It appears that Minnesotans continually had their 4th amendment rights infringed upon in 2014 through thousands of unjust “stop-and-frisk” maneuvers by police.
Police are well within their rights to search a person so long as they have “a reasonable suspicion that the subject is committing a crime.” Now, we could sit here and write 5,000 words on how the word “reasonable” gives cops way too much leeway to search a suspicious person, but a new report shows that the majority of Minnesota cops aren’t even providing a reason as to why they stopped and searched an individual.
According to shocking findings from the Minneapolis Police Conduct Oversight Commission, of the more than 28,000 stop-and-frisk interactions in Minneapolis in 2012, cops did not record or left very vague reasons for the search 69 percent of the time.
Troubling Findings
A closer look at the report shows some terribly unreasonable reasons for stopping “suspicious” citizens. Here’s a look at some of the documented reasons for stop-and-frisk encounters from 2014 incidents.
- “Walking to the ATM, seemed odd.”
- “Sitting on wall, not far from area.”
- “Alley.”
- “Loitering.”
Additionally, a large number of cops did not even record a reason for stopping someone. Instead, they just left the space blank.
The Office of Police Conduct Review recommended that officers leave better records of why they’ve stopped a person in the future so as to practice “bias-free policing,” but that is not enough. The ends simply cannot justify the means when it comes to a person’s 4th amendment rights, which specifically protect us from unwarranted searches and seizures. There needs to be consequences for officers who have unjustly violated our citizens’ rights.
If you ever find yourself at the end of an unreasonable search, do your best to remain calm. Escalating the situation by yelling or putting hands on an officer will only make it easier for them to place you under arrest and conduct a legal search. Instead, calmly ask why you’re being searched, what reasonable justification the cop has to search you, and request to speak to an attorney. Also, be sure to obtain the cop’s badge number or full name. If you truly were subjected to an unjust search at the hands of an officer of the law, we can help you fight your case or bring a suit against the city.
Related source: KSTP
