Got Pulled Over by a Cop This Morning for Vaping (And introduction)

[elfstone]

Just treat the officer with respect and courtesy. Their job is difficult enough as it is.

That. I worked with police officers at my job for a while and their job sucks. It's really harder than most people know. However, I am talking about our City police. I will refrain from commenting on the police from our outlier burbs around here.

That said, you have to have a little boredom in your life to stop someone for vaping. Every day I make eye contact with at least one police officer while vaping in the car because where I live I literally share the parking garage with a police station. And I had no issue so far.

The problem of probable cause is very debatable here. If they are simply asking and then they act like this one in this story, that's fine. They can (and should) include any strange / unusual or inappropriate behavior in their judgement call. If they go any further in absence of anything suspicious, they are in the wrong, because then they should stop and check every person smoking a cigarette (cigarette like objects are the most commonly used illicit substance delivery method), drinking any sort of liquid, and even eating. Simple as that.

 

[trixare4kids]

That's odd.
3 years ago when these were new I ended up at a SuperBowl party with a cop who just happened to be from my town. My sister had given me the go-ahead to vape in her house. He didn't give me a second look. When I found out he was from the PD in my town I questioned him about it and he said he wouldn't question it.
Granted it was a SS penstyle but I'd still think it would look like something illegal given the "smoke" being blown.
So I told him to warn the other cops in the department because eventually these would become popular.

I've been vaping in front of one driving, in parking lots around them, and walking in a parking lot with them around.

I also have a nephew who is a cop (had 2) that I educate. I won't be surprised if I have a bunch of off duty cops at a birthday party in a couple weeks.

Well, since every cop is a different human being, in a different jurisdiction with different experiences, I don't think it's that odd. Once he looked over the device, he was fine with it. It wasn't something NEW to him, per se (though he didn't say one way or the other for sure) it's just that to his eye, it looked like drug paraphernalia whilst I was driving past.

 

[buffalofloyd]

"Just treat the officer with respect and courtesy. Their job is difficult enough as it is."

Agreed. I am always respectful of police when I come into contact with them. Unfortunately, I wish I could say the same for the police. Sometimes this politeness and respect will not do you any good and does not go both ways. Just the same, I have never been disrespectful to an officer and don't plan on it. If the time comes I will do my best to explain the device I'm using and what it does

 

[Sp00ks]

Interesting. I've thought about what it may look like a couple times but will vape anyway. If they pull me, I'll educate them. I did get pulled for drinking an IBC rootbeer once. (Brown bottle) That young man was ....... It probably didn't help that I was laughing at him. I told him it was ok, I wouldn't tell anyone. He walked all around my truck looking for something. Rookie.

Be polite and make sure they can see your hands when they walk up to the car.

 

[INSULATION TIM]

Well, since you post was edited, I have NO idea what your SOMETHING of SOMETHING looks like. Heh. That said, I vape at work, but only with the office door closed. If someone comes in, due to the position of my desk, I have enough time to put it in my case and snap it shut. I don't DARE ask if it's OK because I don't want the official answer.

I've gotten through 65 years using the philosophy that it is: "Always easier to ask for Forgiveness rather than Permission".

 

[SteadyPuffin]

I've actually seen someone vaping prefilled tanks with an Ego setup with ... in it, so the cops actually not as uneducated as he seemed.

 

[Garysa]

I find that I have to explain what Im doing when onlookers are staring at me while Im vaping. Vaping is gaining awareness by the masses, here in S. FL. I have converted many of my friends to vaping. I too have been questioned by a police officer.

 

[nanovapr]

I keep a small label on my PV with my phone number and email address on it. If found by Joe Average it's useless, but it's quite important to me. I have never been questioned by police, but I think it would be good to point that out. If it were illicit materials, I wouldn't be putting any contact info on it.

 

[The Doctor]

I got pulled over by a cop who saw me puffing on my pipe mod, I immediately started to explain, and he said he knew what it was, pulled an 808 out of his pocket and asked me where to get one!

Never had another look, and I vape everywhere.. Bus, plane, mall, bar, drs office, school, work, cafe, you name it. The only annoyances I've experienced are drunks at the bar who think it's for illegal drugs, or people who ask "why not just stop that too".



Vaping since: a while
Cigarettes avoided: lots
Money saved: probably not
Devices: Yes
(insert crappy graphic and vendor logo here)

 

[PaulB]

Seems like I've seen quite a number of threads over the years that ended with the officer asking questions and taking a personal interest because of his or her own nic habit. (I don't know whether the smoking rate among police officers in California is as high as it is elsewhere.) Many recommend keeping some vendor business cards within easy(!) reach for this sort of situation.

 

[DaveP]

I always make sure I have a labelled bottle that clearly states it's ejuice. I carry a 3ml bottle for top offs anyway. If the ecig smells like what's in the bottle, it helps! I haven't been pulled for vaping, but I've expected it.

Ecigs should be in officer training and bulletins. I was at City Hall quite a lot and in central records, detective bureau, and traffic before I retired. That would have been a good way to introduce police officers and higher ups to vaping. Someone needs to. MSM just talks about antifreeze and carcinogens.

Awareness is increasing.
E-Cigarettes Are Here to Stay : Convenience Store Decisions

“In 2010 there were 750,000 units sold and that jumped to 2.5 million sold in 2011, and the market is expected to quadruple by end of 2013 to early to mid of 2014,” said Thomas Kiklas, co-founder of the Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Association.
Close to 20 million cartridges are sold in the U.S. on a weekly basis and about 10 million disposables weekly, Kiklas said.

 

[classwife]

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/ecf-forum-rules/51178-forum-rules.html
9.Discussion or mention of illegal/illicit drugs or sexual content.

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...ation/255864-why-we-dont-allow-drug-talk.html


Careful of the comments please.

Thank you

Again...there is to be no mention of drugs on ECF.

 

[Motoman101]

Congrats on stopping. I know the feeling. It is scary being pulled over. I Vape in car all the time. Hope it does not happen to me.

 

[wv2win]

Most cops know all about vaping. This is a rare occurrance. I vape in front of cops and sheriffs deputies every week as I am in and out of court houses all over the state. Never had a problem and I vape a Darwin. In fact, I have had more law enforcement personnel ask me how they can get a PV than any other sub-group. From a perception stand point, it is much better that we look like we are NOT smoking.

 

[mostapha]

"Just treat the officer with respect and courtesy without giving up any of your rights thoughtlessly. Their job is difficult enough as it is, and they deserve respect for doing it, though not necessarily trust."

I may or may not be 'right' in saying that, but it's the way I always behave. "White & polite" goes a long way. White & polite with a mind to procedure and a complete lack of willingness to self-incriminate for no reason while the officer's fishing……that's worked really well so far.

How are you doing this evening?
-"With all due respect, I refuse to answer on the grounds that it may serve to incriminate me."

Do you know how fast you were going?
-"With all due respect, I refuse to answer on the grounds that it may serve to incriminate me."

Have you had anything to drink?
-"With all due respect, I refuse to answer on the grounds that it may serve to incriminate me."

Mind if I look around?
-"I will not interfere with an officer in the execution of his duties as he sees fit, but I do not consent to any search or seizure of any kind."

What is that thing you're smoking, some kind of "drug pipe"?
-No, sir. (technically, nicotine is a drug and this isn't a correct answer, but it's clear, concise, and what they're getting at. Depending on the top, I'd give a more full answer or ask for a clarification on what exactly they're asking)

You have to be careful and know what you're talking about, and I respect cops in general (I don't want to do that job) but I've dealt with a lot of bad ones.

In fact, I have had more law enforcement personnel ask me how they can get a PV than any other sub-group.

Part of that is that they're more used to approaching strangers and asking questions than almost any other group.

 

[crazydogjack]

I too have been waiting for that day of getting pulled over. I am very cautious when I vape in my car. Glad he didn't give you much trouble about it. Congrats on dropping those analogs! I've been vaping for over a year now with no desire to ever go back to cigarettes.

 

[ejervjero]

The cops that I have met at red lights don't seem to mind any of my mods with a 5 1/4" gooseneck on them and a DoD on top of the 5 1/4" gooseneck Heck I have even gone into bars with that setup it sure got a lot of people's interest and converted quite a few of them to vaping.

 

[MiamiMom63]

I recently put a bumper sticker on the back of my car that says "Ask Me About My E-Cig". lol. I hope that helps somewhat alleviate weird looks from passersby or cops wondering what I'm doing.

 

[teamscon]

I dont care how hard their jobs are. Alot of people have hard jobs and arent snobs about it like cops. I am a Army vet, took a tour of Iraq, and got out. This country is turning into a police state ... The more you give into these cops the more rights they will take. I talk to cops about this every chance I get .. They know what their doing is wrong but they know people are ignorant of their rights and they can manipulate them.

I say .. Lets take it back to the constitution and see how things go ... Because what were doing isnt working

BTW - If we lie to a cop, its a crime. If they lie to us, its a mistake.
If a cop violates our rights ... it was a mistake .. np. If we violate someone else's rights, we go to jail. I would suggest cops having NO MORE power then the people have.

Before you guys flame me, just remember cops dont stop crime they investigate it. Its up to you to protect yourself because if they think anyone else will ... Your dead wrong

 

[julieah3]

Hello all!
...So far I haven't even been slightly tempted to have an analog cigarette, though I did try a hit of a friend's smoke yesterday and it was nasty. Not wanting analog cigs? NOTHING and I mean NOTHING has ever worked like this. I find it nothing short of a miricle. I know you've all been there. I can't see going back to regular cigs. It's amazing! I'm so happy.
...

Glad getting pulled over wasn't even more stressful. When I got pulled over for barely speeding once, I was shaking like a leaf to the point of embarrassment.

Ditto on the lack of desire for analogs! While I was waiting for my first e-cig kit to arrive, I was buying disposables, (no analogs since I tried vaping), and I decided to try one last pack of analogs and knew right away I preferred the e-cigs.

I've tried the patches, gum and lozenges for nicotine replacement but none of them worked like e-cigs!