Its not the police who are the problem, its US. Read Dave's excellent post number six in this thread.

The problem is, most Americans haven't a clue regarding their constitutional rights. If one gives permission for the police to search without a warrant, then one has legally given up his/her Fourth Amendment right to be secure in one's papers and effects. You see it all time on the program "Cops." They pull a couple of guys over because of a faulty tail light. They issue an equipment warning, then say ... "Is there anything in the car I should know about? The driver says "no." The cop says: "do you mind if I look?" The driver says: "I guess not." Right there at that point, the driver gives up his Fourth Amendment right to be free of warrantless searches. Same thing when one is stopped at a DUI checkpoint. They ALWAYS place a sign notifying of the stop ahead. If you continue on after the sign, you give up your right to be free of the search because the sign is constructive notice.

Kudos to Dave for standing his ground. By standing his ground, he in effect, beat back the power of the state. Very patriotic move there Dave.

Vi

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"Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner."
-- James Bovard,