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Dec 10, 2008 10:07 pm US/Central
Addison Police Traffic Stop Causes Controversy
ADDISON (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
Police say a traffic stop was triggered by an expired inspection sticker. But the stop has now raised legal questions.
In one North Texas city, if you don't give an officer permission to search your vehicle, that officer can use a canine to do it instead.
But the lengths they go to in their search for them is raising serious questions about how much privacy a person has when they drive through the area.
Patrol camera video from an Addison police officer shows Jonathan Bridges being pulled over for an expired inspection sticker. He was pulled over in an area police say is drug infested.
The officer's drug-sniffing dog circles the car after the motorist refuses a search of the vehicle.
Moments later, the canine jumps through the car window and sniffs around before jumping out. Bridges protested the search before he was allowed to leave with a citation.
An Addison police spokesman says as long as the officer didn't encourage the dog to jump inside, it's perfectly legal
Addison police have investigated and found nothing improper about the traffic stop.
But in a statement, Dallas Police Sr. Cpl. David Bridges, the motorist's father, said, "I watched the video and it concerned me a little bit. You just look at the video. I think that's awful much just over an expired inspection."
Still, Addison police make no apologies and say it could happen again anytime a person is pulled over.
Addison police say the search dog is trained to move closer to the scent of illegal drugs, which provoked the jump. Still, police found no drugs inside.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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