A combo of a current PBA card and a courtesy badge almost ensures that for all minor (and some major) infractions, you'll be let off with a warning.

That being said, I have seen many times where an officer will take the PBA card/badge and contact the officer who handed it out to have him/her come collect it, frequently right at the traffic stop. Not funny when the person who gave it to you is your Detective father

Thanks for the info!

I have heard of this practice - and am vaguely aware of it, but we have nothing quite comparable to that out here. My initial thought was that people would get these and stick them in a wallet to try and "impress" an officer at a stop to do just as you mentioned - get off.

CHP families tend to do that with license plates citing the CHP's radio frequency, and others have PBA/PORAC/IAACP buttons and stickers on licenses they hand you at a stop ... unfortunately, they don't tend to grant TOO much favor as most of us know that the person using it is asking for a favor to be granted them and it often miffs the receiving officer.

I've gotten those a couple times, and they are usually from a person only distantly connected to a law enorcement member.

My wife and I have a family policy where we don't mention it at all if stopped. Fortunately for my wife, the two times she has been stopped, the officers recognized her name and the OFFICER opted to cut her a warning - she did not ask nor expect it.

- Carl