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Barry Cooper’s Never Get Busted Again Vol. 1: Traffic Stops - A Synopsis Part 1 of 2
NOTE: This is an outline or synopsis of Barry Cooper's DVD. These are not my original thoughts or recommendations. No judgement or opinion is given as to the veracity or usefulness of Barry Cooper's advice and recommendations.
The DVD is divided into 7 sections (Introduction, Canines, Conceal Your Stash, Search And Seizure, Narcotics Profiling, Traffic Stops, and Busted) summarized below.
Introduction:
This section centers around Barry Cooper's autobiography. He joined the police force at 21 and became part of his local drug task force. He has also trained narcotic detector canines (drug dogs).
Barry discusses what made him decide he was wrong regarding busting drug users/smugglers in general and marijuana in particular. He learned what a lot of us already know - marijuana is harmless and it being illegal is political not medical in nature. He also discusses the trauma of being arrested. He admits using marijuana and has experienced the trauma and injustice of being arrested. Paraphrasing Jimmy Carter, he says when the legal ramifications outweigh the physical side-effects of drug use, we have an injustice.
Barry also mentions that the punishment for marijuana use does not fit the crime and that more and more people are becoming aware of this. Nearly half of the American population has tried marijuana.
Canines:
The right dog for narcotic detector canine is one that has a strong "ball drive" which is a dog that is naturally "psycho" about finding their ball (or other toy). The officer can scent the toy or ball with a drug and the dog will make the connection between the scent of the drug and his ball.
Barry explains the difference between human and canine noses using "stew" as an analogy. We can see the carrots, corn, peppers, etc.. in the stew but can only smell the combination: the stew. Canines can "see" the different ingredients in the stew with their noses. They smell the carrots, corn, peppers, etc... He says all this to explain that you can not "cover up" or mask the smell of drugs since canines differentiate between the odors. If you cover up the scent with a petroleum product for example, the dog smells gasoline and marijuana - not just gasoline. Masking odors does not work! This includes coffee grounds, mustard, vanilla extract, pepper, fabric softener do not mask the odor of drugs.
Also note that using a strong substance like cayenne pepper or gasoline will cause the narcotic dog to jerk back (because of the powerful scent) which will alert the narcotics officer to something being amiss.
Next Barry discusses how odor permeates its container. So hiding drugs in a gas tank will not work cause over time the odor will permeate the gas tank and a dog will detect the smell. The example he uses is sardines in a zip lock bag. He takes sardines from a can and places them in a zip lock bag at which point no sardine odor is coming from the bag. But after a couple of hours, the odor is detectable because every container is porous to one degree or another and the odor will be detectable by a trained canine. So the dog can't smell "through" anything but the odor does permeate out.
The rate of permeation is different so if you do not contaminate the outside of a container and place a drug inside the container a dog will not alert right away. But over time the odor will permeate anything. So if you are planning on carrying a few joints somewhere get a non-contaminated container (handle with latex gloves) and drop the joints in it and seal it up, a dog should not be able to detect anything for an hour or so.
Contamination should be discussed since touching an illegal substance will contaminate whatever you touch afterwards like the car door handle (and anything else you touch!) which will cause the canine to alert.
Good ideas for confusing a drug detection canine are: hiding in food (the dog handler may think the dog is just excited about food), an animal in the vehicle being searched (or just the scent of an animal), hunter's scent lures and odors (spray the tires and all around the vehicle), and even nearby roadkill can confuse a drug dog.
False alerting is a real problem in that the handling officer can use their voices (and physical cues) to cause their canines to false alert. and they can then search the vehicle. So even if you do everything right, you can still get screwed.
Conceal Your Stash:
Wear latex gloves when hiding your stash. Do not ever conceal stash on or near the exterior of a vehicle like bumpers or gas tank lids. And never conceal in plain site like ashtrays or consoles. Never hide it in the glove box. Also never hide it in a small overnight bag or luggage.
Hide your stash in hard to find places like way under the dash. Barry explains as a police officer he would reach his hand under the dash searching for a pound or more of marijuana but he would not take the trouble to search every nook and cranny for a joint or two.
Remember if it takes 15 minutes to hide your stash it could take an officer an hour or more to locate it. The more time it takes, the more likely you will be sent on your merry way.
It is a good idea to hide your stash towards the interior of your vehicle and up high if possible because canines have some difficulty smelling with their heads back (they prefer smelling with their noses towards the ground).
It is also a good idea to just carry it in your hand and eat if if you get pulled over. As Barry says - it is not illegal to smell like marijuana - it is illegal to possess marijuana. Another idea is to cut a hole in the floor to dispose of any stash through the hole in the floor. You can even hide a joint inside a straw and put it in an old food take out bag. The point being: be creative. Barry also adds that he had never arrested anyone for carrying marijuana cookies or brownies. A great way to conceal your stash.
Search And Seizure:
Three important things to keep in mind: reasonable suspicion, probable cause, and consent to search.
Reasonable suspicion is anything an officer observes that when put together causes the officer to be suspicious. Examples include, hand shaking when handing your driver's license, stories not matching between driver and passenger, a marijuana leaf key ring (or apparel), rolling papers, or anything that makes the officer think a crime is being committed. But an officer can have fifty reasonable suspicions and still can not search your vehicle without your consent. However one probable cause and the officer can search your vehicle without your consent. Keep all reasonable suspicion items at home or concealed.
Probable cause is when the officer detects that a crime is being committed in his presence. Examples include: smell of marijuana, a seed on the floor, a roach in the ashtray, drug paraphernalia, etc... Once the officer has probable cause, he can search your vehicle without consent.
Unlike most advice given, Barry recommends giving the officer consent to search if asked (provided you're "clean" or your stash is well concealed). Here's why - when someone refuses consent to search, the officer immediately knows that there is something in the vehicle that the driver doesn't want him to see. Once you refuse consent, the officer will try to detain you as long as it takes to find something and will most likely call in the canine unit. He will also call in other officers to figure out a way to get in the car and do a detailed search. Also note that the officer can do a weapons pat down of you and your vehicle without consent and anything the officer finds during a pat down is admissible as evidence.
If you give the officer consent, he will most likely do a cursory search and will send you on your way - provided he finds nothing that arouses suspicion.
END OF PART 1 of 2
NOTE: This is an outline or synopsis of Barry Cooper's DVD. These are not my original thoughts or recommendations. No judgement or opinion is given as to the veracity or usefulness of Barry Cooper's advice and recommendations.
The DVD is divided into 7 sections (Introduction, Canines, Conceal Your Stash, Search And Seizure, Narcotics Profiling, Traffic Stops, and Busted) summarized below.
Introduction:
This section centers around Barry Cooper's autobiography. He joined the police force at 21 and became part of his local drug task force. He has also trained narcotic detector canines (drug dogs).
Barry discusses what made him decide he was wrong regarding busting drug users/smugglers in general and marijuana in particular. He learned what a lot of us already know - marijuana is harmless and it being illegal is political not medical in nature. He also discusses the trauma of being arrested. He admits using marijuana and has experienced the trauma and injustice of being arrested. Paraphrasing Jimmy Carter, he says when the legal ramifications outweigh the physical side-effects of drug use, we have an injustice.
Barry also mentions that the punishment for marijuana use does not fit the crime and that more and more people are becoming aware of this. Nearly half of the American population has tried marijuana.
Canines:
The right dog for narcotic detector canine is one that has a strong "ball drive" which is a dog that is naturally "psycho" about finding their ball (or other toy). The officer can scent the toy or ball with a drug and the dog will make the connection between the scent of the drug and his ball.
Barry explains the difference between human and canine noses using "stew" as an analogy. We can see the carrots, corn, peppers, etc.. in the stew but can only smell the combination: the stew. Canines can "see" the different ingredients in the stew with their noses. They smell the carrots, corn, peppers, etc... He says all this to explain that you can not "cover up" or mask the smell of drugs since canines differentiate between the odors. If you cover up the scent with a petroleum product for example, the dog smells gasoline and marijuana - not just gasoline. Masking odors does not work! This includes coffee grounds, mustard, vanilla extract, pepper, fabric softener do not mask the odor of drugs.
Also note that using a strong substance like cayenne pepper or gasoline will cause the narcotic dog to jerk back (because of the powerful scent) which will alert the narcotics officer to something being amiss.
Next Barry discusses how odor permeates its container. So hiding drugs in a gas tank will not work cause over time the odor will permeate the gas tank and a dog will detect the smell. The example he uses is sardines in a zip lock bag. He takes sardines from a can and places them in a zip lock bag at which point no sardine odor is coming from the bag. But after a couple of hours, the odor is detectable because every container is porous to one degree or another and the odor will be detectable by a trained canine. So the dog can't smell "through" anything but the odor does permeate out.
The rate of permeation is different so if you do not contaminate the outside of a container and place a drug inside the container a dog will not alert right away. But over time the odor will permeate anything. So if you are planning on carrying a few joints somewhere get a non-contaminated container (handle with latex gloves) and drop the joints in it and seal it up, a dog should not be able to detect anything for an hour or so.
Contamination should be discussed since touching an illegal substance will contaminate whatever you touch afterwards like the car door handle (and anything else you touch!) which will cause the canine to alert.
Good ideas for confusing a drug detection canine are: hiding in food (the dog handler may think the dog is just excited about food), an animal in the vehicle being searched (or just the scent of an animal), hunter's scent lures and odors (spray the tires and all around the vehicle), and even nearby roadkill can confuse a drug dog.
False alerting is a real problem in that the handling officer can use their voices (and physical cues) to cause their canines to false alert. and they can then search the vehicle. So even if you do everything right, you can still get screwed.
Conceal Your Stash:
Wear latex gloves when hiding your stash. Do not ever conceal stash on or near the exterior of a vehicle like bumpers or gas tank lids. And never conceal in plain site like ashtrays or consoles. Never hide it in the glove box. Also never hide it in a small overnight bag or luggage.
Hide your stash in hard to find places like way under the dash. Barry explains as a police officer he would reach his hand under the dash searching for a pound or more of marijuana but he would not take the trouble to search every nook and cranny for a joint or two.
Remember if it takes 15 minutes to hide your stash it could take an officer an hour or more to locate it. The more time it takes, the more likely you will be sent on your merry way.
It is a good idea to hide your stash towards the interior of your vehicle and up high if possible because canines have some difficulty smelling with their heads back (they prefer smelling with their noses towards the ground).
It is also a good idea to just carry it in your hand and eat if if you get pulled over. As Barry says - it is not illegal to smell like marijuana - it is illegal to possess marijuana. Another idea is to cut a hole in the floor to dispose of any stash through the hole in the floor. You can even hide a joint inside a straw and put it in an old food take out bag. The point being: be creative. Barry also adds that he had never arrested anyone for carrying marijuana cookies or brownies. A great way to conceal your stash.
Search And Seizure:
Three important things to keep in mind: reasonable suspicion, probable cause, and consent to search.
Reasonable suspicion is anything an officer observes that when put together causes the officer to be suspicious. Examples include, hand shaking when handing your driver's license, stories not matching between driver and passenger, a marijuana leaf key ring (or apparel), rolling papers, or anything that makes the officer think a crime is being committed. But an officer can have fifty reasonable suspicions and still can not search your vehicle without your consent. However one probable cause and the officer can search your vehicle without your consent. Keep all reasonable suspicion items at home or concealed.
Probable cause is when the officer detects that a crime is being committed in his presence. Examples include: smell of marijuana, a seed on the floor, a roach in the ashtray, drug paraphernalia, etc... Once the officer has probable cause, he can search your vehicle without consent.
Unlike most advice given, Barry recommends giving the officer consent to search if asked (provided you're "clean" or your stash is well concealed). Here's why - when someone refuses consent to search, the officer immediately knows that there is something in the vehicle that the driver doesn't want him to see. Once you refuse consent, the officer will try to detain you as long as it takes to find something and will most likely call in the canine unit. He will also call in other officers to figure out a way to get in the car and do a detailed search. Also note that the officer can do a weapons pat down of you and your vehicle without consent and anything the officer finds during a pat down is admissible as evidence.
If you give the officer consent, he will most likely do a cursory search and will send you on your way - provided he finds nothing that arouses suspicion.
END OF PART 1 of 2
, p. 57.
