The Greensboro City Council on Tuesday, Aug. 11 agreed to require Greensboro police officers have a form signed before they conduct a consent search.
Councilmember Justin Outling asked a lot of questions about how much of a burden this would be to the police officers conducting the search and concluded that it would not be much of burden. He said, “I don’t see how that is a real additional burden, memorializing what is done on a form.”
City Manager David Parrish brought up an issue that the City Council never discussed: “If the individual says for instance, I don’t mind if you search but I don’t want to sign the form, I think that is where we would have to have some clarity around what to do then.”
Councilmember Tammi Thurm brought up two issues that are going to make getting a form signed more of a burden and more complicated. Thurm, who is the councilmember who has been pushing the written consent form, said that she wanted the police officer to read the form to the person before getting them to sign it. She also said she wants the form in five languages.
Thurm also said that she thought the form could be simplified a great deal and that the form in all five languages should fit on one piece of paper.
Police Chief Brian James was interrupted when he was trying to make the point that deciding that having a form signed is not a burden seems to ignore the conditions under which police officers often make traffic stops.
Others have said that if it is a beautiful mild sunny day, going back to the car and getting a form to be signed might not be a burden. But at night, in pouring rain with the wind is howling around blowing the rain sideways, it would be more of a burden. In that case the officer may have a flashlight, a form, a pen, an upset driver and traffic whizzing by splashing water all over everything and it seems likely that getting a form signed before searching the vehicle could turn into a long ordeal.
Another issue that the City Council didn’t discuss is the fact that the whole idea of having someone physically sign a piece of paper is taking a step back from a technology standpoint. Most of the “paper work” police officers and everyone else does in 2020 is not on paper but on a computer device.
This is another needless piece of oversight by the City Council. They should be able to make recommendations through the City Manager to the Chief of Police. Since there are laws on the books that cover this event, why does the City Council and Mayor believe they should put their fingers into the soup and stir things up? With cameras and mikes on the police, why not just ask the question and be done? And the most amazing thing is to have it put in five languages. Are we going to get the police officers to take classes in these languages so the conversation between the driver and officer can be understood by both parties? If the council does not have anything more important to take up than this drivel, go home! Every time you people meet you simply make yourself look even more stupid and as Einstein stated: “The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has it limits.” You people are certainly pushing the envelope.
If gpd wants to bully and act illegally they will regardless of what the rules say and this council will help cover it up and the media will follow along. See hinson’s retirement for an example.
Criminals are not EVER going to allow a search if they are given the option to OPT OUT. So, where the statistics may support this by showing the number of times something indeed is located in a search must also be presented as a consideration. Good Golly dumbing down law enforcement is a full time job criminals enjoy strategizing how to get around any way of being “caught” at their game. Look at the $100,000. check given to the man who was at this mothers door and she stated she doesn’t allow her son in her home. Greensboro council believed the criminal, let him win a suit, and he still ended up being arrested a couple more times and now is in prison. What a bunch of ridiculous ramifications from those who are not knowledgeable about criminal behaviors. “Civilians hoping to make their idiologies become “law” without the background education, research, legal opinion as concerns its application is further folly from our council. Good Grief Charlie Brown!
I think the Police Officer should be required to “do 5 push ups, and 5 flips” before they ask the suspect o sign the form. Will the officer be required to read the statement in 5 different languages too. This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever read. They have a camera and audio on to document the process was followed. Signing a form will not stop the suspect from suing the City. Common sense has gone out the window!
Notice how hammer (and everyone else) failed to question council and staff when they glossed over hinson’s group home mess. Not one quote or question to vaughan or wayne or davis or parrish..not one word.
How dare you take such a wonderful, progressive idea and ruin it with real life complications.
Also how dare you point out, indirectly, how detached from reality we, the Supreme All Knowing Omnipotent High Born City Council of the Peoples Republic of Greensboro tryly are.
I think we need to step back and ask ourselves… what problem are we trying to prevent?
This key point was never addressed.
Council has no clue. Let the police do their jobs without micromanaging them! Councilmember Justin Outling as a lawyer you should know the laws and act accordingly.
City council should ride with the officers to see how this would be a burden? Are they afraid to see the burden or afraid to lose a vote!
Chief James needs to run his department per state- federal and local laws, yes laws.
Chief it is time you stood up for your department and not allow the politicians run your department!
Can you run your department without interference from the city council ? You responded yes. Now is the time!
The Greensboro City Council is again at it wasting taxpayers time and money. We have a City Manager, A Chief of Police, and a City Attorney, along with a District Attorney, and Court System along with the Supreme Court that determines what a Law Enforcement Officer Needs to do to affect a Search of a Vehicle. I believe that if a Police Officer sees contraband in plain sight than THE LAW gives him/her the right to conduct a search. If he feels that he/she has “Probable Cause” but still asks for their permission the officer can as, but does not need it. Where does the City Council think their Authority comes from in discussing how law enforcement handles criminal activity. My Understanding is that it comes from the General Statutes of the State and The State & US Constitutions, not some city council !
Written consent to search forms will lead to more arrests. Here’s what will happen – instead of asking permission to search a car, the officer will arrest the driver (often times for things they’d never arrest for in the first place, like an expired tag or no operator’s license). Once the driver is arrested, the officer will have the vehicle towed. Prior to towing the vehicle, the officer must conduct an inventory search of the vehicle. This search prior to impound will be just as thorough as the consent search would’ve been. This is not hard to see what will happen. Or, we could just trust the body cameras that we paid a fortune for……..all because we don’t trust the public servants who injure and kill fewer people every year than the physicians in our community.
The Police know how to do there job and the city council members need to stay out of the police business. This is what is wrong there are to many people trying to run everything and that’s not there job. STAY OUT OF THE POLICE BUSINESS.
Government IS the problem. Try calling the City @ 336-373-2035. See what you get. I phoned three times on Monday in order to get some large items picked up from my curb. Each time I heard a recorded message, advising that there were (11-18) people ahead of me. I took the option of leaving my phone # and my message. Not only did no one return my call, but also, my junk is still out by the curb.
Our taxes are raised almost every year. Our hard-earned dollars are simply given away for non-essential services,, or more precisely – c%*p. But it the City’s defense, it’s not their money that they squander.
Police, Fire, infrastructure, garbage & trash, etc. are basic services. Everyone happy with the City? Go downtown and see who is running it. It is almost impossible to fire a govt employee. They know this, and therefore, don’t give a rat’s buttocks.