Drug Dog Searches: Are They Legal? A Former Prosecutor Explains! (2021)

[@datroof2262]

Here is a problem with drug dogs that I rarely see discussed (and note I have a PhD in Cognitive Psychology, which is relevant). I saw this on an episode of one of those police-ride-along shows. The cop says to the driver "This dog only has one job, to sniff out narcotics". My immediate thought was, bull! The dog has TWO jobs, and sniffing narcotics is the secondary, NOT primary job of the dog! What is the dog's primary job? To please the owner and get rewarded! Have you EVER seen a cop "reward" a dog that didn't alert? Never! Drug dogs get rewarded for one activity and one activity only - alerting on the vehicle. Dogs don't care (or know) if they correctly alerted or not and they sure get "rewarded" no matter if the alert was based on there actually BEING drugs in the vehicle. So realize that the drug dogs do not care if drugs are in the car, they care about being rewarded and they're only rewarded upon alerting. So what does the dog learn? To alert. That's it.

[@totallyjonesin]

Canine cops should not exist, period.

[@ronnieitaquab1008]

There is many flaws in drug dogs because very few can prove that it works and they violate due process by not providing the dogs accuracy in court

[@comedyhypno]

Here is the reason why drug dogs are so inaccurate in the field: they are rewarded when they alert and not when they don’t. That is absolutely bad training and conditioning. This is a much bigger deal than the dog being tipped by their handler. Would really be great to see the courts step up in this area.

[@justinjackson4073]

I had a drug dog go around my car twice and not so much as even perk up a little bit but then the cop slapped that toy on my hood and yanked the dogs chain making it yelp a little bit and said it alerted. That dog didn't alert he hurt that dog and called it reason to search. They didn't find anything because there never was anything but they improperly used the dog to violate my rights.

[@comedyhypno]

@@justinjackson4073 -- I hope you contact an attorney and explore all of your options.

[@Rowgue51]

Even without those factors the dogs themselves are unreliable. This has been demonstrated in many studies that isolate those variables out of the testing, and the dogs still perform at a rate worse than someone simply making random guesses.

[@ronnieitaquab1008]

When their wrong nobody is held accountable

[@dreece2000]

Ugh, I went through a road block, and then the motivated cops made me get out with dogs already on the spot, the dog scratched the car, don’t know what the signal was, but I had to sit in police car for several hours while they tore my car up.

[@Aluze]

The dogs can be made to "alert" to everything or nothing. They're useful, I'm sure, but I feel half their job is to manufacture "probable cause" from thin air anytime they want to violate your rights

[@kirbylee57]

You're right, cops often play dirty. I was pulled over, and the dog was there in five minutes (small town). I was standing behind my truck, and they said the dog alerted in front of my truck. They found some syringes in a back pack, in the back of my truck along with another person legal papers, and a pair of boots three sizes smaller than what I wear, obviously not my mine. I was arrested anyway for possession of an instrament of crime and something else , forgot. Point is the dog couldnt hit on the front of my truck if something like a syringe was in the bed. They just said he did. They can do what they want, and do!

[@gregoryharvey7632]

Why would a police Officer train a dog to falsely alert on a vehicle just to not find anything that’s pointless

[@johna3607]

When they need, they just say "I smell marijuana" to get probable cause.

[@johnnyblade6088]

@Kirby Exactly!

[@Smellslikegelfling]

@@gregoryharvey7632 The point is that making the dog alert is a free ticket to searching anyone they please. They use the dog to get around your constitutional rights.

[@freethinker3161]

I think it's absolutely crazy that we let animals make Fourth Amendment decisions on the side of the road. It's unbelievable that this ever was legal. Imagine if I told you I have a penguin that can tell me if you're a good lawyer or not. Not to mention all the evidence that these dogs are not that good in uncontrolled environments. Hopefully one day the Supreme Court will take up the case because it's absolutely insane that if the human officers can't get in my car will get a dog to say whether or not they can.

[@jimmoravec1326]

They can make up a reason to pull you over. Always record when your being pulled over.

[@jesspeters1611]

They ALWAYS claim they smell mirajuana.

[@shivasirons6159]

Ive kept a count, 1-67, ive seen 67 dog hits and only once was illegal contraband found! 4 th amendment? It was nice while it lasted!

[@batmandeltaforce]

Demand to cross-examine the dog, on the stand:) “the accused shall enjoy the right . . . to be confronted with the witnesses against him . . .” ...Sixth Amendment

[@northernbrother1258]

The police also train dogs to "alert" on their secret command as an excuse to search you.

[@tonygristina4860]

The actual question of 'drug dogs' is its violation of the Sixth Amendment. You cannot confront a dog as a witness against you nor can you demand that the dog show its expertise in real time with a neutral handler not providing the dog with non-verbal clues to give a preferred response.

[@briceyokem9236]

One thing which is omitted here is, the Officer can interpret the dog's behavior, not matter how the dog acts, to mean narcotics are present.

[@samuelemeryjiujitsu]

The reward issue is the main issue. They dont get hyped up if they dont find something.

[@freethinker3161]

Hey can you please cite the studies about the dogs. The one that had the 27% rate. I'm trying to look into them.

[@jerman500]

Sounds like he had a bad lawyer. If he had to appeal!😮

[@leswalker2639]

We appreciate this great information with someone with authority other than the cops barking orders at us. Thank you so much for this video.

[@fulghamlawfirm2254]

My pleasure!

[@leswalker2639]

@@fulghamlawfirm2254 we all appreciate you educating many of us because there is too much false information out there.

[@stevischermi6409]

27%?? WOW.... I'm a dog trainer, handler for over 70 years. I'm surprised at the numbers. Holy crap. I know about cue the dog.

[@bigd3104]

Dogs are fine. It's the badged thugs "controlling" them that are the problem. They can, and do, cue the dogs to "hit" on a vehicle, no doubt. Their "can I search your vehicle" fix is second only to their "can I see your ID" fix. A friend of mine was stopped for speeding (legitimately) and the officer gave him the option of either a ticket or letting him search his vehicle. He let him search, found nothing, and didn't receive a ticket. So the deputy got his ID and search "fix".

[@garypierce7380]

What gives Judge Kilo the authority to bark a warrant? Is that in the Constitution?

[@maximomorales9563]

"All laws which are repugnant to the Constitution are null and void." Marbury vs. Madison, 5 US (2 Cranch) 137, 174, 176, (1803)

[@randykelly1595]

Ok say the dog was cued,they find drugs,or just paraphernalia,you go to jail,bond out,go to court,cased is thrown out,can you sue for the bond cost and lawyer fees?

[@MarcusP52]

Hell, if they know it's a "drug house," why don't they just bust the drug house?

[@shivasirons6159]

I have no problem taking a fst, but the test that cops administer are actually AGILITY test! If you have bad balance all of a sudden you're drinking and driving? A true field sobriety test would simply be to talk with the driver for ,5 or 6 minutes, if you can't tell if they're fit to drive after that then i assure you they're fit to drive!

[@119Agent]

In my area they never use a field sobriety test. They only talk to you and your behavior is what they use for probable cause of a DUI. Exercising your rights is seen as a sign of NOT being under the influence.

[@cmann517]

Thanks

[@ronnieitaquab1008]

4th amendment and Due process is a myth in Illinois

[@williambock1821]

My favorite stories are from methadone patients. Cops sometimes pull them over when they leave the clinic(for whatever they can)and charge them for driving under influence if they say they just received their medication. Those type of cases are getting more rare thankfully because of the “opioid epidemic”. Harassing addicts is a great way to get arrests and their subsequent promotions.

[@Roger8176]

Thats messed up. I don't know how they feel good about what they do for a living sometimes.

[@donreddell1439]

What about border patrol checkpoints (90 miles from border) can they use a drug dog without reasonable suspicion to free air sniff some cars traveling through ? It's seems they use them to false alert to get probable cause to then do a all out search. Then not find anything but in some cases they do such as hiding humans, drugs etc.... need a video on these circumstances and conditions.

[@karenvanderwall9991]

It didn’t talk about field sobriety test

[@Rowgue51]

While the courts say they're legal, they clearly shouldn't be.

[@dankoeling7676]

Can the dog put it's paws on your car. Does this make it a illegal search?

[@MDRM68]

Correction, one does NOT have to be a US citizen to be protected by the constitution..the ONLY REQUIREMENT is that the person is on US soil..they don't even have to be there legally..once you are on US soil, you are AFFORDED ALL PROTECTIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION..

[@DAGO16X23]

How do we know that the dog signals?! it could do anything and they say the dog alerted. And what did it do wink..

[@willbain9130]

Exactly! I refused a search once, they had a dog there in about 20 minutes......ran the dog around and told me he alerted......I looked him dead in the eyes and went through the known alerts, I told him "that dog didn't sniff the air, didn't bark, didn't sit, didn't scratch, nothing! He was more interested in the cars going by than my car!" .....His reply to me....."His alert is a head nod".....A f&$@ing head nod?! Needless to say the K9 prick cop said he "found a piece of meth the size of a BB" on my floorboard and arrested me with my absolutely squeaky clean record.....but since I recorded the entire thing on my phone, I lawyered up and they threw the case out. I asked my lawyer during our victory lunch if I could sue them, his exact words were "are you ready to move across the country, and still be harassed by LEO's? If you are, then your best bet is to see what lawyers in other states MIGHT take the case, because none living within 5 counties will take yours." So I didn't pursue that idea.

[@georgehathcoat4011]

Nope. DOT. At a hospital

[@richardnorthern6945]

How often do cop plant ???

[@stevischermi6409]

I've got two German shepherds in my vehicle, working dogs, I'm 83 and travel between towns. The drug dog will be alerting to the dogs in my van. BTW I've no drugs in my van. I'm not sickly.

[@sethmartin4499]

What if your stoped by a k9 handler therefore after givi license insurance waiting for ticket for pasing white line when trying to get into turning lane. He ssked me to go stand beside psrtners car he is doing free sir sniff i continued asking why he wanted his dog to sniff the sir sround my car he simply ssid because he can

[@DanLoFat]

No that's I submit that having drug dogs ready for that purpose so that it doesn't take any time to get the drug dog therefore it doesn't extend the traffic stop to a reasonable amount of time however that I believe is not only pretext but I believe that is pretty crime of what if situation which is not defensible by the state, what do we call that?

[@onlyme112]

The background music is a bit distracting.

[@DanLoFat]

Now the certain types of cleaning products and Etc one could surmise unless that is something that you would ordinarily carry in your vehicle on the regular, that could be a good lead a smart officer to think that maybe you're doing that on purpose too and how long do you have and a cop would not be allowed to remove those items in order to make it easier for the drug dog to sniff, at least I can't do that legally now. It's sort of like the burglar tool effect if there's a burglary in the area and your car has generally matches the description or you're just particularly in an area and then plain sight tools that would be used for the mercury in question are in the vehicle that could be probable cause to investigate and perhaps arrest someone for possibly being involved in that recent burglary in that area.

[@Smellslikegelfling]

Police know about all of these laws of course, and they know how to create loop holes. Here's the real deal: They can fabricate any reason to give them cause to pull you over. "You crossed over a solid line" or "you changed lanes without a signal" are very common excuses. Even if you have a dash cam to prove them wrong in court, you are still out time and money to go through the system. And if they don't charge you with anything, very few people are going to have the money to sue police over a civil rights violation. Another thing police have started doing is setting up on the side of the highway with a K9 ready to go. They pull you over with a fabricated story about atraffic infraction, but they're not even there for traffic enforcement. They're part of a crime interdiction or drug interdiction unit. The K9 pulls in right behind them after they pull you over, and they will gleefully inform you that you're totally within your rights to refuse a search. They want you to refuse, because then they get to bring out another toy to practice with. And the dog will absolutely alert upon command. So now police have "legally" obtained probable cause to do a warrantless search of your vehicle. Even if you're totally innocent and have nothing illegal whatsoever, you will be detained on the side of the road for half an hour while they vandalize your vehicle looking for that juicy reward. And they do this to dozens of innocent people all day long until they get lucky and hit maybe one or two people with drugs or whatever. This is why drug dogs need to be outlawed.

[@MommeeMadre1]

I'm a T-totaller. I'm a fulltime RVer so I'm in my home as i travel. I'm also highly allergic to dogs. Question: If a search dog mistakenly hits on my vehicle or RV, am i allowed to refuse the search? I know I don't have drugs/ explosives, but I'll never be able to completely rid my home of dog hair afterward which may result in ER visits.

[@fulghamlawfirm2254]

You can always refuse the search. However, if they believe the dog alert establishes probable cause for illegal substances, they will search your RV regardless of your consent. Hope this helps

[@DanLoFat]

I'm going to have to put a couple of caveats in there you can't if a dog is assigned to a particular public area as part of General duties then yes that does not constitute a search however if a dog is brought in specifically, I want a dog would not normally be assigned or to a library, that does constitute a search. Also in a traffic stop while a cop can request a the dog to come on scene as long as you do not consent and maintain the non-consent whatever is found after the dog might hit can still be thrown out of evidence in court.

[@gdesigngroup3287]

Cayenne Pepper 🌶 Nuff said

[@Roger8176]

No it won't. Once the dog hits your consent means nothing.

[@119Agent]

A dog hit typically provides acceptable probable cause, assuming they did not detain you for an unreasonable amount if time.

[@IXxKINGxXI]

This video made me subscribe

[@traceyduffy3849]

I have a question: my friend is currently sitting in a federal jail waiting trial for drug possession. He was pulled over because when be turned out of a driveway he went into the second lane instead if the first one the cop ran his license and he had a suspended DL now the time of the stop was 11:35 am and the dog was already there sniffing at 12:01pm was that fast were they waiting for him. How long does it usually take for the officer to make the stop get the drivers information go to the car and run it go back to the car and arrest him and the dog show up.

[@shawnmccarty6923]

If they where arrested for driving without a DL then they didn't need dog or permission to search it would be validated by the arrest

[@shivasirons6159]

Btw, what if the cop ran the dog in front of your house and the dog hits?

[@davidpotts3844]

bottom line is police want to search they will search regardless, refusal and they will make one up. The way out for police is I smelled something. The main question with drug dog alert. Did you possess or smoke pot recently say yes and you are getting searched. So you will spend 1000's to beat any charge so they did their job and made you pay an attorney out the nose

[@ryanhardin822]

Can police use a drug dog to search your vehicle if you have a dog in your vehicle already thats riding with you?

[@119Agent]

Yes.

[@bgee5098]

Still ill cost you thousands of dollar... and the case is dropped

[@gdesigngroup3287]

Cayenne Pepper everywhere.... Nuff said

[@Roger8176]

Hopefully it'll short circuit that f*#kers olfactory system for the rest of its days.

[@thisorthat4195]

WHAT studies ?!? Cite your sources.

[@BillyJack85]

4th amendment < dog

[@shivasirons6159]

S big deal!, The cop will " just say, " he smelled marijuana. And goodbye 4 th amendment!

[@jesseknaub8442]

All these dogs need removed.anyway you can.

[@wacmack]

🐷

[@stevischermi6409]

Dogs are fallible. Yes, NOT always accurate.

[@datroof2262]

Let me change your sentence...."Yes, NOT usually accurate" They are not just inaccurate, the dogs are completely wrong a vast, vast majority of the time.