Unlawful search leads to 24hr roadside suspension
 

Hey guys, hoping to get some advice on what my options are, any insight would be very helpful to me.

Heres the story:

Driving to my friends house at about 6 oclock to pick him up. I came around a corner going about 60-65kmhr, as soon as i came around the corner i see a police officer outside of his vehicle, hops in as soon as he sees me and starts following. i am 200m ahead of him, i was just about at my friends house so i pull into his driveway, pick him up, and start driving away. As i am getting down the street i see the same officer driving the opposite way he was driving before, he sees me, slams on the breaks and turns around, waiting to see which way i turn at the stop. I turn left, he follows for about 1 or 2km, then lights me up. I immediately pull to the side of the road. Now, i have a quarter ounce of weed in my armrest storage area, my friend has a half oz in his jacket. Officer approaches my window, mentions i was driving a bit fast around the corner, and says he smells pot. I deny any possession or consumption of marijuana. He goes back to his car with my license and registration, and returns. As soon as he comes up to the window the second time he says: okay, now i can really smell it, step out of the vehicle. I step out, he says "i am detaining you under the suspicion of possesion of marijuana." I say "what is your reasonable grounds for suspicion? you must have probable reason to believe i have committed a crime, and a smell, or a hunch, does not justify that." He says "yes it does, I have been doing this for 26 years, my nose is my reasonable grounds, i am going to search your vehicle." I say " I do not consent to a search of my vehicle, i am protected against unlawful search and seizure, under section 8 of the charter of rights and freedoms". He chuckles and says, ok now you are under arrest for the possession of marijuana, put your hands behind your back and face your vehicle". ( STILL HASNT SEARCHED OR SEEN OR FOUND ANY MARIJUANA) He puts me in cuffs, takes me back to his vehicle and calls another patrol. The other cop shows up, puts me in the back of his crown vic, and searches my friend and my car. Finds marijuana on both searches. Then both officers come to me, going off about me lying to them, i should have been honest etc etc. Then they say there's two ways this can go down; option one i take you downtown, fingerprint you, you spent the night in jail, and are charged with criminal possesion of marijuana. Option two, I give you a 24hour roadside suspension and take your license and your vehicle for 24hrs. I say, "I dont want any points on my drivers license and i dont want a criminal record either, i dont want to go to jail, but i have not smoked any marijuana today, so i dont beleive i should be getting a DUI." (I ACTUALLY HADN'T - LITERALLY JUST GOT OFF WORK) They say its not a dui its a 24hr suspension, the arresting officer taunts me with "well now i am starting to re think my offer blah blah blah". I didnt make a decision, they leave for 10 mins or so, and the secondary officer returns with a 24 hour prohibition from driving ticket/sheet thing. He explains they are towing my vehicle etc. The back of the ticket says "if you are giving this ticket because of drugs, you do not have the right of review by the superintendent of motor vehicles" something along those lines.

Not once was i giving a field sobriety test, or asked for a blood test. I WAS PURELY SOBER. Now because of this I can possibly lose my job, as i am required to maintain a clean drivers abstract. I work as a security alarm installer and need to renew my security license from the government each year, will this be affected?

Do i have any options for disputing or challenging this at all? Now i am out of a day of work, having to explain to my boss what has happened, and could possibly lose my job.

It was my understanding that an officer smelling marijuana was not reasonable grounds for suspicion, and does not allow him to search my vehicle. Also, the friend who i was with, who was also arrested before they saw or found any marijuana, also denied consent to a search of his person, and he was searched before any marijuana was seen or found.

My main question is, is there any way this can be revoked, or atleast taken off my driver history, and is there any action i can take that would be beneficial to me. I assume theres no chance i am getting reimbursed for the tow, and the fees for a day of impoundment.

My friend was not charged or givin a ticket of any sort.

Thank you!!

One more thing to add, I dont know if its relevant, but after it was all done and im out of cuffs waiting for my ride and the towtruck, the officers mention that i am probibly going to get pulled over alot in the near future, as someone from the lower mainland just came over to the island with the exact same car as mine, (08 bmw 135i - white) it was on a bulletin or what ever at the station this morning, saying he was very dangerous and wanted. Maybe thats why i was pulled over in the first place, i dont know. The officer was out of his vehicle and didnt get in until i was well past him, he didnt have anything in his hands, absolutly nothing that represented a radar or speed gun, i have a radar detector and it wasnt going off ( i know that doesnt mean shit) but it is very unlikely he got my actual speed. i had accelerated hard from the light, through first and second, and got to maybe 60 65kmhr, but he would have heard me. still i was only like 80 percent throttle in second with mostly stock exhaust, and only got up to 3 or 4k rpm

Well in the end the copper's probable cause of suspecting you got weed was correct since you admitted you had weed in your possession...probably wouldve ended differently if you admitted it in the first place :badpokerface:

So. You had an illegal substance, the officer found it, you're guilty. Done and done

You had weed, your friend had weed, you both lied to the Cops when they stopped you, the Cops with 26 years of service smelled the weed that you denied was in your car =RPGs to the presence of said weed... so they arrested you and found the weed in your car..care,control,consent=possession.

Car was searched incidental to arrest and to inventory it before it was impounded...so driver could not later claim of theft of something valuable from the car. Weed impairs your ability to drive so they gave you a 24 hour suspension instead of charging under the CDSA for weed. That about it? Follow the instructions on the suspension paperwork you were given if you wish to appeal it....or "Just Call Saul".:drunk:

thanks guys, real help. I missed the part where i said i admitted i had weed in my possession.

Everyone knows theres nothing wrong with weed, it is basically legal, and i wasnt driving high, it feel it was unlawful for him to search my car without reasonable grounds.

how can you be arrested for something before there is any evidence???

I sure hope you were given the opportunity to speak with a lawyer before being forced to choose between criminal charges and suspension/impoundment.

Good reminder to make sure you lock all drugs in the trunk out of the range of the cop's nose. Or, you know... not possess it at all.

You must be high, since you said both you and your friend had it in your possession. No one said you told the cop you had it. It's a very obvious smell and anyone that hasn't been around it recently can smell it. Please turn in your license, or stay on the island where we don't have to deal with your stupidity.

I misunderstood that, I thought he was saying I admitted to the cop. Thanks for the kind words

Out of all the things in the OP that don't make sense, when I read this:

How, pray tell, is the officer supposed to have found marijuana before searching someone?:pokerface:

Maybe, just maybe, you should've thought of that before driving around with illegal substances in your car?

But to at least pretend to help your stupid ass out, here:

you know, just because its basically legal, does not mean it is actually legal...right?

just because most people start drinking alcohol at 18, doesn't make it legal

Smell of weed no longer grounds for arrest, search

That's for burnt marijuana though.

Seems a little rough considering you didn't even smoke the weed yet, it could have been your friend they smelled it off of. Lesson learned though

Your an idiot.
Your job relies on you to have a clean record yet you do things to put that in jeopardy....you work in the security sector and you actively partake in illegal drug use (yes, its illegal still despite your impression of it being "basicly legal").

It sucks but the only person to blame is you.

as soon as i read that you started citing a "charter of rights and freedoms" youtube stuff i knew where this was headed. surprised he actually still gave you 2 options after all that went down, sounds like a pretty fair cop.

at this point isn't the only advice is to talk to a lawyer?

I didn't know sight was the only sense that a cop can rely on to have reasonable suspicion under law. Then again, I'm not a lawyer. God forbid they can't have any legal suspicion after hearing a gunshot without actually seeing a gun. Nope, just go on by. Not every cop is Chief Wiggum.

unfortunately he had suspicion to search, and he was correct in the end. You can't fight anything, should have maybe told the truth from the get go and it might have ended differently ( i know this because i had a beer when i had my N and was pulled over , told the truth and i was let go with a warning. Remember you cant have a single drop of alcohol in you during your L/N )

Pray to whatever god you do, that you dont lose your job. If not you should reconsider a job where this stuff doesnt matter , or reconsider what you partake in ;)

I thought probable cause is needed just to pull you over, after the officer has probable cause (you speeding and the fact your vehicle matches the one of a wanted criminal)) then anything he sees and or smells is justifiable for a search without a warrant.

In Canada it is called "reasonable and probable Grounds"...or RPG's...probable cause, felony etc are US terms. The difference between "Due South" and Hawaii 5-0. We also never say "book 'em Danno"....well a few do, but they also have other problems. :)

so if i hear an officer tell me they have a RPG i shouldn't assume they have a missile launcher in the back of the squad car?

instead of "book 'em danno", any a trolls followed by a horatio pose with sunglasses?

A Colt carbine, Brushmater shotgun, Remmington 308 or a S&W 5946...but no EastBloc shoulder fired missle...so far....unless you are stopped by a Dog Master...then all bets are off when they release the Land Shark!! :Release the hounds Smthers"...

I'd take an RPG over one of those dogs, I like my odds better with the RPG.

Actually, it's just "reasonable grounds" in Canada. The "probable" was removed.

495 (1) A peace officer may arrest without warrant
(a) a person who has committed an indictable offence or who, on reasonable grounds, he believes has committed or is about to commit an indictable offence;