So this stop is in Georgia? Where in the hell does "You are required to notify this officer if you have that gun," come from? Uhhh, no, you are required to do no such thing. "Do me a favor and step out of the car, or I'll shoot you." Fabulous public relations. For a tail light? I daresay my wife in a minivan with three small kids in the back and a burned out tail light would not have received this same treatment. This together with the 90 degree gangsta hold of the weapon by the officer on the driver's door does not come across as particularly professional, notwithstanding being factually incorrect.
I am a bit disappointed that your brother hesitates and is ambiguous when asked for consent to search. An emphatic, "No you may not search not my car, and if you do so involuntarily, I would like for you to state which exception to the warrant requirement you believe applies right here, together with your particularized suspicions, as opposed to the fact that you don't particularly care for young white boys in tricked-out pickup trucks," would be nice.
On a more serious note, this video and a million more like it exemplifies the gap between the 'reasonable person' and the actual happenings on the street. In handcuffs for no crime, after being forcibly removed from the car at gunpoint, and this young person is supposed to make a reasoned judgment regarding his constitutional rights and voluntary searches. Officer friendly says, "Do you have a problem if I search your car?" That frames everything in terms of problems, offense to him, and agitation of officials who have just pointed guns at you. He could have instead tried, "May I have your consent to search your vehicle?" Or, if he really wanted to protect and serve, "You have a right at this point to refuse, however, I would like to search your vehicle. May I have your permission." I know this is sounding like a rant and the folks that LEOs deal with aren't always reasonable people like me, but seriously, how confrontational and obnoxious is "Do you have a problem?" The real situation is, "I have a problem in that I would like to search your vehicle, however, at present, it would be a constitutional violation until and unless I am able to intimidate you into agreeing to the search."
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