Checkpoints in Mobile Alabama

[liberalmike27]

I'm just wondering if any other cities are experiencing the near Soviet conditions we've been having here in Alabama. They've started having these checkpoints. They set about 15 of them throughout town, and ask for registration, license, and insurance cards. Even though they say these checks are constitutional, it seems to me it is an approach to law enforcement that only alienates people from the police.

If that wasn't bad enough, that they pull everyone over, without any probable cause whatsoever, and ask for these things, they also randomly pull people to the side and search their cars, based totally and subjectively on the guy who checks the paperwork. If the checkpoint isn't illegal, it would seem these searches certainly fall on the illegal side.

Mayor Mike Dow, as far as I know, never attacked the public in this way. By the way, at this point I should mention I voted for Jones, the new mayor. I figured he was most qualified, but I had no idea he'd set up this kind of cold-war type situation here. Another measure he's taken is writing more tickets, which I can say anecdotally is a bad thing, since once again he is attacking the public to gain funds. Some estimates published have him writing from 33-50 percent more tickets than the previous administration. And what does he do, other than the checkpoints? He's buying $6000 Segway scooters so the police on the beat can ride instead of walking.

Being a guy who has had a car stolen, and two burglaries in the last ten years or so, and having none of them resolved, I have to say that I would much rather see this money spent on placing some cars with kill switches to catch car thieves, or staking out the a couple of the many fast food joints that are being robbed. It doesn't help any that I got a highly questionable ticket for an "improper" lane change for which I had to pay $137. I was going about 20 mph, and slipped between two cars, both also mimicking my speed. Unfortunately the car behind slammed on the accelerator and nearly rear-ended me what was, I guess, his pursuit of his quota. By the way, I'm not the type to think I don't deserve every ticket. I got a lot of them early in life, but rarely do I get one these days. This was clearly an over-zealous constable in an unmarked car trying to get some sort of quota in. I blinked, looked, and changed, it was low speed and I had the minimum distance on each side. Truth is the constable made it dangerous by nearly rear-ending me. Millions of this type of lane-change are made each day in Alabama without incident, and I'd venture to say a lot of folks don't look or blink.

I know some of you are familiar with the concept; actually try to catch criminals, go after criminal activity. I see this as entirely better than alienating everyone by treating them as a criminal, searching cars without cause, and generally turning the public against law enforcement. I won't be voting for Jones next time and I wish the ACLU or somebody would sue the city into stopping this type of behavior. Our money can be more wisely spent to directly address law-enforcement needs.

[shance]

1. Thank you for posting. Are Mobilians protesting this occupied behavior??

Why are they saying the checkpoints are being used?

[liberalmike27]

2. They

Basically they are checking our "papers". Clearly it is a pretext to take a look at, and search any given car based strictly on the subjective opinion of the person reviewing papers. There is no particular crime involved, and they aren't looking to find a certain person. It is a wide sweep that isn't so far from the house to house searches without a warrant.

I don't care for it, and see it as just another thing that is destroying America, a threat far worse than terrorists, as threats from within often are.