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Personal Business, Deputies


Published: Friday, May 16, 2008 at 6:06 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, May 16, 2008 at 6:06 a.m.
I would like to ask Sheriff GradyJudd when he started teaching our employees that they have the rightto know our personal business like from where we came and where we're going.

On a recent Monday evening I went to the airport to pick up my wife. On the way home, we stopped so she could eat some dinner.

After we hit the road again (just before midnight), I was stopped on the on-ramp from 27 onto westbound Interstate 4. The deputy came to the window, and demanded my license, registration and proof of insurance.

I asked him what was wrong. He demanded "Where are you going?" I told him "we're going home, to Lakeland."

He demanded "Where were you coming from?" Puzzled, I asked "Why do you want to know that?"

His response was a very loud, angry and threatening "You don't think I have the right to know that?" He then took my license and registration, and went back to his patrol car (no answer to why we were stopped).

About five to 10 minutes later, another deputy came to the window and finally told us why we were stopped. He said we had a brake light out and that I was going to get a ticket. I said I could fix it in less than two minutes, but he refused to let me.

A little later the first deputy came and gave me the ticket. Then they left.

The behavior of both deputies was aggressive and unprofessional.

Since when do Polk deputies have the right to know our personal business?

By the way, when we got out and checked our tail light, it was tight and working fine.

ROBERT D. BOWERS

Lakeland


Comments

  1. quasi55 says...
    May 16, 2008 6:41:52 am

    RE: Read the article

    to mr bowers and other concerned citizens:

    deputies and police officers routinely ask questions to drivers tha are not related to the traffic infraction. it it through this brief discussion that veteran law enforcement that they catch drug couriers and other more serious offenders.you have the right to refuse to answer these questions. the deputy is only trying to do his\her job and take the traffic stop further. it doesn't take much to write a ticket and let someone go. its good interview skills and experience that catch serious offenders on our roadways. i cannot justify rudeness but it may have been more percieved by you than intended by the officer. if you feel the ticket was unjustly issued,then take option #2 on the ticket's reverse side and contest it in court.

  2. Fatal Opinion says...
    May 16, 2008 8:06:55 am

    Agreed, asking questions like that often catches drug runners or fugitives of the law. And they may often ask the same questions just worded differently to make sure your story is straight. But you do have the right to not answer. I agree that these two deputies need some more training in customer service. Just remember, you can report behavior like that to the Sheriff. I know for a fact Sheriff Judd is VERY much about customer service. If it doesnt get reported, it gets overlooked.

  3. ztobe1 says...
    May 16, 2008 2:34:57 pm

    so it is alright to assume all citizens are potential drug runners--sounds mental to me,like parnonia--doesnt mean anything to be an america citizen anymore??--govt looked upon it people as the enemy--these people could have had a heart attack from that rude power crazy leo!!!

  4. lt. dan says...
    May 16, 2008 5:18:34 pm

    a traffic stop is based on probable cause. some sort of infraction or reason to stop the vehicle. once that stop takes place, it is considered an "investigatory stop". the officer can ask u questions (within reason), to complete that investigation. rudeness, however is not necessary. if i asked you where u were going to, because u were speeding, and u said "the hospital", i would confirm that, and might react differently. questions are allowed, and some answers are optional.....

  5. Boldido_ says...
    May 16, 2008 5:34:28 pm

    An officer can come up to you on the street and start asking questions for no reason. You are free to answer or tell him to pound sand. If an officer stops you for a traffic infraction he can detain you for only as long as it takes him to run your license and write the ticket. It wasn't uncommon for cops who were fishing to try and detain motorists using some minor traffic infraction for long enough to bring out a drug dog. Cops who are fishing may also ask for permission to search your car. NEVER...EVER...give them permission to do so. As for their questions, if you want to answer them, fine, if not, then say so. If a cop is being rude, call his superior or file a complaint with his agency. DON'T PICK A FIGHT ON SCENE!!! You won't win that one. The place to beat a rotten cop is the courtroom, not the street. I get stopped from time to time, the only time a cop was a real a-hole during an investigation was also the time he gave me a warning rather than a ticket, so it was a little hard to justify pitching a *****.

    And if the ticket is bad, yeah, take it to court.

  6. Galan Ark says...
    May 16, 2008 5:54:24 pm

    FDLE's training on avoiding bias based stops tells the officer that it is proper to inform the driver of the reason for the stop when asking for ID, registration, and insurance.

  7. lt. dan says...
    May 16, 2008 6:16:09 pm

    u are right, bold. if an officer comes up to u on the street, and it is not due to an investigation, it is a consensual encounter. u can walk off and say pound sand. if the officer is conducting an investigation, and has reasonable suspicion, or p.c., that is different. as for traffic stops, the officer does have to conduct the business of completing the investigation within a reasonable amount of time. if the detention is too long, or unreasonable, then the charges can be dropped if an arrest is made....evidence can be suppressed.

  8. Boldido_ says...
    May 16, 2008 6:33:56 pm

    It is different to the extent that a person isn't free to walk off. They are still free to refuse to talk. With all that's been said as of late on the numerous cop threads, I would like to point out that I get along great with cops and most successful lawyers I know do too. For the most part they are polite and pretty funny. I try to look out for them in court so that if they are coming off nights they get out quickly. Cops should be treated with as much courtesy as they extend, just like anyone else. While many here have argued, and justifiably so, that they aren't deserving of any more, being a cop doesn't make them deserving of any less either.

  9. lt. dan says...
    May 16, 2008 6:43:12 pm

    good post, bold. u bring alot of insight to these forums. i get along with most attorneys, and respect the balance they bring into the justice system. there must be balance. the anti cop threads the past few days were ridiculous. mostly based on personal bias, fear, and blatantly stereotypical. are there bad cops, of course. are all bad, no way. i hate a corrupt cop as much as anyone else. but sometimes the perception of a corrupt cop is not true. i don't think the general public has a complete understanding of the law. when the police interact with them, and are within the law, they feel they are wronged, therefore the cop is corrupt. not so. take the use of force continuum, based on state stautes. people do not understand it, therefore the cop is using exccessive force. when the action of the officer is legal, and within policy. (not talking about true excessive force).

  10. Leslie Todd Jones says...
    May 16, 2008 6:46:52 pm

    If I got stopped by a cop in Polk county, forget the questions, I'm gonna ask for a lawyer. Right there on the highway and then keep my mouth shut for eternity

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