It is not an uncommon sight in Watonga or Geary, if you know where to look and what to look for. Sometimes it happens just outside your car at a stop sign – one person makes an exchange with another. Usually, an observer can see cash change hands and sometimes a bag or packet. Sometimes the purchase is palmed to the buyer when the cash is exchanged and is never seen.
So, the observer wonders, or is quite sure this is a sale of an illegal substance or product. And usually wonders why, if they see this happen, can’t the police do something about it. After all, it is occurring on a public street, lot or park in plain sight.
According to Chief Beth Massey of Watonga PD, there are several factors that come into play. First is that when an officer appears close to a questionable transaction, the people involved in the situation either leave or suspend trade until the officer is out of sight. Secondly, there are a lot more residents than there are officers.
But what both Geary Police Chief Alicia Ford and Massey pointed out is that the people involved in the trade are also Constitutionally protected against unwarranted search and seizure, detailed in the Fourth Amendment.
On observing a trade, an officer can stop and ask what is going on but is not likely to get a helpful response. They can ask what is in the bag but cannot search the individual without a warrant.
If one of the persons involved can be lawfully detained, such as has an outstanding warrant, the officer can pat them down, searching for a weapon, Ford said. But that pat down is only for weapons that could impair officer safety.
“If we feel some small bags that are malleable (soft) to the touch, we cannot remove those from the pocket or clothing. The frisk is to look for weapons and these are clearly not weapons, so we can’t go further.” So, an officer could detain someone, but not be able to search them for drugs.
Massey had several viable points as well. If someone is doing a legitimate business exchange, they may be willing to show what that transaction was, but it can create hard feelings against law enforcement.
“We can stop them and talk, ask what’s in the bag. They could be selling Avon. But we can’t search them without another reason, like a strong smell about them,” Massey said.
Another point is that if a resident sees a suspicious transaction, he or she should make a report of it. That, Massey said, helps create a paper trail. If enough reports are made about a particular person or location, it could later lead to probable cause to obtain a search warrant.
“The more information we have, the better we are able to do our jobs,” Massey said.
In the world officers must operate in, they have to be mindful that suspicious persons have the same Constitutionally protected rights that everyone else has, until there is documented or observational reason to infringe on those rights.