The Cowboys should move to Tennessee

[Ekoostik Head]

Then they might stay out of jail.


Police Dog Makes Too Many Bad Collars


KNOXVILLE, Tenn. A drug-sniffing dog named Falco is so unreliable that a judge has thrown out charges against a couple allegedly caught with 560 pounds of marijuana in their motor home.

After Knox County sheriff's deputies pulled over David and Pamela Stonebreaker's RV for running a red light, Falco signaled that he smelled dope.

The deputies searched the vehicle and found 560 pounds of marijuana, police said.

But when it comes to detecting drugs, Falco is wrong more than he's right — successfully sniffing out contraband only about one time in three.

That's not good enough to establish probable cause, ruled Judge Leon Jordon, as he threw out the charges against the Stonebreakers.

"The defendants argue that there was no probable cause to search their vehicle because Falco was unreliable and there was no other corroboration to support the search," Jordan wrote in an opinion issued last week. "This court agrees."

The couple had admitted to trafficking large amounts of drugs, but their statements will not be allowed.

"These rulings are rare but welcome," defense attorney Robert Ritchie told the Knoxville News-Sentinel.

[CAsterling]

God Bless American Justice.

You can have a load of drugs in your car, get caught and still get away with it !!

Just because the dog is frequently wrong, doesn't mean he should be ignored when he is right

[clintl]

Well, it prevents police harassment of the 2/3 of the people the dog identifies that are actually innocent. I am sure you would be unhappy to have your day destroyed just become some badly trained dog thought you had something you didn't. This gives the police motivation to go find a better dog, and to better train the one they have.

[CAsterling]

Originally posted by clintl
Well, it prevents police harassment of the 2/3 of the people the dog identifies that are actually innocent. I am sure you would be unhappy to have your day destroyed just become some badly trained dog thought you had something you didn't. This gives the police motivation to go find a better dog, and to better train the one they have.

Good point - so for those 2/3 people who are wrong identified, they have suffered incorrectly, nice time to call a lawyer and get some easy cash via a lawsuit.
However with these people, they had the drugs, they were caught and just because a dog is a little less than adequate, they can get away with it - its just another technicality being exploited.

[clintl]

If the dog's not reliable, and the police know the dog is unreliable, then the police have no probable cause, and it's an illegal search. It's that simple, and it's the way it should be.

[Jets80]

If you can train a dog to sniff a Dallas Cowbay, chances are you can charge him with something.