Based on a true story:
Traffic stop for a presumably lawful violation. While rookie is speaking with the driver, partner/FTO walks K-9 around the vehicle, which is a rental car. K-9 indicates for the presence of drugs and a search is performed without consent. Search reveals a trunk full of an exotic drug, which the K-9 is not certified to detect. No other contraband was found..class A felony charges follow. Is this a legal search?
My thoughts as I replayed these events:
-They might have been smoking weed on the trip
-The unusual drug may have been in close contact with other common drugs
-the officers were still acting on probable cause based on a k-9 indication regardless of what was found
Counter thoughts:
-A K-9 will indicate on a majority of rental cars
-or, how can the dog hit on something it's not certified to detect; it's gotta get tossed out
-I've nevere even seen that stuff before
Traffic stop for a presumably lawful violation. While rookie is speaking with the driver, partner/FTO walks K-9 around the vehicle, which is a rental car. K-9 indicates for the presence of drugs and a search is performed without consent. Search reveals a trunk full of an exotic drug, which the K-9 is not certified to detect. No other contraband was found..class A felony charges follow. Is this a legal search?
My thoughts as I replayed these events:
-They might have been smoking weed on the trip
-The unusual drug may have been in close contact with other common drugs
-the officers were still acting on probable cause based on a k-9 indication regardless of what was found
Counter thoughts:
-A K-9 will indicate on a majority of rental cars
-or, how can the dog hit on something it's not certified to detect; it's gotta get tossed out
-I've nevere even seen that stuff before