Omfg

[Xenolance]

I am truly sorry this happened to you! You got a bad one and it's really a shame that our society is still hell bent on persecuting people for breaking the mold so to speak.


I run into cops more than I'd like to admit. Some good, some bad. You got a bad one. The number one thing you have to remember is, they are legally allowed to 100% lie to you to get what they want from you. The second thing you need to remember is, you are doing nothing wrong and under no circumstances are you to EVER give up one iota of your rights.

1. "This is an e-cigarette officer using legal liquid that can be bought freely by persons over the age of 18 at any smoke shop. "

2. "No sir, I am not obligated to show you anything proving my guilt or innocence."

3. "No sir, you do not have my consent to search my property in any way."
If he uses the, "If you've got nothing to hide it shouldn't be a problem." line;
4. "I don't have to prove my innocence, I am guaranteed that I am innocent until proven guilty by the constitution."
If he requests a sobriety test and you know for a fact you've done nothing illegal you can accept it, but you are not obligated to incriminate yourself.
5. "No, I do not wish to take a test but if you are demanding it I will consent to a sobriety test."
If you pass said test, Ask him;
6. "I have complied with your requests, Am I free to go officer?" - repeat this and refuse to answer any additional questions, you have legally satisfied you obligation as a law abiding citizen.
At this point he is legally obligated to either arrest you or let you go. If he refuses to let you go within a reasonable amount of time, request you speak to his supervisor until he relents or calls the supervisor.

Don't:
Over explain ANYTHING, a minimum number of words is your best bet.
Show them anything other than your legal ID and insurance/registration. (Not that unlabeled e-liquid is illegal but they will use this as fuel to keep giving you a hard time)
Don't EVER consent to a search of your person or property for any reason.. Proving your innocence, once again, is not a requirement of our legal system..yet. This also gives the really crooked ones even more of a chance to abuse and/or possibly incriminate you.
Don't say you don't have anything such as e-liquid, pot, whatever, simply say, "I am not aware of anything illegal in my possession".
If it feels wrong, don't go along with it! Peaceful insistence on them obeying your rights and keeping your head will ALWAYS be the best answer in these situations.

I assure you I'm no criminal or anything nefarious, I just have more experience than I really should for a 31 year old. (Never once arrested for anything illegal, never convicted of a crime, and I pay my taxes.)

I'd tradeyou places in a heartbeat, NEVER go back to analogs no matter how many d-bags open their moronic mouths and tell you to.

 

[dwc2134]

I am truly sorry this happened to you! You got a bad one and it's really a shame that our society is still hell bent on persecuting people for breaking the mold so to speak.


I run into cops more than I'd like to admit. Some good, some bad. You got a bad one. The number one thing you have to remember is, they are legally allowed to 100% lie to you to get what they want from you. The second thing you need to remember is, you are doing nothing wrong and under no circumstances are you to EVER give up one iota of your rights.

1. "This is an e-cigarette officer using legal liquid that can be bought freely by persons over the age of 18 at any smoke shop. "

2. "No sir, I am not obligated to show you anything proving my guilt or innocence."

3. "No sir, you do not have my consent to search my property in any way."
If he uses the, "If you've got nothing to hide it shouldn't be a problem." line;
4. "I don't have to prove my innocence, I am guaranteed that I am innocent until proven guilty by the constitution."
If he requests a sobriety test and you know for a fact you've done nothing illegal you can accept it, but you are not obligated to incriminate yourself.
5. "No, I do not wish to take a test but if you are demanding it I will consent to a sobriety test."
If you pass said test, Ask him;
6. "I have complied with your requests, Am I free to go officer?" - repeat this and refuse to answer any additional questions, you have legally satisfied you obligation as a law abiding citizen.
At this point he is legally obligated to either arrest you or let you go. If he refuses to let you go within a reasonable amount of time, request you speak to his supervisor until he relents or calls the supervisor.

Don't:
Over explain ANYTHING, a minimum number of words is your best bet.
Show them anything other than your legal ID and insurance/registration. (Not that unlabeled e-liquid is illegal but they will use this as fuel to keep giving you a hard time)
Don't EVER consent to a search of your person or property for any reason.. Proving your innocence, once again, is not a requirement of our legal system..yet. This also gives the really crooked ones even more of a chance to abuse and/or possibly incriminate you.
Don't say you don't have anything such as e-liquid, pot, whatever, simply say, "I am not aware of anything illegal in my possession".
If it feels wrong, don't go along with it! Peaceful insistence on them obeying your rights and keeping your head will ALWAYS be the best answer in these situations.

I assure you I'm no criminal or anything nefarious, I just have more experience than I really should for a 31 year old. (Never once arrested for anything illegal, never convicted of a crime, and I pay my taxes.)

I'd tradeyou places in a heartbeat, NEVER go back to analogs no matter how many d-bags open their moronic mouths and tell you to.

I agree with you almost 100%. I have had my fair share of run ins with police, with me on both sides of the law, during my younger, somewhat crazier years. I, however, am now less compliant than you are, simply on principle. I have, unless I know I have done something wrong (such as speeding), three statements for any officer. "Am I being detained? What is your probable cause? Am I free to go?" and, when needed, "I will comply in the presence of my lawyer and a warrant". A friend of mine, who is an ex/inactive-LEO, has said that, when dealing with power-tripping cops, which he agrees there are FAR too many of, this is the ONLY way to deal with them.

OP, if you are in the USA, which I think you are, read up on your rights and how to respond in situations such as this. Almost NOTHING that officer did was kosher, by the book, or with ANY respect to your rights. He will get away with it ONLY because you consented to let him do it. Never again. The police serve US, not the other way around.

 

[Paranorm]

I'm sorry you had a run-in like this one, it'd freak me out, too! The other posters here are absolutely right about asserting your rights! Don't let them railroad you into giving them up. They can be intimidating and they are trained to use that intimidation to manipulate people into revealing their guilt in many situations. So stand strong! Don't be afraid of them, as the worst they can do to you is inconvenience you if you're not breaking the law. That inconvenience comes at great cost to them if you start filing reports about their behavior. Their superiors won't like it at all that they're harassing law-abiding citizens because of their own biases or ignorance! If it were me, I'd file a report on the officer involved without question. However, you live in OC, FL, and from what I understand, that county has some problems with their law enforcement being a little too aggressive at times. So use your best judgement. In the future, stand fearless with a smile on your face and exercise your rights in a firm but kind manner.

 

[John Castle]

You know what just occurred to me? If this cop didn't recognize your PV as an e-cigarette, how did he know you drip liquid in it? I think this cop knew exactly what you were doing, knew exactly what your PV was, knew exactly how it worked and has a problem with vapers.

 

[JasonK94Z]

Welcome to big government fascism. Politicians and all other authoritarian figures go unchecked and are never held accountable for their stupidity. The law has forgotten that they are here to "protect and serve". That's right, they forget that they "serve" us, the citizens. We don't serve them. It's stories like this that really piss me off. Almost every week a police dept has raided a wrong address on a warrant, it either end up with an innocent citizen being shot or their dog. No one is held accountable for the damage! The God complex that most cops have needs to be checked. Those people are no better than anyone else.



That cop would have just had to load me up in his damn car and bring me in. You were totally innocent, and I'd be damned if i was going to go out of my way to fulfill his requests of dumping out my ejuice. Thats nonsense!
As far as suing the police department if they wrongly detain you? Well, all that does is dig into tax payer money. I say the officer should be held accountable and have to pay, not the tax payers. Until there are consequences that sting the officer personally, they will just continue to go on doing whatever they feel like.

 

[zWarlock]

Wow!! What a horrid experience! I'd call the PD and ask them what the reality of the situation is and suggest they educate their officers if appropriate.

 

[demiseone]

i always vape while driving, even at a light next to a cop a few times, no issues. sucks to hear this story.

 

[09-20I]

I'm sorry if I missed it but what was the warning for that he issued you? Correct me if I'm wrong here but to issue you a warning implies that you have broken a law and that he is going to just "warn" you not to do it again so wouldn't he have to cite the law that he was warning you not to break again?

Also wouldn't that warning have had a document # on it along with the officers name?

Or was all of this done as a "verbal warning"

I'm very sorry you had to go thru this I have been on the receiving end of an overly zealous law enforcement encounter it's not fun.

 

[skoony]

i cant believe.
in this day and age and the internet how can an officer of the law be so totally ignorent?
i'd contact my local elected rep.,and police chief and demand an explanation and appoligy.
up hear in so called liberal minnesota they are totally freaked out about smoking,
but even the transit police try to be nice when they catch someone smoking a analog
on transit buses or property.ticket and 25 dollar fine.(and our whimpy judges are all for it.)
that cop had to have an agenda.
regards
mike

 

[Erinlee]

I'm so sorry you went through this. I would likely feel the same way you do.

I am thankful for all the great responses on how to handle these situations. I just started vaping a few days ago and luckily I use a joyetech 510 and it looks similar to the size of an analog. I will keep all these suggestions in mind once I get comfortable and get myself a better setup for myself.

 

[Koman]

i always vape while driving, even at a light next to a cop a few times, no issues. sucks to hear this story.

Vaping and driving is the best!

 

[sychodelix]

I've vaped, outdoors, publicly quite often lately. The cop did so many things wrong that its ridiculous. Most ecigs except for certain RBAs can't be used for drugs anyway. I would have shown the officer what was in the carto/clearo and calmly explained it to him. If he still wanted to be an ... about it, there's no way in hell I'd dump anything and would have refused to cooperate. Probably would have gotten a free ride in the back of his car, but I wouldn't let a cop violate my rights that way.

Thanks for sharing your story. It had to be very scary for you.

 

[rico942]

Very good advice. Keep you answers short.

I learned this half a century ago as well, silence and short appropriate responses are best, give them nothing to work with ...

Its important to remember that cops do this all the time every day, attempting to trick civilians into incriminating themselves. The general public does not engage in this kind of behavior (except for hostile work managers), so we find ouselves off balance in such a confrontation ...

I'm reminded of the tactic that cops in Mexico have used for decades to shake down ...... tourists who purchase medications there. They demand to see a prescription. If you have one from the US, they will declare it is invalid in Mexico. If you have a prescription from a Mexican doctor, they will tell you it is not valid for a foreigner. Perfect Catch-22 ...

I salute the OP for safely getting away from this whack job without injury, and for following up with a visit to the station to report the incident. And most of all, for alerting members here about the possibility of law enforcement abuses when vaping gear is found ...

 

[spartanstew]

You guys all realize the OP hasn't been here in nearly 8 months, right?

 

[Seigun]

If I were you, I'd file a complaint. I've heard of cops testing juices for substances but not dumping them out. That was over the line. Cops should be more educated about things like that, IMHO, since they are being sold in brick and mortar stores. I know they are apparently trying to uphold the law and whatnot. They should try busting into a vape store sometime if they're that concerned... which I don't see, so I guess they're not.

What do they do, LOOK for random victims to pick on? (Don't answer that.)

 

[BlueMoods]

Makes me glad I live where I do, and am who I am. One ever pulls that around here with me, all I'd need to do is tell them to call M.A. My cousin and county sheriff/collector that vapes.

I'd definitely be speaking with that officer's supervisor and, offering to educate the department on vaping.

 

[Hoofhearted62]

Here a thought, what if she used something like 12mg+ of ejuice and when she poured it out, some unlucky animal, deer, squirrel, bear, alligator since shes in fla. licked it up and went into nicotine overload and ran rampant through the neighborhood like a rabid dog. could she be charged with cruelty to animals. or causing an accident if it ran into the path of a vehicle??? ;-) PETA would have a field day with that one.

 

[Forkeh]

Sounds like a bad cop on a power trip to me. I do believe that officers carry chemical kits to test for illegal substances. It's how they identify illegal substances so they can make an arrest without being worried about a lawsuit because they arrested someone for having rock candy or powdered sugar...if you catch my drift.

If he really thought it was something illegal, he would have run a field test on it. He was just being a jerk.

 

[Kristin0624]

I've used my devices out in public and NEVER had an issue. I have vaped at outdoor professional sporting events, outdoor concerts and festivals, in full view of police and security guards. The original poster just came across a particularly nasty cop and the experience was out of the ordinary.

I am a security guard. In Florida. I vape in uniform all the time. Just do what you mentioned above, keep your labeled bottle with you, you'll be fine. I do the same thing when I transport insulin to my boyfriend when he's out and about. Better to be safe than sorry. And no, I'm totally not defending the cop's actions. In fact, if one acted like this to me, I might be in trouble. But one thing I have learned from this job is always cover your a**. I seriously doubt they will be able to ban ecigs here, but if they do, there will be some notice and you can stockpile, so no worries. Worst comes to worst, drive to the Sarasota area and I'll hook you up because I'll probably be stockpiled LOL.

 

[Kristin0624]

Sounds like a bad cop on a power trip to me. I do believe that officers carry chemical kits to test for illegal substances. It's how they identify illegal substances so they can make an arrest without being worried about a lawsuit because they arrested someone for having rock candy or powdered sugar...if you catch my drift.

If he really thought it was something illegal, he would have run a field test on it. He was just being a jerk.

This. My backup plan if any cop doubts me. Especially because 99% of the time I'm driving seems to be to and from work and I'll have my uniform on. "Sir/M'am, you are more than welcome to test this liquid with your kit. I'm in no hurry (even if I am) and I'd like my name cleared here and now if possible so I can go about my day. Thanks!"