Legal Question in Criminal Law in Texas

A few months ago my son(18) was working at the local supermart & stupidly decided to take a case of beer as the store was closing. He put it in the bed of his truck just before they closed. He went to leave & just before he put the key in the door to unlock his truck, the Police Chief walks up & asks, "How's it going?" My son goes to shake the officer's hand & instead of shaking his hand. The officer leans over the bed of the truck & lifts out the beer. The officer issued him three citations, 1) Theft Less than $50, 2) Minor in Possession, 3) Windshield Being Cracked. My son questioned the windshield citation because it had just passed inspection. The officer proceeded to tell him that he should feel lucky because he could cite him for the front bumper & quarter panel damage. There is nothing illegal about the windshield & front-end damage. This damage happened when my son lost control while driving on ice & slid into a utility pole.

When he went to court, my son pleaded guilty to Theft & MIP but questioned the Judge about the windshield & the Judge said, he had no clue what the officer was thinking when he cited him for the windshield, so it was thrown out. He was given Community Service. A few weeks later my son went to City Hall to see if it was possible for him to work his Community Service off at his uncle's autos accessories installation business. While the clerk was checking on my sons request, this same officer, whose office is across the street from City Hall, approached my son threatening to give him a ticket for leaving his pickup running with the radio on while he was inside. He then proceeded to tell my son that he would allow him to do Community Service at our local Nursing Center. Where the Community Service is served isn't up to this officer.

Not too long after the City Hall incident, my son was in Athletics class at school & all the students were outside running back to the gym. This same office, in his squad car drove up along side of my son with his window down & was just glaring as he slowly drove by. Sorry, but I have a couple more similar situations to mention.

The High School Juniors & Seniors were preparing for the Homecoming Bonfire, my son was unloading the wood from the back of his Grandmothers' pickup, this same office pulled up & asked what he was doing. It was obvious what my son was doing. He then ordered my son to hit the ground. He then asked my son where his cell phone was, which my son said, "In the truck." He was the told to get it. At that time, the phone started to ring, & the officer wanted to know who it was that was calling. My son told him & the officer told him to put it on speaker phone so he could hear the conversation. But, the person hung up just before my son answered. I feel that who was calling was none of this officers business & he was out of line. He then began to question my son about nude pictures being sent to his phone, in which my son admitted to receiving but deleted them immediately.

Finally, two weekends ago, my son & a friend was driving down to the lake, where several other kids were at, when he was stopped by this same officer. He was asked by this officer, "Where's the beer at." My son told him that he didn't have any beer. The officer asked if he was to search the truck wouldn't find any beer. My son said, "No." About that time, my son's friend told him that there was beer under the seat, which my son was unaware of. Needless to say, my son was given a Minor in Possession ticket & his pickup was impounded. My son had not been drinking, but there were several other kids at the lake who had been drinking but my son was the only one this office questioned & searched because the officer said that my son was the only one he actually saw driving down to the lake.

My question is, "Would this be considered harassment by this officer, & is there anything that can be done to get this officer to leave my son alone?"

Thank You,

Concerned Mother in Texas


Asked on 10/28/09, 10:32 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Keith Engelke Law Office of S. Keith Engelke

It would be obvious that the cop was harrassing your son if the only tickets he wrote were rediculous ones like the cracked windshield ticket. However it soundls like everytime the cop stops your son, your son is violating the law. He probably has your son pegged for an easy target. The best thing your son can do is make sure that he is not violating the law so when he is stopped all the cop can do is write your son a stupit ticket that gets thrown out of court. Eventually the officer will realize that the gravy train has dried up.

In addition, if an officer asks a question like "if I were to search your car, would I find any beer?" he is asking two questions, the first is "Can I search your car?" and the second is "do you have any beer? If a police officer has to ask, he does not have the right to look.

The correct answer to a question like this is "You do not have my consent to search the car."

If the cop rephrases, the answer should still be the same. Never give a cop permission to search. Never admit to doing anything wrong.

Finally don't let you son hang around with people who break laws. The reason your son got the ticket when he was unaware of the beer under his passengers seat is that the driver is presumed to be in knowing possession of the contents of his vehicle.

Read more
Answered on 11/03/09, 1:36 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Criminal Law questions and answers in Texas