Pulled over for vaping

[Seina_Yamada]

So last night I decided to run down to MacDonald for a snack at 1 am. Wile exiting the drive-thru I was pulled over by an Alaskan State trooper in the MacDonald's parking lot because he thought I was smoking dope in my rig. After I announced I had my conceal carry he pulls me out of my car and proceeds to run the guns S/N and requests that I allow him to search the car for drugs. After 20 min of the search and him not finding crap he proceeds to interrogate me for another 30 min about vaping just generally waste my time. The sob even took a sample of my juice and ran it though his nik kit.

Any one else have this happen? I don't have a police record at all hell this was the second time in my 19 years of driving I've ever even been stopped by a cop I would expect that alone would put me on their good side's.


To tell the truth I really was more pissed off for the wasted time IE cold food than the stop but still.

 

[Huckleberried]

Jeez! Wow!!!

 

[ChrisL]

DWV

 

[misthub_rick]

That really sucks but you seem to have handled it well. In the Chicago area it's quite common to be stopped for vaping, I've been stopped while driving and while walking down the street. An ex-coworker of mine actually was arrested and had their setup confiscated as "drug paraphernalia" and despite the tests coming up negative and charges being dropped without going to court he never got it back.

 

[Whiskey]

At least you kept your cool, I commend you for that!!
Fuckin sucks though.........

 

[Teresa P]

Anything that happened after testing the juice is straight up harassment in my eyes.

 

[Zamazam]

Anything that happened after testing the juice is straight up harassment in my eyes.

Yep. File a report on his ass. Won't do any good, but it puts some law enforcement bully's on notice that vaping ain't doing drugs.

 

[Teresa P]

I don't even use a silver mod when I'm driving, I'm afraid one of them will think I'm waving a gun...smh.....

 

[Tom950]

Never consent to searches!

 

[Seina_Yamada]

Never consent to searches!

You consent or they impound here and apply for a search warrant or haven't you been watching Alaska state troopers? I don't need or want that kind of trouble I have nothing to hide or conceal. Hell I even keep my car clean so it was a quick check lol.

 

[haybill]

There are jerks like this one everywhere- bored at 1.00 am, felt like using his power to intimidate someone.

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[Teresa P]

You consent or they impound here and apply for a search warrant or haven't you been watching Alaska state troopers? I don't need or want that kind of trouble I have nothing to hide or conceal. Hell I even keep my car clean so it was a quick check lol.

The husband watches that show all the time, I always thought it was over dramatic man tv...guess not!

 

[Robert B]

For years I would go up to Alaska for the herring season to Prince William Sound, and then Dillingham/Togiak on the Bering sea side. That show seems pretty darn real. Per capita, Alaska has a pretty big drug & alcohol problem from what I've seen.

 

[Neunerball]

That really sucks but you seem to have handled it well. In the Chicago area it's quite common to be stopped for vaping, I've been stopped while driving and while walking down the street. An ex-coworker of mine actually was arrested and had their setup confiscated as "drug paraphernalia" and despite the tests coming up negative and charges being dropped without going to court he never got it back.

One of the cops probably needed a new/better rig.

 

[BigNasty]

Impound the motherfucker and eat the costs jack boot.
CCW or not lawyer the fuck up and file a complaint and lawsuit over his stomping of your rights.

 

[Neunerball]

Impound the motherfucker and eat the costs jack boot.
CCW or not lawyer the fuck up and file a complaint and lawsuit over his stomping of your rights.

+1

 

[Seina_Yamada]

well you were out at 1am,close to bar closing time ,by no means does it justify what the his ego did ,

i believe seina is in the mat-su area ?? drugs are pretty bad up there

Ya I live out near settlers-bay the druggy areas are behind Lowes and pretty much all of Pittman

 

[HoosierVape]

I am usually pretty lenient on the Police side of things, but that sounds excessive. If he cant identify that the vape doesnt smell like dope at all he should probably go back and do some training. Also announcing your concealed carry should put you on his good side not get you out of your car and have him wanting to search your car. Sounds like an over eager trooper looking for something that was obviously not there. Sorry to hear of your negative encounter! Ive gotten some double takes while vaping and driving but I have never been pulled over, seems like it should be an easy encounter if I was but maybe not!

 

[Doots]

That totally sucks! Sorry you went through all that.

 

[ForrestGump]

They are just doing their job.

 

[f1r3b1rd]

Hahaha!!!!! I got pulled over the other day, not for vaping though; I was doing 50 in a 35. When the police guy asked me to get out my truck; I asked him to take a step back. He did; at the same time I threw my wheelchair out the drivers door and started flipping it together.
The look on the dudes face was priceless! He took a look at the pedals, then looked at me and just said, "dude, slow down and get out of here."
Hahaha! Gets me out of a ticket once a month.

 

[MrGrimR]

Lets put this in perspective. If you didn't know anything about vaping and saw someone with many of these tanks and batteries, what would you think? I am pretty comfortable saying that the general public still sees ecigs as the old school versions of ciga-likes.

 

[OneBadWolf]

Using the thumb and forefinger of your LEFT hand, drop the mech mod on the ground, and kick it toward me. DO IT NOW!!!

 

[carley816]

Okay this is honestly my worst fear. Whenever I see a cop I always turn on my blowers on to the max and hope they don't mistake it as weed, but figured by now they would all know assume people are just vaping. I'm so sorry this happened to you man, and if I were you I would write a letter to the town station about it. They shouldn't have searched without reasonable suspicion and if he didn't find any drugs on you, then I wouldn't really consider that reasonable. Cops are there to keep people safe, but some just try too hard.

 

[MrGrimR]

Carly, law enforcement doesn't require reasonable suspicion to search your vehicle they require probable cause. Reasonable Suspicion is a lower standard required for mere traffic stop or detention. Number two it isn't about the op percpective or yours about what the officer can or cant do, its the officer's. Which in this case he saw from his training and experience what appeared to be drug paraphernalia in a mobile vehicle. That's actually where the probable cause comes from. Nothing here that the officer did was unreasonable. Perhaps you should read my previous post about ecigs.

 

[freemind]

Carly, law enforcement doesn't require reasonable suspicion to search your vehicle they require probable cause. Reasonable Suspicion is a lower standard required for mere traffic stop or detention. Number two it isn't about the op percpective or yours about what the officer can or cant do, its the officer's. Which in this case he saw from his training and experience what appeared to be drug paraphernalia in a mobile vehicle. That's actually where the probable cause comes from. Nothing here that the officer did was unreasonable. Perhaps you should read my previous post about ecigs.

Oh bullshit.
A puff of vapor isn't probable cause. If it were, every smoker would fear being pulled over as mistaken for "dry herb".

The cop stepped over the line. He ran the drug kit on the juice. It should have ended THERE. There was no "reasonable suspicion" at that point. It turned into nothing but pure harassment.

 

[theycallmehydro]

I live in a town that is known to have a very bad drug and alcohol problem. I've been asked about my vape a few times by cops, mainly because there has been a rise of people making "Dry Herb eJuice" around my town, not sure if its true but thats what one of the cops told me. Now being pulled over for it that I have not been.

 

[MrGrimR]

Ill break it down for you, officer sees large plume of "smoke" that could be associated with m*rijuana smoke, reasonable suspicion at this point and makes detention. Officer goes up to vehicle and sees what appears to be drug paraphernalia which in turn goes probable cause. Again, your perspective doesn't matter, its the officers. Which is articulated by facts and circumstances which in this case didnt involve an arrest or charges just an inconvenience.

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[NYNURSE]

I would guess that the vast majority of lone males going through a McDonalds drive thru at 1AM have just left the bar or looking to score some drugs. Occasionally some poor soul is just plain hungry but that's pretty rare.
My opinion might be tainted from 20 years of patrol in poor neighborhood, but if you are a cop looking to collar up, lone males at 1AM are a good start.

 

[freemind]

Ill break it down for you, officer sees large plume of "smoke" that could be associated with m*rijuana smoke, reasonable suspicion at this point and makes detention. Officer goes up to vehicle and sees what appears to be drug paraphernalia which in turn goes probable cause. Again, your perspective doesn't matter, its the officers. Which is articulated by facts and circumstances which in this case didnt involve an arrest or charges just an inconvenience.

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You can break it "down" however you want.
I've been around people that smoked "dry h*rb". It doesn't produce any more cloud than a cigarette. Though the smell is COMPLETELY different. Vaping, in most cases, produces more cloud than either that was "smoked".

So my point stands. Were the "probable cause" of the stop to be about this "cloud of smoke", then smokers should be just as suspicious. It certainly wasn't because the cop "smelled" something.

Again, my perspective DOES matter. It's a common sense thing. Cops do NOT have a license that allows them to do anything they want to. They don't have the reasonable right to detain and harass you because they have a ego that won't fit through the door.

That the cop was suspicious about the vaping isn't the issue to me. Smell and sight alone should have told the cop, that the "drugs" in question, were not drugs. Even after using his drug kit to lay ALL doubts to bed, this should have been over with.

Continuing to detain someone for a half hour AFTER all this, is just a pile of horse shit. It's nothing but harassment by a mental midget.

Just because you pin on a tin badge to your chest, it doesn't make you God.

 

[carley816]

Oh bullshit.
A puff of vapor isn't probable cause. If it were, every smoker would fear being pulled over as mistaken for "dry herb".

The cop stepped over the line. He ran the drug kit on the juice. It should have ended THERE. There was no "reasonable suspicion" at that point. It turned into nothing but pure harassment.

I do see where he is coming from, but even then I feel they cop was still trying to find something wrong with the guy. If you smell no weed and the driver tells you it's vapor, are you still going to think hes carrying drugs? Even then there's so much we don't know about what happened we really can't read the cops mind. Maybe the concealed carry made him want to play on the safe side? Who knows.

 

[freemind]

I do see where he is coming from, but even then I feel they cop was still trying to find something wrong with the guy. If you smell no weed and the driver tells you it's vapor, are you still going to think hes carrying drugs? Even then there's so much we don't know about what happened we really can't read the cops mind. Maybe the concealed carry made him want to play on the safe side? Who knows.

Just because he was LEGALLY carrying concealed, it's not a reason to harass someone. People who are inclined to ignore the law, don't worry about getting concealed carry permits.

The cop was a jerk IMO. He over stepped his bounds as a cop. Vaping and carrying legally are not a reason to harass someone and devalue their time.

 

[MrGrimR]

Freemind, i could literally break down that whole stop from what the op wrote to assist your understanding about how law enforcement works and whats reasonable versus unreasonable. However, its unfortunate that I am not a miracle worker. I just cant fix stupid. There's really nothing left to say at this point.

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[Myk]

Ill break it down for you, officer sees large plume of "smoke" that could be associated with m*rijuana smoke, reasonable suspicion at this point and makes detention. Officer goes up to vehicle and sees what appears to be drug paraphernalia which in turn goes probable cause. Again, your perspective doesn't matter, its the officers. Which is articulated by facts and circumstances which in this case didnt involve an arrest or charges just an inconvenience.

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According to that cops would have to confiscate every pack of cigarettes they come across, tear them apart to search for p*t. After that's proven clean they go into your car, cut apart the seats in search of drugs that must be there. And we can't forget the cavity search. All because the cigarette smoke raised their suspicion?

Or they simply shoot you because you had a tube mod and the suspected it to be a gun or a bomb.

Sorry, not in my country.

Stopping him was reasonable. Asking about the ecig was reasonable. Checking the CCW license was reasonable.
Everything after that was not. The fact he had a CCW should tell the cop he is law abiding and has passed background checks. Instead it raised his suspicion.
He needs to remove himself from a job that serves the public.

 

[exodus]

i live about 500 miles south of the OP , first off ,you don't need a license for CCW in Alaska, 2nd the town he is in has a rather bad drug problem

so the trooper thought he had an easy mark ,and acted on it .there is even a reality show about the exact group of troopers

the trooper went way over the line

 

[ej1024]

Well,
Like what I have been saying before, we VAPERS have to be mindful on what we do, blowing clouds at 1am in the morning will probably will get a COPS attention!
I'm not saying you can't VAPE after midnight, all I'm saying is be mindful while vaping. IMO


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[Myk]

you don't need a license for CCW in Alaska

That makes checking the S/N more reasonable. The ecig stuff is still questionable. I'm a walking pharmacy, hate to see what they'd do to me there.

OP should've ate while the cop went about their business.

 

[exodus]

I've been pulled over in the daytime,i vape away right in front of the trooper,they always ask "whats that ?" ? i tell them.their response is exactly the same every dam time ! "i've never seen one like that before", my reply,there are at least a thousand different versions of these and then there is those "other" guys,
trying to make\imply a distinction

 

[Myk]

I've never even get a second look. In '09 I was at a Super Bowl party with a cop from my town and asked for his thoughts. He didn't have any.
My nephew is a cop and I've asked him often. He once asked me how much the mod cost (and this was in my Vamo days). His response was the people he deals with wouldn't spend that kind of money on anything but the drugs.

I actually haven't got much attention from cops since I shaved off my long hair. Before that I'd get monthly stops for some reason or another (only ever got one ticket in what amounts to a speed trap).

 

[HardRockVapor]

That does sound excessive. Never had a problem but have thought about not blowing major clouds with a sub-ohm when sitting next to a cop.

 

[wally]

I was always afraid to add alcohol to any of my vapes for fear it would cause the tester to go off lol. I don't know if it would but never wanted to find out.

 

[Teresa P]

I was always afraid to add alcohol to any of my vapes for fear it would cause the tester to go off lol. I don't know if it would but never wanted to find out.

Never know, you'll fail a breathalizer if you have a peppermint or certs type candy before one, also if you've very recently used mouthwash. Learned that at a mandatory drug/alcohol class at a factory I worked in.

 

[Tepid]

Mythbusters did an episode on Breathalyzers and how to beat them, you can't, and some things you think might beat them, make it worse,
mouthwash, certs, gums, other. you could be a .8 and blow a 1.2, bummer, f-ing gum.

I have to agree with freemind on this one though.
Also, not all cops are bad, or egotistical, and know how to read what the deal is and know their boundaries.
Unfortunately, some do not, and think they can step over it.
A badge isn't a license to do whatever they want, yet we give some, too much leeway.
Those are the ones that need be reminded, they do work for us.

 

[Bean8379]

I would guess that the vast majority of lone males going through a McDonalds drive thru at 1AM have just left the bar or looking to score some drugs. Occasionally some poor soul is just plain hungry but that's pretty rare.
My opinion might be tainted from 20 years of patrol in poor neighborhood, but if you are a cop looking to collar up, lone males at 1AM are a good start.

Statements like this are why I have issues with some cops. Their job is to protect and serve, not go looking for people to arrest. That's number one. Number two is, when I have money in my pockets I frequently go out for a late night snack. I am neither A) leaving a bar (never go to bars and very rarely drink), nor B) going in search of drugs because I do not do drugs. Also, the OP is a woman. I find this statement highly stereotypical. Of course, I've never lived anywhere that is rare to see people out at 1 am, especially at McDonald's. I think your statement is way off base. Wherever you live/patrol, I'm glad it's not my neighborhood.

 

[Discobob]

I would guess that the vast majority of lone males going through a McDonalds drive thru at 1AM have just left the bar or looking to score some drugs. Occasionally some poor soul is just plain hungry but that's pretty rare.
My opinion might be tainted from 20 years of patrol in poor neighborhood, but if you are a cop looking to collar up, lone males at 1AM are a good start.

FUCKING WOW.....glad your worrying about the dude in the McDonald's drive thru instead of fighting some real crime, tainted isn't even the fucking word here.....are you serious, no you must be kidding, your fucking kidding with this, gatta be....oh fuck I'm outta this thread.

 

[Tepid]

One last thing,,,,

In today's society, Don't forget, we are all guilty, till proven innocent. Just remember that.
And apparently that is just fine with some people.

 

[Lost]

My friend from Manhattan emailed me last month with this one:
Got pulled over for smoking e-cig. Officer said using electronics while driving is illegal. Got off with warning.

 

[Myk]

My friend from Manhattan emailed me last month with this one:
Got pulled over for smoking e-cig. Officer said using electronics while driving is illegal. Got off with warning.

Probably a cop pushing using a law as it wasn't intended. Many cell phone bans while driving are written for "electronic devices".

 

[nophix]

I had an officer pull me over and give me the full battery of tests one night, for simply going to McDonalds at 2am and getting my pregnant wife fries. She wasn't happy with cold fries after the ordeal.

So, I went back. This time, instead of taking my Firebird (nice summer night), I took my Volvo station wagon, and got pulled over AGAIN by the same cop. He even did another breathalyzer before I snapped and called his superior at home (a good friend of mine).

I'm not in my 20's, don't do bars, and rarely even have a beer.

And yes, I went back through the drive thru a 3rd time before going home. At least the dog had a treat.


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[zaroba]

That really sucks but you seem to have handled it well. In the Chicago area it's quite common to be stopped for vaping, I've been stopped while driving and while walking down the street. An ex-coworker of mine actually was arrested and had their setup confiscated as "drug paraphernalia" and despite the tests coming up negative and charges being dropped without going to court he never got it back.

wtf, really?

I'll have to be careful when driving around there.