can cops do this?

[j_nizzle]

tonight at the oc mini meet, cops came in force and documented all the "street racer" cars there. pics, vin # checks, a whole lot of bullshit. i was wondering if anyone knows what this is about and could somehow help us combat this. in our case, one bad apple does screw up the bunch and we were profiled for driving an evo, srt-4, suby, they labeled all of us street racers. i think it's completely unfair.

[Tarmac02]

Did they state what their purpose or intent for doing this was?

Theoretically you could have left while they were doing this and they couldn't have given you any hassle because they have no Reasonable Suspiscion to detain you. And if you did try to leave and they stopped you from doing so then your civil rights were violated and that could mean a big lawsuit. But if you just let them do all that then it's what we in law call a consentual encounter.

I'm not too sure about the pictures thing,... that's even borderline. I know that if we pull up to a guy and tell him to take his shirt off so we can see his tattoos,... so we can "document" him as a gang member, and he doesn't give us permission to then that is impeding on his fourth amendment rights. So if this was actually for the purpose of "documenting" you and/or your cars as streetracers (if they're doing that up there) and it can possibly effect you in the future should you try to get a job that requires a background check,... then you should probably contact a lawyer.

[Paul Kendall]

I felt something was up so I left early...There was just to much interest from them for me to ignore the presence of the super troopers.

[Macky]

thing is, accdg to what i found out, they were trying to match the plates with a "suspected" street racer. like duh - if they saw the car in question was say, a honda, why take the plates from an Evo? that to me was total BS. they should know better. taking the plates now wont be of that much help - whats important is to ID the car they are after. its not so much the plate as it is the actual car.

i have reason to suspect that tonight was planned (the cops being there). most of the "usual people" that are there on fridays (all the other cars EXCEPT the EVOs) were NOT there.

makes one think and wonder, and according to the cop, someone "called" them about the meet. one could only speculate....

[Chris in SD]

Nothing would be surprising these days...

I would contact a lawyer (to represent all of you present) and find out what can be done. I wonder if some 4th Amendment rights violation took place...

[Skiracer]

Did they do underhood inspections or just document your info?

[ANTHONY]

I left prettty early also, those cops where acting way to fishy. :police:

[sidewaysevo]

Thats y i don't go to any parking lot meets. Sooner or later the cops will come and mess things up. There are a lot of things that cops can't do. But for sum reason they still do them. I am pretty sure they can't take pictures and document the info on your car. Sumbody at the meet should of gotten sum badge numbers and reported them.

[thugline]

tonight at the oc mini meet, cops came in force and documented all the "street racer" cars there. pics, vin # checks, a whole lot of bullshit. i was wondering if anyone knows what this is about and could somehow help us combat this. in our case, one bad apple does screw up the bunch and we were profiled for driving an evo, srt-4, suby, they labeled all of us street racers. i think it's completely unfair.

That's why you need to make youre engine bay "sleeper" status man. You don't even have to drive youre car for them to pop youre hood cuz they'll find any reason to pop it.

[genrec]

boy , am i glad i got diarrhea right as i was walking out the door to go lastnight.....i would have been pissed!

[j_nizzle]

tonight at the oc mini meet, cops came in force and documented all the "street racer" cars there. pics, vin # checks, a whole lot of bullshit. i was wondering if anyone knows what this is about and could somehow help us combat this. in our case, one bad apple does screw up the bunch and we were profiled for driving an evo, srt-4, suby, they labeled all of us street racers. i think it's completely unfair.

That's why you need to make youre engine bay "sleeper" status man. You don't even have to drive youre car for them to pop youre hood cuz they'll find any reason to pop it.


ok seriously, when you dont know the whole story on things you shouldnt post it. you werent there! you dont know what happened...or the cause, etc. keep your mouth shut on this unless you have something valuable to state. in a few threads now, you have gone way off topic especially with a specified question stated beforehand. just so you know, they didnt pop any hoods and/or give tickets. they were acting shady in the sense that they were documenting and taking pictures of cars...just evo's and some srt-4's...basically profiling us all as street racers...no reason to go sleeper status considering they were after anything that can be street raced...sleeper cars race too!

[kcross]

they didnt violate any reasonable expectation of privacy... you in a public place. its reasonable to expect that you and/or your car and anything in plain sight can be documented and photographed.

[Macky]

That's why you need to make youre engine bay "sleeper" status man. You don't even have to drive youre car for them to pop youre hood cuz they'll find any reason to pop it.


dont be stupid. there is no such thing as a "sleeper" Evo engine.

it doesnt matter if he had a "sleeper" -looking engine bay or not. the fact that they summarily photographed each car was fishy. an evo with no wing parked far from the group still got ID'd.


please keep your stupid comments to yourself.

[Macky]

they didnt violate any reasonable expectation of privacy... you in a public place. its reasonable to expect that you and/or your car and anything in plain sight can be documented and photographed.


yes you are correct. technically they didnt do anything wrong. what "seems" wrong was the fact that they just summarily did an inspection just like that.

because first a squad car came and dispersed the evo crowd.


everyone went to starbucks and all was quiet.


next thing you know another squad car and a van with equipment (i thought it was a smog van) came and started taking pictures of the cars. again, "just like that".


that alone seemed fishy. cops have always come to the friday meets, but this was the first time they took a closer look at the cars. instinct tells me someone blew a whistle and/or someone/some group was indeed guilty of street racing and the Evos got blamed.

either way, it sucked.


and as the starter of the original OC friday meets, I will make serious changes.

[j_nizzle]

they didnt violate any reasonable expectation of privacy... you in a public place. its reasonable to expect that you and/or your car and anything in plain sight can be documented and photographed.


i totally understand where you are coming from...in that case though, they should have taken pictures of every car in that parking lot. murderers arent known to drive sports cars...a murderer could have been in that parking lot. and the fact that they were only targeting cars that have a "street racing" look was very shady imo. i mean at a car show, people take pictures of cars and have no problems...take hot import nights in l.a. a few months back. cops were all over that event taking pictures and documenting. people didnt complain until they found out after what it was for and such. it's like pulling an evo with a stock exhaust and saying it isnt street legal and such. there was no apparent motive. they saw cars that look sporty and labeled all of them as street racers. we saw an orange lambo fly down bear street in front of us going at least 60-70 and nothing happened to him. but we're all minding our own business and we all get the blame for wreckless acts and b.s. like that. we were evening asked to leave the parking lot because we were "loitering" just so you know. this meet has been going on weekly for about 2 years now and we've never had this happen to us. im sorry this is such a huge post but im venting. we've always been law abiding for the most part and now we get problems. just a little unfair is all.

[thetaxguy]

they didnt violate any reasonable expectation of privacy... you in a public place. its reasonable to expect that you and/or your car and anything in plain sight can be documented and photographed.

What should be asked is why the police were taking pictures of your vehicles on "private" property.

[SpdyEvo02]

shaun do you ever get harrased in AH for the usual reasons

[thetaxguy]

shaun do you ever get harrased in AH for the usual reasons
Nope. I always see the same cop on Wier Canyon setting up his speed trap. I just wave when I pass by. Other that that, I really don't get harrased at all. Numerous cops drive by me or I drive by them and they don't give me a second thought.

The ppl who do harrass me are the little kids in the ricer civic. Everyone wants to prove that they are the fastest for some reason.

[kcross]

they arent required to have a reason to do things that you have no constitutional protection from. they can call you a street racer all they want but thats the great thing about america, innocent until proven guilty. however theres nothing about not suspecting you in there.

[qsjoeygst]

Around what time did this happen. I showed up around 9:30 I was the silver evo that stayed for about a minute or two.

[SpdyEvo02]

shaun do you ever get harrased in AH for the usual reasons
Nope. I always see the same cop on Wier Canyon setting up his speed trap. I just wave when I pass by. Other that that, I really don't get harrased at all. Numerous cops drive by me or I drive by them and they don't give me a second thought.
..there
The ppl who do harrass me are the little kids in the ricer civic. Everyone wants to prove that they are the fastest for some reason.

same here..the savi ranch parking lot might be pretty for a meet..there is a Sti meet there on monday i believe

[gofaster87]

If they started looking at my car and taking pics I would have covered the plates and the vin and had people stand in front of the car. They cant touch your car to remove anything or go inside to uncover the vin. Technically the plate neds to be visible even while parked but not on private property just like tags need to be valid if its parked on a city street but not on a driveway or private parking lot. I would have been a smart ass and if they wanted to wait me out till I left I could have just sat there. I have done this before and they get sick of waiting for you to leave really quick. Pulling you over for mods is one thing but harrassing you in a parking lot is plain BS. Funny thing is there is a parking lot in the ventura county area that has a few hundred cars show up on the weekends to show off their cars or arrange races and the cops just cruise through wihtout bothering anyone. Theyll only stop if your an asshole or look like your doing something illegal and meeting in a parking lot is not.

[rghli]

If they started looking at my car and taking pics I would have covered the plates and the vin and had people stand in front of the car. They cant touch your car to remove anything or go inside to uncover the vin. Technically the plate neds to be visible even while parked but not on private property just like tags need to be valid if its parked on a city street but not on a driveway or private parking lot. I would have been a smart ass and if they wanted to wait me out till I left I could have just sat there. I have done this before and they get sick of waiting for you to leave really quick. Pulling you over for mods is one thing but harrassing you in a parking lot is plain BS. Funny thing is there is a parking lot in the ventura county area that has a few hundred cars show up on the weekends to show off their cars or arrange races and the cops just cruise through wihtout bothering anyone. Theyll only stop if your an asshole or look like your doing something illegal and meeting in a parking lot is not.


i would say they can do whatever they wanna do. i got pulled once and i required to see the speed gun. there were two cops in the car and one of them was talking on phone and the other walked in to the car and then told me the rader gun was out of battery. i told them i will flight it and i will see them again in the court. but on my wait to the court i got pulled again. the fu0king cop took my frist ticket then started copying it and gave exactly the same thing to me. got 2 tickets for the same thing in one month. i wont do anything against the cops in front of them, not because i have no balls but i dun think it's worth to take the risk

[j_nizzle]

If they started looking at my car and taking pics I would have covered the plates and the vin and had people stand in front of the car. They cant touch your car to remove anything or go inside to uncover the vin. Technically the plate neds to be visible even while parked but not on private property just like tags need to be valid if its parked on a city street but not on a driveway or private parking lot. I would have been a smart ass and if they wanted to wait me out till I left I could have just sat there. I have done this before and they get sick of waiting for you to leave really quick. Pulling you over for mods is one thing but harrassing you in a parking lot is plain BS. Funny thing is there is a parking lot in the ventura county area that has a few hundred cars show up on the weekends to show off their cars or arrange races and the cops just cruise through wihtout bothering anyone. Theyll only stop if your an asshole or look like your doing something illegal and meeting in a parking lot is not.


i would say they can do whatever they wanna do. i got pulled once and i required to see the speed gun. there were two cops in the car and one of them was talking on phone and the other walked in to the car and then told me the rader gun was out of battery. i told them i will flight it and i will see them again in the court. but on my wait to the court i got pulled again. the fu0king cop took my frist ticket then started copying it and gave exactly the same thing to me. got 2 tickets for the same thing in one month. i wont do anything against the cops in front of them, not because i have no balls but i dun think it's worth to take the risk


i feel sorry for you bro, but i dont see the relevancy of that post in this thread...

[genrec]

If they started looking at my car and taking pics* I would have covered the plates and the vin and had people stand in front of the car. They cant touch your car to remove anything or go inside to uncover the vin. Technically the plate neds to be visible even while parked but not on private property just like tags need to be valid if its parked on a city street but not on a driveway or private parking lot. I would have been a smart ass and if they wanted to wait me out till I left I could have just sat there. I have done this before and they get sick of waiting for you to leave really quick. Pulling you over for mods is one thing but harrassing you in a parking lot is plain BS. Funny thing is there is a parking lot in the ventura county area that has a few hundred cars show up on the weekends to show off their cars or arrange races and the cops just cruise through wihtout bothering anyone. Theyll only stop if your an asshole or look like your doing something illegal and meeting in a parking lot is not.


i would say they can do whatever they wanna do. i got pulled once and i required to see the speed gun. there were two cops in the car and one of them was talking on phone and the other walked in to the car and then told me the rader gun was out of battery. i told them i will flight it and i will see them again in the court. but on my wait to the court i got pulled again. the fu0king cop took my frist ticket then started copying it and gave exactly the same thing to me. got 2 tickets for the same thing in one month. i wont do anything against the cops in front of them, not because i have no balls but i dun think it's worth to take the risk


i feel sorry for you bro, but i dont see the relevancy of that post in this thread...


let him say what he wants...dont be so sourer... :grin:

stop sweatin it..aint nothing gonn happen, it all scare tacics, an i do find it quite it odd that if you look in the "ther car"section ......we had some choice words and arguments with srt-4 guys that day...wierd?? not placing blame though.....

[GGwidebodyMR]

sorry to hear this..i know that up here in milpitas that when you get pull over for fix-its or anything that deems you as a "street-racer" they photograph the car and the said "violation" parts and they keep it in the database...someone told me that they use it in court if you try to fight it and say it was a legal mod ..the other thing is people usually switch over to stocker for the state ref then switch back...they have their database to see how many times a certain individuals had the same fix-it tickets regardless if it was signed off or not..and i dont know if this one is true but the street cameras are not the clearest photos in the world and when they take pictures of cars racing or violation redlights/speeding and the plates are unclear they try and cross-reference the blur pix w/ pix in their database...im not sure of how true all these are but i guess its probable..this is the only thing that i can think of as to why they would rush in and take pix like that...to update their database

[Macky]

if you really think about it, there was no need for them to take pics of the VINs - the DMV already has them in the first place. w3rd.

[Chris in SD]

The reason for the 4th Amendment conflict is that there is no probably cause to suspect any of the cars photographed were involved with street racing or any other illegal activity. Here are some examples where photo-taking might have been appropriate:

1) A recent street race just occurred and a collision or near-collision happened

2) People with the Evos were swapping parts from trunk to trunk and the police suspected something

Both of those are reasonable cases, however I would expect the police to check hood temps, etc. for evidence of recent driving before even attempting to take pictures. This sounds like a clear-cut case of profiling. If you (as an Evo community) want to wonder why Evo drivers get profiled, check EvoM or some of the posts on this site for the 100 cases a day of Evo drivers acting like ass... It's unfortunate, but true. Think about the stigma with BMWs - most assume BMW drivers to be assholes because that's their experience.

That said, I still would contact whatever PD it was and ask to speak to the watch commander or task force supervisor that authorized the photography. Find out what they are up to...

[kcross]

the section of the 4th amendment that you are reffering to is commonly called the search and seizure clause. however there was no violation because there was no search or seizure.

[EvoPwr]

they got a call about illegal street races and cars doing burnouts. They were doing their job. no one got pulled over. there were quite a few highley modified cars there. no one got a ticket. yea it sucks, but it could have been worse. :mitsu:

[Chris in SD]

the section of the 4th amendment that you are reffering to is commonly called the search and seizure clause. however there was no violation because there was no search or seizure.


If the police photograph you or your property without probable cause and/or consent, it is an illegal search. Search and seizure doesn't just refer to when your car gets tossed or you hood gets opened. Go ahead and bend over for them...

[kcross]

what your talking about is what i refered to earlier, thats reasonable expectation of privacy. your in public. its reasonable to expect that you and your property may be photographed. as long as they didnt harass you (by legal defination) its not a violation, ask a laywer.

[gofaster87]

Yes it reasonable to be photographed in public but not for the purpose of making a file on you, documenting your hangout, what you do and possibly being pulled over because you have been marked as a racer that hangouts out at a parking lot.




what your talking about is what i refered to earlier, thats reasonable expectation of privacy. your in public. its reasonable to expect that you and your property may be photographed. as long as they didnt harass you (by legal defination) its not a violation, ask a laywer.

[kcross]

what they use it for and any conjections they form from the information they obtain is up to them, you cant tell them what to think. you cant stop them from documenting you, your hangouts, your friends, etc. but it all add up to nothing as long as you stay out of trouble...

[gofaster87]

It adds up to alot more than nothing, if thats what you think, more power to you. I dont thgink many people want to live in a police state worrying about what big brother is up to.




what they use it for and any conjections they form from the information they obtain is up to them, you cant tell them what to think. you cant stop them from documenting you, your hangouts, your friends, etc. but it all add up to nothing as long as you stay out of trouble...

[thetaxguy]

what they use it for and any conjections they form from the information they obtain is up to them, you cant tell them what to think. you cant stop them from documenting you, your hangouts, your friends, etc. but it all add up to nothing as long as you stay out of trouble...

Somebody please ban this guy! :roll:

[Skiracer]

what they use it for and any conjections they form from the information they obtain is up to them, you cant tell them what to think. you cant stop them from documenting you, your hangouts, your friends, etc. but it all add up to nothing as long as you stay out of trouble...

Somebody please ban this guy! :roll:


The cops are gonna pull u over cuz u have tail lights that lack a DOT#!!! :police:

[kcross]

sorry guys, its true as long as anything is in plain sight its fair game. if you dont believe me, as i said earlier, contact a laywer. but it doesnt appear anyone here, despite an overwhelming opinion that the police acted illegaly, seems to care to do so. let me know if anyone actually does.

[thetaxguy]

what they use it for and any conjections they form from the information they obtain is up to them, you cant tell them what to think. you cant stop them from documenting you, your hangouts, your friends, etc. but it all add up to nothing as long as you stay out of trouble...

Somebody please ban this guy! :roll:


The cops are gonna pull u over cuz u have tail lights that lack a DOT#!!!* *:police:

I'll sing like a canary as to who my dealer is! O0

[j_nizzle]

sorry guys, its true as long as anything is in plain sight its fair game. if you dont believe me, as i said earlier, contact a laywer. but it doesnt appear anyone here, despite an overwhelming opinion that the police acted illegaly, seems to care to do so. let me know if anyone actually does.


this thread turned from whether or not it was legal/illegal after it was verified that it was legal for the cops to do this to us. now, it is a matter of to what degree it was shady and slightly unfair considering their views on profiling us of street racer because "evo's" are such popular street race cars nowadays.

[Skiracer]

sorry guys, its true as long as anything is in plain sight its fair game. if you dont believe me, as i said earlier, contact a laywer. but it doesnt appear anyone here, despite an overwhelming opinion that the police acted illegaly, seems to care to do so. let me know if anyone actually does.


this thread turned from whether or not it was legal/illegal after it was verified that it was legal for the cops to do this to us. now, it is a matter of to what degree it was shady and slightly unfair considering their views on profiling us of street racer because "evo's" are such popular street race cars nowadays.


Just wait until fast n furious 3 comes out...

[thetaxguy]

sorry guys, its true as long as anything is in plain sight its fair game. if you dont believe me, as i said earlier, contact a laywer. but it doesnt appear anyone here, despite an overwhelming opinion that the police acted illegaly, seems to care to do so. let me know if anyone actually does.


this thread turned from whether or not it was legal/illegal after it was verified that it was legal for the cops to do this to us. now, it is a matter of to what degree it was shady and slightly unfair considering their views on profiling us of street racer because "evo's" are such popular street race cars nowadays.


Just wait until fast n furious 3 comes out...

Very true

[EvoPwr]

sorry guys, its true as long as anything is in plain sight its fair game. if you dont believe me, as i said earlier, contact a laywer. but it doesnt appear anyone here, despite an overwhelming opinion that the police acted illegaly, seems to care to do so. let me know if anyone actually does.


this thread turned from whether or not it was legal/illegal after it was verified that it was legal for the cops to do this to us. now, it is a matter of to what degree it was shady and slightly unfair considering their views on profiling us of street racer because "evo's" are such popular street race cars nowadays.


Just wait until fast n furious 3 comes out...


oh god >:(

[Skiracer]

Drifting Evo's in FnF3 movie....Should make our lives a lil more tougher after the movie... :police:

[SpdyEvo02]

dare i say boycott FnF3???

[Macky]

i would. imagine driving your evo to the theatre, then after the movie, imagine the amount of harassment just waiting for you.

[j_nizzle]

cris is the one that tried out for that movie!

[EvoPwr]

new meet place yet guys?

[EVOla_VIRUS]

boy , am i glad i got diarrhea right as i was walking out the door to go lastnight.....i would have been pissed!


Sometimes the runs can be a blessing and a curse :D

[j_nizzle]

boy , am i glad i got diarrhea right as i was walking out the door to go lastnight.....i would have been pissed!


Sometimes the runs can be a blessing and a curse :D


:2funny: :2funny: :2funny:

[EvoPwr]

boy , am i glad i got diarrhea right as i was walking out the door to go lastnight.....i would have been pissed!


Sometimes the runs can be a blessing and a curse :D


yea butt...... :2funny:

[Spaceman Spiff]

i would. imagine driving your evo to the theatre, then after the movie, imagine the amount of harassment just waiting for you.

I'll drive mine to movie simply because it will get me in much less trouble than driving my 240SX there. :-P

[genrec]

boy , am i glad i got diarrhea right as i was walking out the door to go lastnight.....i would have been pissed!


Sometimes the runs can be a blessing and a curse* :D


true dat botha!! :2funny:

[7m6m4]

I have seen this happen all the time at the Ventura County Car Meets. I have even been pulled over by a cop because I had a modified evo that resembled one at that meet. The cop told me that he spotted this evo (which didnt pass smog regulations) at the parking lot. He made me pop my hood because of the kid at the meeting. Straight-Up B-S!!

[j_nizzle]

I have seen this happen all the time at the Ventura County Car Meets. I have even been pulled over by a cop because I had a modified evo that resembled one at that meet. The cop told me that he spotted this evo (which didnt pass smog regulations) at the parking lot. He made me pop my hood because of the kid at the meeting. Straight-Up B-S!!


reviving a dead thread i see...

[gofaster87]

I have seen this happen all the time at the Ventura County Car Meets. I have even been pulled over by a cop because I had a modified evo that resembled one at that meet. The cop told me that he spotted this evo (which didnt pass smog regulations) at the parking lot. He made me pop my hood because of the kid at the meeting. Straight-Up B-S!!


Where did this happen? Ive lived in the ventura area for most of my life and was never pulled over in my evo. If youve seen my car you know it stands out and I still was never harrassed.

[Evolution.VIII]

Is it legal for them to ask you to pop your hood?

What can they do if you refuse to allow them to do it?

[drmosh]

Thats y i don't go to any parking lot meets. Sooner or later the cops will come and mess things up. There are a lot of things that cops can't do. But for sum reason they still do them. I am pretty sure they can't take pictures and document the info on your car. Sumbody at the meet should of gotten sum badge numbers and reported them.


Yer a criminal regardless of what u do

[drmosh]

I have seen this happen all the time at the Ventura County Car Meets. I have even been pulled over by a cop because I had a modified evo that resembled one at that meet. The cop told me that he spotted this evo (which didnt pass smog regulations) at the parking lot. He made me pop my hood because of the kid at the meeting. Straight-Up B-S!!


Where did this happen? Ive lived in the ventura area for most of my life and was never pulled over in my evo. If youve seen my car you know it stands out and I still was never harrassed.


Yer a stodgy old geezer they probably thought u were undercover

[chuckdashi]

let there be life to dead threads

[909Evo]

Is it legal for them to ask you to pop your hood?

What can they do if you refuse to allow them to do it?


Since this thread was ressurected...

Yes, it is perfectly legal. IF they have probable cause. What constitues probable cause you might ask? Visible modifications to include but not limited too exhaust.

If you don't?

They tow your ride.

[kcross]

ehh... i talked to a lawyer/k&n employee... as far as visible modification... yeah kinda... well still under most you are not required to (however they'll find a way to make you) but the best thing to do is make them order you to (do NOT open it under request as this can be seen as you doing so voluntarily)/do it themselves and make it clear that you object to them doing so/making you do so, it can cause things to be inadmissable later on. as far as the exhaust, its debatable because there is no law that says you cant modify your exhaust... so the logic is that there is nothing illegal about modifying your exhaust so it doesnt mean its probable that youve modified other parts illegaly... but thats why its "probable," it makes it fuzzy...

the moral of the story is that if they are determined to, they will get to see your engine bay... the best to do is dont do it eagerly, do it under the officers orders having them make note of your strong objections.

p.s. they cant make you if your car is for instance sitting in a parking lot so long as they didnt see you driving it. just pull up a seat and wait it out.