I need some advice about an incident I had last week with the county police in Idaho.
My boyfriend and I were driving home at about midnight and we stopped for gas. We sat in the car (which was turned off) for a couple of minutes before getting out to pump the gas when an officer approached us out of nowhere. That is when we saw the patrol car sitting on the side of the building in the dark. he didn't turn on his patrol lights or anything. We had already started pumping the gas when he asked for ID. My boyfriend questioned his reasoning by asking if he was under arrested in which the officer said no, then when he asked if he was being detained the officer said yes, so he asked for what and the officer ignored the question and asked again for the ID. I could see this was not going to be pretty so I handed the officer my ID (a Canadian drivers' license) and then told my boyfriend to do it too.
The officer called in our IDs and found that my boyfriend had not paid a speeding violation and therefore had a suspended license. My boyfriend was convicted of a felony a few years back, did his time, and was not on any kind of probation.
The officer must have called for backup because immediately another patrol car showed up whereupon they handcuffed my boyfriend by using unnecessarily aggressive force. They said he was under arrest for "Driving without Priviledges" and for Resisting arrest.
They put him in the patrol car and began searching our truck while I stood behind it. Then out of nowhere the 2 officers went back to the patrol car and pulled my boyfriend out and began slamming his body into the patrol car while the other held him in a headlock. I got closer to make sure I got a close look if they did start injuring him especially when I saw he wasn't responding and his face had turned white. When I did this the policemen told me to step back which I did. They put my boyfriend back in the patrol car and said he had tried to slip his cuffs (which in fact he hadn't, he had put his wrists in front of his body while sitting in the patrol car).
Thats when I was arrested for obstructing, the policeman said I had touched the other cop when I approached. After they put me in the patrol car, the officer that arrested me searched the truck from top to bottom and found a pipe underneath the passenger seat. They charged me with possession of paraphenelia because they said it was under my seat (even though the truck is not mine). I had no knowledge of this pipe.
I was wondering if the grounds on which they asked for ID could be considered an illegal search, or if we would have a better chance of saying their search of the vehicle was illegal. Also, what are the chances of video recorders (they were inside both patrol cars) or audio recorders being turned on? Any advice would be appreciated as this is the first charge I have ever had and would like to see them dropped! Also if anyone knows what the consequences are if we were found guilty (ie fines, jail time, etc) of these misdemeanors I would be very grateful.
My boyfriend and I were driving home at about midnight and we stopped for gas. We sat in the car (which was turned off) for a couple of minutes before getting out to pump the gas when an officer approached us out of nowhere. That is when we saw the patrol car sitting on the side of the building in the dark. he didn't turn on his patrol lights or anything. We had already started pumping the gas when he asked for ID. My boyfriend questioned his reasoning by asking if he was under arrested in which the officer said no, then when he asked if he was being detained the officer said yes, so he asked for what and the officer ignored the question and asked again for the ID. I could see this was not going to be pretty so I handed the officer my ID (a Canadian drivers' license) and then told my boyfriend to do it too.
The officer called in our IDs and found that my boyfriend had not paid a speeding violation and therefore had a suspended license. My boyfriend was convicted of a felony a few years back, did his time, and was not on any kind of probation.
The officer must have called for backup because immediately another patrol car showed up whereupon they handcuffed my boyfriend by using unnecessarily aggressive force. They said he was under arrest for "Driving without Priviledges" and for Resisting arrest.
They put him in the patrol car and began searching our truck while I stood behind it. Then out of nowhere the 2 officers went back to the patrol car and pulled my boyfriend out and began slamming his body into the patrol car while the other held him in a headlock. I got closer to make sure I got a close look if they did start injuring him especially when I saw he wasn't responding and his face had turned white. When I did this the policemen told me to step back which I did. They put my boyfriend back in the patrol car and said he had tried to slip his cuffs (which in fact he hadn't, he had put his wrists in front of his body while sitting in the patrol car).
Thats when I was arrested for obstructing, the policeman said I had touched the other cop when I approached. After they put me in the patrol car, the officer that arrested me searched the truck from top to bottom and found a pipe underneath the passenger seat. They charged me with possession of paraphenelia because they said it was under my seat (even though the truck is not mine). I had no knowledge of this pipe.
I was wondering if the grounds on which they asked for ID could be considered an illegal search, or if we would have a better chance of saying their search of the vehicle was illegal. Also, what are the chances of video recorders (they were inside both patrol cars) or audio recorders being turned on? Any advice would be appreciated as this is the first charge I have ever had and would like to see them dropped! Also if anyone knows what the consequences are if we were found guilty (ie fines, jail time, etc) of these misdemeanors I would be very grateful.
