Police are using fake drug checkpoints to illegaly detain and question citizens

Mayfield Heights, Ohio - Police in the Cleveland suburb of Mayfield Heights know they're not allowed to use checkpoints to search drivers and their cars for drugs.

So they're trying the next best thing: fake drug checkpoints.

Police in the city of 19,000 recently posted large yellow signs along Interstate 271 that warned drivers that there was a drug checkpoint ahead, to be prepared to stop and that there was a drug-sniffing police dog in use.

There was no such checkpoint, just police officers waiting to see if any drivers would react suspiciously after seeing the signs.

Authorities say that four people were stopped, with some arrests and drugs seized. They declined to be more specific.

The Plain Dealer in Cleveland reports that some civil rights leaders and at least one person pulled over by police are questioning the tactic, wondering if it could violate the Fourth Amendment against unlawful searches and seizures.

"I don't think it accomplishes any public safety goals," said Terry Gilbert, a prominent Cleveland civil rights attorney. "I don't think it's good to mislead the population for any reason if you're a government agency."

Nick Worner, a spokesman for the Cleveland office of the American Civil Liberties Union, said his office will be looking further into the fake checkpoints to determine whether anyone's rights may be being violated.

A 2000 U.S. Supreme Court ruling said actual drug checkpoints are not legal and that police can randomly stop cars for just two reasons: to prevent immigrants without legal permission to be in the U.S. and contraband from entering the country and to get drunk drivers off the road.

It's unclear how that ruling would apply to a fake drug checkpoint or whether any other police department in the nation has used similar tactics
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/30/fake-drug-checkpoints-_n_3525697.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/ohio-police-department-using-fake-drug-checkpoints-to-identify-suspicious-drivers-search-cars/2013/06/30/fe3497fe-e19d-11e2-8657-fdff0c195a79_story.html

Drug and DWI checkpoints by the Missouri Bar:
http://www.mobar.org/uploadedFiles/Home/Committees/Local_Government_Committee/Resources/drug-and-dwi-checkpoints.pdf 

The Roadblock Registry: 
This is a collection of court cases that pertain to roadblocks at both the federal and state levels.
http://www.roadblock.org/cases/

Drug checkpoint on U.S. 36 to Boulder nabs nearly a pound of marijuana:

Colorado - Last August, we told you about a drug enforcement checkpoint on I-25 by the Westminster Police Department. This narcotics-centric variation on DUI checkpoints moved to a new location Tuesday night: U.S. Highway 36 to Boulder. And it spawned a felony arrest, for possession of nearly a pound's worth of marijuana.

As we reported last summer, the first drug checkpoint, conducted near the 144th Avenue exit on I-25, resulted in 32 vehicles being stopped over a five-hour period, with five summonses being dispensed - four for driving with a license that had been restrained or suspended, and one related to possession of marijuana by someone with an expired patient-registry card.

At this point, there's no regular schedule for more drug checkpoints, which are still being analyzed from several angles, Investigator Trevor Materasso, spokesman for the Westminster Police says. In his view, "I don't think law enforcement can determine the effectiveness of a resource or tool by simply using it a few times."

He points to DUI checkpoints, whose locations are often changed based on the number of drunk drivers found to use a certain road and the times when they commonly travel. Regarding drug checkpoints, "we've only used two locations so far: I-25 and the Boulder turnpike. So we need to determine the most effective way to utilize this tool, as well as the most effective locations."
In other words, don't expect Tuesday's drug checkpoint to be the last one conducted by the Westminster Police Department.
http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2012/06/drug_checkpoint_highway_36_boulder_marijuana.php
  
Drug enforcement checkpoint on I-25: Five tickets, two arrests out of 32 stops (2011)

Colorado - On August 9, the Westminster Police Department manned a "DRUG ENFORCEMENT CHECKPOINT" on I-25. Last week, WPD Investigator Trevor Materasso confirmed the operation, but didn't have many details. Now, however, he's able to provide the specifics. Officers issued tickets or made arrests in just over 20 percent of the total stops, uncovering a potpourri of drugs and cash in the process.

According to Materasso, the checkpoint took place from 6:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. on the 9th, with officers stationed near the 144th Avenue exit. During that five-hour period, "we made contact with 32 different vehicles," Materasso says, "and we issued five summonses, or traffic tickets."
http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2011/08/drug_enforcement_checkpoint_i_25.php

For more about illegal checkpoints checkout the Roadblock Revelations blog:
https://www.checkpointusa.org/blog/index.php