A small device was demoed to me that could accept an object and report if it had cocaine on it. The officer asked for a dollar, I handed him one, and they put it in.
The machine detected cocaine. I was surprised to learn that the powder is so fine it's on nearly all US paper money.
It’s in the ink. One of the ways you can tell a US bill is authentic is by licking it. If your tongue or gums go numb then it’s definitely not counterfeit.
This is a very weird take. You’re assuming Canada is a victim in this, again, super weird take. As if the Canadian govt hasn’t already demonstrated its authoritarian policies for decades already.
Canada created and implemented this policy, not the US.
The 'hocus pocus' and flimsy science underlying field tests and forensics is egregious. The flaws associated with these narcotic field tests (the Scott Test and variants) are well established [0][1]
With this in mind, it seems the reasonableness and probability requisite for arrest are eroded [2]. I wonder how courts continue to allow questionable science to serve as justification for arrests.
In the US, the cops essentially get a free pass to make mistaken arrests. The canonical example is arresting someone pursuant to a warrant that the cop thinks exists but doesn’t.
Why should a police officer who reasonably believes that a warrant exists be punished for making the arrest?
As far as I know, mistakes of fact (and mistakes of law) by the police are only excused if they are objectively reasonable given the circumstances. It’s not a universal get-out-of-jail-free card.
how does this happen in practice? This must all be computerized now, you’re either in the system or not. Why does the officers beliefs factor into whether or not you have a warrant
I don’t understand this. Does Canadian law allow prosecutions for trace amounts of drugs that are invisible to the naked eye? I can understand swiping the luggage and finding a trace amount leading you to conduct a more thorough search of the luggage (e.g. for hidden compartments) but otherwise, not only is this a huge violation of the guys rights, but it’s a waste of every bodies time and tax payer money.
I think they assumed that the liquid in the shampoo bottle contained cocaine (some new magic smuggling method), and then sent it off for lab testing. He was detained awaiting test results.
The question is if the field test used is specific enough to rise to the level of arresting/detaining someone.
In theory, law enforcement could arrest you based on trace amounts of drugs found anywhere on your person. If they want to arrest you they will find a reason, and trace amounts is sometimes good enough. Even if it will never hold up in court, if they want to get you, they will.
While false positives are a well documented result from drug tests, one detail that struck me as very odd in this story is the fact this dude was returning home to the US from Brazil with not one, not two, but three bottles of Shampoo in his luggage?
I found an anti-dandruff shampoo in France that was marvelously effective but whose active ingredient isn't in any US anti-dandruff shampoos. I brought four bottles back. I don't need to use it very often to get the effect, shipping liquids is expensive, and I had spare room in my luggage.
OTOH, nobody is trying to smuggle cocaine from France to the US.
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[ 3.3 ms ] story [ 73.1 ms ] threadThe machine detected cocaine. I was surprised to learn that the powder is so fine it's on nearly all US paper money.
Canada created and implemented this policy, not the US.
With this in mind, it seems the reasonableness and probability requisite for arrest are eroded [2]. I wonder how courts continue to allow questionable science to serve as justification for arrests.
[0] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0026265X1...
[1] https://www.propublica.org/article/no-field-test-is-fail-saf...
[2] "Reasonable and probable grounds", is the requisite standard for arrest in Canada (similar to the U.S. standard).
As far as I know, mistakes of fact (and mistakes of law) by the police are only excused if they are objectively reasonable given the circumstances. It’s not a universal get-out-of-jail-free card.
The question is if the field test used is specific enough to rise to the level of arresting/detaining someone.
I would think it is quite common and effective to throw off drug dogs.
3 bottles and one tests positive for coke, I am not sure what anyone would reasonably expect the officers to do here besides arrest the guy.
Seems straight forward though this guy is owed a good amount of money from the Canadian government for his troubles.
OTOH, nobody is trying to smuggle cocaine from France to the US.