Federal Court Finds Upright Driving, Acne Suspicious

[cyclonescott]

Good posture while driving can contribute to reasonable suspicion that a driver is smuggling illegal aliens, federal appeals court finds.

Driving with good posture, with hands at the classic ten and two position on the wheel, is sufficient reason to pull over a driver with a bad complexion, according to a ruling handed down Thursday by the Tenth Circuit US Court of Appeals. A unanimous three-judge panel approved the Border Patrol's April 18, 2012 stop and search of a motorist who happened to be nervous when pulled over.

Border Patrol Agent Joshua Semmerling saw the white Ford F-150 pickup truck being driven in the opposite direction on Highway 80 in New Mexico, about 40 miles from the border with Mexico. It was 7:45pm, a time the Border Patrol agent found suspicious. The truck had an Arizona plate on the back and tinted windows, but its driver, Cindy Lee Westhoven, violated no traffic laws. Instead, Agent Semmerling noted she had "stiff posture" and hands "at a ten-and-two position on the steering wheel" so he decided to do a U-turn and pursue.

A registration check showed the truck was registered to a Lawrence Westhoven in Tucson, which suggested to the officer that Westhoven was either smuggling illegal aliens or drugs. He hit his emergency lights and forced her to pull over. Agent Semmerling testified that he believed Westhoven must have been a methamphetamine addict after he noticed she had acne. Agent Semmerling ran Westhoven's license, and it came back with no warrants, but he continued the stop.

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/43/4394.asp

This has got to be the biggest crock of shit ever.

[Moose242]

I saw the title and thought "this has to be an onion article".

[turboford]

Police state is right around the corner.

[ftp]

Police state is right around the corner.

It's already here.

[bird_dog0347]

Police state is right around the corner.

It's already here.

The zombie apocalypse has already begun. We are but sheeple doing what we are told.

[BradM]

Ftp on this one for sure!

[turboford]

I'm not a big supporter of FTP but on this one it's both. FTP & FTC.

[Scott Mc]

Gotta throw a FTP on this one as well. How credible is the publisher?

[svauto-erotic855]

In the late 80's DPD lost 7 or 9 officers in one year. Most were gunned down walking up to a car for a traffic stop. DPD rode 2 to a car for a few years and would not pull you over for any reason.

[ELVIS]

My posture is good while driving, but only because there is a glock .40 poking into my fat roll if I don't sit up straight.

God bless.

[Rick Modena]

My posture is good while driving, but only because there is a glock .40 poking into my fat roll if I don't sit up straight.

lol.

I have the same problem with the exact same gun (G-32 in .357 SIG) I wonder of Dr. Dave can give me something to cure fatness...

[Baron Von Crowder]

The agent asked to search the vehicle, but she refused to give him permission. Westhoven was ordered out of the truck so a drug dog could sniff it. She was told she was not under arrest but that she was being detained. Twenty minutes into the stop the drug dog arrived and alerted, revealing marijuana. Westoven's lawyer pointed out that the federal agent's story sounded fishy.

Somehow, I feel like there is a lot of this story that isnt exactly as stated in the article.

[Scott Mc]

That is why I asked about the credibility.

[Baron Von Crowder]

That is why I asked about the credibility.

http://www.thenewspaper.com/rlc/docs/2014/us-goodposture.pdf

I. BACKGROUND
A. Factual History
The facts are undisputed. On April 18, 2012, Agent Semmerling was patrolling
Highway 80 in southern New Mexico approximately 45 miles from the Mexican border.
About an hour and 45 minutes into his shift, Ms. Westhoven drove past Agent
Semmerling traveling in the opposite direction in a white Ford F-150 four-door truck.
Agent Semmerling, a border patrol agent for just over three years, testified that
undocumented immigrant and drug smugglers used this road heavily due to the lack of
border patrol checkpoints. Apart from smugglers, he testified, locals mostly used the
road.
As Ms. Westhoven drove past him, Agent Semmerling noticed she had a “stiff
-3-

posture” and her arms were “straight and locked out” at a “ten-and-two position on the
steering wheel.” ROA at 75. He also noticed the truck had an Arizona license plate and
dark tinted windows. Although Ms. Westhoven did not appear to be speeding, Agent
Semmerling decided to turn around to follow her and to run a registration check. He
caught up with her after driving for a couple of miles at 95 miles per hour, indicating she
had increased her speed 10 or more miles per hour. She then abruptly hit her brakes to
slow down when Agent Semmerling was behind her.
From his registration check, Agent Semmerling learned the truck was from
Tucson, Arizona. Because Highway 80 is not a direct route to Tucson, he became
suspicious that Ms. Westhoven was involved in alien or drug smuggling. Agent
Semmerling then turned on his patrol car lights to pull her over.
When he approached the driver’s side of the truck, Agent Semmerling noticed Ms.
Westhoven appeared to have scarring and acne on her right cheek, indicating to him she
might be a methamphetamine user. He asked her where her travel began. She responded,
“Bisbee—no. Douglas, not Bisbee.” ROA at 90. She said she was heading to Tucson
and had gone to Douglas, Arizona for shopping. Agent Semmerling noticed she seemed
extremely nervous based on her stuttering and taking long pauses. Also, Agent
Semmerling observed he had “never seen somebody shaking like that before in [his]
experience.” ROA at 93. He testified her answers also made him suspicious because
Tucson had better shopping opportunities than Douglas, and driving on Highway 80
through New Mexico to go from Douglas to Tucson would add approximately 100 miles
-4-

to the trip. He also noticed she had two cell phones—common for people engaged in
illegal activity in the area.
Agent Semmerling asked for her driver’s license and returned to his vehicle,
calling for backup. When he ran her identification for warrants and criminal history, he
discovered no warrants but a conviction for shoplifting. Agent Semmerling returned to
Ms. Westhoven’s truck, and she said, “I thought you were going to let me go. Do you
think I’m hauling illegal aliens?” ROA at 97. Agent Semmerling responded, “I don’t
know. Can you roll down your window so I can see?” Id. She replied, “I don’t think I
want to do that.” Id. at 101. She rolled down the window half an inch to retrieve her
license. Agent Semmerling could not see inside the back of her vehicle due to the tinted
windows. He asked if he could open the door to look in the back seat, but she said, “No.”
Id. at 102.
Agent Semmerling then asked Ms. Westhoven to step out of her truck. After Ms.
Westhoven complied, Agent Semmerling called a canine unit to conduct a sniff test.
Agent Semmerling testified she was not under arrest at that time but she was being
detained until a canine unit arrived on the scene. He did not want her in the vehicle for
officer safety reasons and to preserve any evidence. Five to ten minutes later (less than
20 minutes after the stop began), a canine unit arrived, sniffed the truck, and alerted for
the presence of a controlled substance.
A subsequent search revealed marijuana in the truck. The agents then arrested and
handcuffed Ms. Westhoven.

Agent Semmerling testified that when he caught up to Ms. Westhoven, he paced
her at 70 miles per hour and the speed limit was 60 miles per hour. Although Ms.
Westhoven’s driving behavior can factor into reasonable suspicion, because border patrol
agents do not have jurisdiction over New Mexico traffic laws, a traffic violation such as
speeding cannot form the sole basis of reasonable suspicion

There's 17 pages of the court procedings.

[Chili]

I know someone that was a passenger in a car that got busted at a checkpoint north of Las Cruces back in the 90's. I was at the initial arraignment and the Border Patrol agent said something similar. Claimed the driver was sitting high in the seat, which made them think the car had been modified to carry drugs. They also said that this specific car had been known to carry contraband in the past.

They did end up finding drugs, but not anywhere near the seat (it was in the AC ducting), so that claim was BS. The second assertion was also ridiculous because if they had busted the car for contraband in the past, the car would have been forfeited.

They just profile and hope to get lucky, then use the bogus "PC" later.