Well, the cop was definitely a prick and definitely out of line, but that kid is an idiot. He was obviously trying to provoke the officer, while trying to seem innocuous. I can\'t help but think that the fact that he had all of these cameras, a scanner, etc. indicate that he probably is going around hoping for these opportunities and making the most out of them that he can. Yes, we have to stand up for our rights. But these officers do have a job to do, one which can be stressful at times, and it is foolish to push them. If he HAD been a criminal, and the cop hadn\'t stopped him, and then he had broken into some cars or something, everyone would have torn that cop up, wondering why he hadn\'t bothered to check out a car pulling into a commuter lot at TWO AM. Honestly, I don\'t think the cop was out of line in pulling him over.
Obviously threatening to make up charges is totally unacceptable. That, asking the kid to step out of the car for no reason, and the search were all way out of line.
At the same time, it\'s not excusable, but it is reasonable to expect someone to snap when you push at them. This holds especially true for someone in a position of regularly dealing wth criminals, some of whom are a threat to their safety. If he had told the guy what he was really doing, everything probably would have been fine. If he hadn\'t, he would have still had his cameras rolling so it would have been documented. There is no reason to not assume that the officer was initially just trying to do his job. That kid clearly tried to take the whole affair as far as he could without blantantly inciminating himself.
I agree that one should stick up for oneself, and know one\'s rights. But this kid didn\'t just use his right to remain silent. He gently poked and prodded at the cop throughout the whole conversation. That\'s foolish, and I think it is pretty clear that he was trying to get a rise out of the officer.
That kid also does not know the law that well. Under the constitution, there is no spelled out "right to privacy." It\'s a common misconception.
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/rightofprivacy.htmlThat being said, fuck the police.