Was Mayo-Ped Stop and Search Legal?

[XLFD]

The Mason County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) made a drug bust yesterday which is usually a great thing, but aspects of it appear troubling when looking at the overall rights of individuals stopped by a police agency.  The report is short and found it's way to MCSO's number one fan in the media biz, the MCP:

Alleged heroin dealer on moped arrested.  LUDINGTON – A 24-year-old Ludington man was arrested Monday, Aug. 26, around noon after he was stopped at James Street and Ludington Avenue by a Mason County sheriff’s deputy for failure to signal a turn on a moped, said Mason County Sheriff Kim Cole.
“He was found to be in possession of numerous ‘bindles’ of heroin,” Cole said. [END of article]

Brevity isn't always the best policy when describing an incident like this.  The first thing I noticed was that the man was stopped for not using a turn signal at the T-intersection of James & Ludington, and if he was coming up James (as I infer from the wording) , he would have been either in a dedicated left or dedicated right turn lane and his intentions should have been known without signaling.

It is technically, however, against the law when on a vehicle or bicycle to not signal a turn even when in a dedicated turn lane (see MCL 257.648) and Michigan's highest court has ruled that one must signal lane changes as well due to the wording of the statute.  

So stopping him for not signaling a turn could have been proper and issuing a civil infraction on a ticket was allowable, but it seems rather heavy-handed and unfair given all the other vehicle traffic in the area who don't signal coming off James Street (check it out sometime).  The sticky point comes from the transition of a traffic citation to finding heroin on him.

Nothing leads us to presume that the MCSO deputy had a drug-sniffing dog present, so how did they locate bindles on his person or on the moped, and what was their reasonable suspicion or probable cause for investigating beyond the traffic no-no?

One would think that if the bindles were in plain sight, that they would mention it in the report, especially when it would make the man look pretty stupid and the MCSO very observant.  Nor does the report say the man volunteered any information.  Which leads one to believe that they were in a bag or some other carrier that was either on the man or his mo-ped (or as in the title, his mayo-ped, 'mayo' being one of many slang terms of 'heroin').

Zero reasons seem to be given for that escalation, which is troubling because the neglected signal gave the deputy reasonable suspicion for the officer to stop a vehicle (a seizure).  It doesn't otherwise give them a probable cause to search his person or his vehicle any further, other than perhaps to see whether his mechanical turn signals were operational.

Lacking this, if the search was improper and unlawful, and if the man turns out to be smart and hires a good attorney, he may find himself free, and earning himself a bit of money for his rights being violated.  Sadly, he may wind up making bad choices again, kind of like a sheriff's office that doesn't train its deputies to be aware of and observe the rights of all individuals and suspects. 

[David Gibbs]

Sounds like a sccent team bust.  The undercover drug team in Mason County needs to end.  We need to growup and end the failed war on drugs/people.  https://drive.google.com/open?id=1y1GUsDWie6L0ztedRBzC-3ESv1LJ1SZx

[XLFD]

Interesting letter.  Wouldn't be surprised if this was a SSCENT sting operation where they suspected this person might be carrying illegal drugs (where they had let an undercover agent artificially create the opportunity in selling the man the heroin), and invented a traffic infraction in order to conduct an unlawful search of his person or moped.  

The police can have a part in controlling the drug problem, but they shouldn't be the ones enforcing Draconian drug laws after selling or furnishing the drugs themselves in unlawful sting operations.  They then become part of a bigger problem.

[stump]

  Very interesting story and a learning experience for me. Not being in the drug culture I learned today that Heroin is rapped in Bindles,only time I have seen those was on TV,  secondly , I thought Mayo was used on my bologna sandwich.  Nice  picture of a Mo-ped by the way. I seen the Sheriffs vehicle with it's lights flashing facing south on the corner of James and Ludington ave. the other day with a moped in front of it. I then wondered why the Sheriff patrol would be pulling over a moped in the city.   Sccent team bust for sure.

[Willy]

If the stop was legal then what's the problem? This guy wasn't carrying a pocket full of change. It was heroin and that should concern everyone. We''re not talking about a baby faced teenager but a 24 year old adult who should know the difference between right and wrong. I sympathize with David's letter writer and can understand wrongly using police power in negative way but comparing the pot using student in the letter with a heroin criminal is comparing apples to oranges. If anyone noticed, the drug raids described in the letter were announced in advanced so it gave students a chance to do some locker cleaning. I don't know the answer to stupid behavior when it comes to drug use but giving drug use a green light because some people get caught in the legal trap who may or may not have been true criminals doesn't make much sense.

[David Gibbs]

Willy,  Drugs are a problem and will always be a public health issue.  The issue that I'm bringing to light is the fact that drugs in the United States are stronger, more available and cheaper than ever, even though we have packed our prisons with more people than any other country on the planet.  This should lead any rational person to conclude that the WAR ON DRUGS is a complete failure.  Meanwhile we have allowed one of the most profitable industries in the world (big pharma) to profit off of the killing of tens of thousands of people a years.  The entire system is corrupt and does not protect the individual or our communities.  We can never stop the stupid behavior of individuals but we can demand that our govenrment conducts our business with integrity and use our limited resources to educate and help people rather than waste resources on failed strategies and tactics.  If given a choice we would have fired the government long ago for their epic failure with regard to this important issue.

[Willy]

It all comes down to personal responsibility. Depending on the Government, I agree, is not the answer. Drug companies are in the business of making profits. If people abuse those drugs it certainly is not the companies fault. Pharmaceutical companies have saved millions of lives with the research and production of medicines, lives that can contribute to society.  To much Government involvement is the true nature of the corruption.

[David Gibbs]

Interesting..  Corporations have no "personal responsibility"?  Because they save lives?  Just look the other way?  That is the true nature of corruption..  

[Willy]

How many lives have drug cartels saved?

[David Gibbs]

Again, very interesting response..

[XLFD]

Great, thought-provoking discussion, gentlemen.  It reminds me of something Hamlet might say today: "The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the corporation."