Illegal Traffic Stop, Unlawful Arrest - June 9, 2023
- 9 months ago
On June 9th, 2023, a Caldwell Parish Sheriff's Office deputy stopped a pickup truck pulling a trailer, and arrested the driver on charges of no registration, no insurance, and "when lighted lamps are required." That last one is interesting because the stop occurred at 10 o'clock in the morning, and to my recollection, weather conditions weren't such that lighted lamps were required.
The deputy did not admit that the vehicle was pulling a trailer which had a visible and valid license plate, until after he had arrested the driver. This deputy has a history of stopping people just because their trailer obstructs the deputy's view of the truck's plate, which, y'know, trailers do. Digging into Louisiana law, merely having a trailer attached to a pickup truck doesn't violate the state's Display Of Plates law, and isn't a lawful reason to conduct a traffic stop. This hesitancy to admit the presence of the trailer, indicates he knew the stop was bogus from the beginning. There would've never been any mention of the trailer had he not found any reason to arrest the driver.
The lighted lamps charge was bogus as stated above, and was only included to sorta cover the fact that this was an unlawful traffic stop and an unlawful arrest. The deputies involved in this are known to lie including on arrest documents. He knew that all evidence obtained by unlawful means (like during an unlawful traffic stop) is inadmissible in court, so he couldn't admit that he stopped the person simply because they were pulling a trailer.
On the other hand, had the deputy been honest and found a way to read the truck's plate (which was expired and switched) before stopping it, this video would not exist. The stop and arrest still would've happened, but the stop would've been legal, the charges would all be lawful, and the deputy wouldn't have had to commit multiple felonies to justify the stop. Sure seems to me like it's easier (and cheaper in the long run) to just be a good and honest cop instead of a bad one.
The deputy did not admit that the vehicle was pulling a trailer which had a visible and valid license plate, until after he had arrested the driver. This deputy has a history of stopping people just because their trailer obstructs the deputy's view of the truck's plate, which, y'know, trailers do. Digging into Louisiana law, merely having a trailer attached to a pickup truck doesn't violate the state's Display Of Plates law, and isn't a lawful reason to conduct a traffic stop. This hesitancy to admit the presence of the trailer, indicates he knew the stop was bogus from the beginning. There would've never been any mention of the trailer had he not found any reason to arrest the driver.
The lighted lamps charge was bogus as stated above, and was only included to sorta cover the fact that this was an unlawful traffic stop and an unlawful arrest. The deputies involved in this are known to lie including on arrest documents. He knew that all evidence obtained by unlawful means (like during an unlawful traffic stop) is inadmissible in court, so he couldn't admit that he stopped the person simply because they were pulling a trailer.
On the other hand, had the deputy been honest and found a way to read the truck's plate (which was expired and switched) before stopping it, this video would not exist. The stop and arrest still would've happened, but the stop would've been legal, the charges would all be lawful, and the deputy wouldn't have had to commit multiple felonies to justify the stop. Sure seems to me like it's easier (and cheaper in the long run) to just be a good and honest cop instead of a bad one.