Alcohol & Drugs: MIP, MIC, Intoxication MIP but asked to open bag!!!

[kwijibo16]

Okay. I was walking with my roommate back to our place. We were not doing anything unusual or suspicious. This was 10pm on a Sunday night. Well, as we were walking across the parking lot, a cop pulls straight in front of me and steps out. I was holding a handled brown paper bag. Inside was an 8pack of Guinness. But it was not visible to the eye unless the bag had to be opened. Well the cop asked me to open the bag and so I did.

Question: Was I legally obligated to open the bag and show him what was inside?

But since I did and he gave me a MIP 25662(a). AND he also made a comment which I didnt find appropriate: He said "at least you have good taste. Its better than Keystone Light!"

Thanks

 

[Michael Wechsler]

That's actually a very tragicomedy story. It's too bad that his sense of humor didn't extend to just giving you a warning. I'm not sure if you were obligated to show the officer what was in the bag unless he had a reasonable cause for suspicion. In general, a police officer can perform a pat down but cannot perform searches without reasonable cause, e.g. they feel a gun in a pocket.

Regardless, I think it unlikely that a law not requiring you to show the contents of the bag to the officer would change the outcome of your case. You agreed to show it to the officer without coercion. I'm not sure most would act any differently. It's difficult to blame the officer since it is the law although frequently broken, although I certainly appreciate your feelings on this matter...