So this summer I've basically been doing nothing on the weekend. I've been working a ton, so I haven't had a lot of time to go out with friends and do stuff. The other day I find out that a friend from college is still living in town, and only lives like a block and a half away from me. We make plans to hang out, and I go over there, drink some, watch TV, do whatever, and then WALK home at like 3:30am. While I'm walking home, I notice a cop car drive by me. I keep walking, thinking nothing of it. About 20 feet from the door of my apartment building, I notice the cop car pull over behind me, and ask me to put my backpack down. I put the backpack down, they search it, and find nothing. He then asks me what I've been doing, and I tell him I've been hanging out at a friends house. THIS IS FOLLOWED BY HIM GIVING ME A BREATHALIZER. Of course, I've been drinking at my friends', and the alcohol shows up on the breathalizer. I NOW HAVE TO PAY SEVERAL HUNDRED DOLLARS The cop gives me a minor. I ask him what problems I was causing and he says none. I ask him why be stopped me and he says "well, you're walking by yourself at 3:30 in the morning." I argue this for awhile, but since he already gave the breathalizer there's nothing I can do. I tell him that my car was at my buddy's and that I COULD have drove home, but knew that I should walk instead. We then go into a pointless arguement about whether or not I was posing a problem to society. GAH!

Anyways, I'm still pretty pissed (and under the influence) right now. What do you think? Yes, I know I was "breaking the law" by partaking in alcoholic beverages while underage, but honestly, what problems was I causing? In the arguement we had, the police officers couldn't even come up with a reason, but still gave me the damn minor. I oppose much of the United States' drug laws, but this just seems ridiculous. If I was causing a problem, I could totally understand them stopping me, but me walking home by myself doing nothing wrong? !?!?!??!?!?!??!?!

not our fault you let him have you take the test....I believe that was stupid thing to do #1....well other than drinking while underage.

why dident you tell them "no"?

Pretty sure unless they have good reason to suspect you of being potentially dangerous or whatever to society that you can say no to tests like that.

However, you did break a law wether or not you oppose it. He might not have even needed a breathalizer test to prove that. Anyhoo, he was within right to fine you especially when you know you're breaking a law. You took a chance and got caught.

Wow your laws really, really suck.

In Australia it's not an offence for a minor (-18) to consume alcohol as long as it's not in a public place. However it is an offence to supply alcohol to a minor, or for a minor to be in possession of alcohol in a public place.

It is definitely not an offence to walk along a road minding your own business

Yeah, the whole drinking age of 21 is rather dumb. What is it generally in Europe / UK? Like 16?

Most places in Europe it's 18 i believe (at least it is here in the UK). Although the law here is, I think, exactly the same as Spork described. What SiliconC did would not be against the law here. Minors are allowed to drink in private places. The only way he would have been arrested is if he was being loud/violent where he could have been arrested for being drunk and disorderly.

Whilst you have to be 18 to buy/sell alcohol in the UK, if you have it with a meal in a restaurant, etc, the age limit is much much lower (although, a lot of pubs won't serve alcohol to minors, even with a meal.) HOWEVER, once you have the alcohol, as long as you're not drinking it in a "no drinking" zone, etc, there are pretty much no rules. It's not illegal for a group of 16 year olds to have a house party with alcohol present, etc, as long as a disturbance isn't being caused; and there is certainly no problem for older children (like 12+, etc) to have a half-glass of wine with their parents at a family meal, etc.

I kinda see it like this, the law that says that nobody under the age of 21 can drink is in place because it is suspected that most people under 21 couldn't be responsible with it. The fact that you chose to walk instead of drive and wearn't acting like an idiot on the way home pretty much shows that you are respnsible enough.

But of course, the law doesn't work in this flexiable way, so you're screwed.

Throughout most of Europe the drinking age is 16, but that's rarely enforced. I think where I am, being drunk in public is illegal, but I've seen more people caught for jaywalking than that.

You may want to consider taking this to court. A police officer may only search with a warrant, or when officer safety is an issue. Since you were walking by yourself to your apartment, he had no valid reason to search your backpack. Did he ask beforehand?

He asked me what I had in my backpack, and I said nothing. Then he asked if he could search it, and I said no. After I said that, he got pretty pissed and started to call back to the police station or whatever for a warrant. It was ridiculous, so I just interupted him and said he could search it.

Cops suck, that's it.
Was this in Fargo or wherever? Or your hometown?

It happened in Moorhead, right next to my apartment.

A judge has to sign a warrant; he can't get one over the radio.


Don't even go there.

Yeah, that sucks noodles. You'd think the police have nothing better to do.

And yeah, echos of the UK laws - legal to drink underage, not legal to buy etc etc...

Sounds like the cop was just bored.

I actually agree that cops, in general suck. I've met a couple really nice ones, for instance one time me and my buddies were in a parking lot, all of us had had something to drink though not all of us were drunk, and one of my friends was passed out on the pavement. About 3 in the morning this cop rolls into the empty K-Mart parking lot that had nobody in it but us, obviously fairly wasted, and just makes sure we weren't doing anything wrong, then leaves us be. Rather cool cop, I must say, and we ended up just going home after that. But I've met some REAL *******s too, especially the one that gave my dad a ticket for going through a red light on his motorcycle after waiting for 20 minutes when no cars were going either way. The cop was behind him the entire time too (Alabama had passed a law that motorcyclists could do that, because sometimes there's not enough weight to trigger the sensors that you've been waiting). And there tend to be more of those than there are cool, calm, by-the-book cops.

I heard that if you're 18 (or whatever age), it's legal to drink if the alcohol was provided by a parent... of course, that may be just Arizona or could also be total BS.

SIlicon, your country SUCKS CHEESE

if(getThingFlags(source) & 0x8){
  do her}
elseif(getThingFlags(source) & 0x4){
  do other babe}
else{
  do a dude}

It's your fault for breaking the law. Yea, the law says you have to be 21, so wait. Just because you don't have the patience or respect to follow the law doesn't mean it is wrong. I'm not 21, so I don't drink. When I am 21 if I do I'll try to be responsible, but I plan on living far past 21 and I can wait.

That must depend on your area, then -- the officer who ticketed me last year was as professional as they come, and the two that I've ridden with were great guys as well. Another friend of mine is a cop up in NH..I actually have an application for that department sitting in my desk drawer, waiting for me to stop procrastinating and start completing it.

Maybe I've just been lucky.

Do you drive 55mph everywhere you go?

Our highway limits are 70mph here. :p

I didn't drink until I was 21 either, though..never really wanted to.

Yup, I go the speed limit. I don't drink. I haven't had sex with any underage girls, I never smoked (even if I could legally). I never assaulted anyone or set anyone's house on fire. Unfortunately I don't go out of my way to break the law, I'm just no fun.

Perhaps we should start a 'no-fun club'.

:p

Sounds like an illegal search if you didn't give permission and he had no cause to stop you. Walking by yourself and 3:30 inhte morning is not cause of any kind. Take this to court.

Its not an illegal search since he gave him permission to search the backpack. As for reason to stop him, he WAS drinking at the time, and cops are pretty good at picking that out, even if you don't think you look drunk. I have family who are cops, and they can pick out people who have been drinking from a distance really easy, even if the person doesn't show apparent signs of it. Thats what they're trained to do.

There's a difference between going out of your way and having a good time partying. But of course, you need friends to be able to do that, so I suppose that would be why you don't 'go out of your way' to break the law.

We have about 1 and 1/2 cool cops in out town.
The only reason that one of them is cool is because she's like a hot female cop and stuff.

Um, no. Also, he wasn't drinking at the time. There was no open container in his hand. If there were, well, that's probable cause, and unless the cop sees that you are drinking an alcoholic beverage, as in see a can or bottle that is an alcoholic beverage, they can't do anything. He, if they could, cops would be rolling up on everyone walking down the street drinking a coke.

Unless he was stumpling drunk, there was no cause to pull him over, period.

I had no alcohol on my person. Also, I wasn't anywhere near "stumbling" drunk, I could walk fine.

I have plenty of friends, and some of them do drink and "party". I choose not to. And one of my friends who does "party" got busted with drugs at his house and fined $1000 as well as sent to a counselor. Usually if someone drinks or does something illegal I don't make them my type of friends, that's not how I do things.

This is why I hate America. Back in Europe I could take a walk at any time of the night if I was just bored and not be questioned. Now cops will pull you over and parents will say why are you going on a walk, you gonna SMOKE?!?!?!?

No, *******s.

Which brings me to something else. No one in America has trust anymore. If I ask a friend if he wants something at lunch
he automatically asks first thing what I did to it. WTF? If I don't want the rest of my fries/drink I'm trying to donate it to you, idiot...

Lol are you serious? You only quoted the first part of what Silicon said, and I'm pretty sure you KNEW THAT.

"He asked me what I had in my backpack, and I said nothing. Then he asked if he could search it, and I said no. After I said that, he got pretty pissed and started to call back to the police station or whatever for a warrant. It was ridiculous, so I just interupted him and said he could search it. "

That's not an illegal search. He gave him permission.

While the officer was probably totally within his rights, it does seem a little bit of an overkill to actually write you up. Eh, it's luck of the draw, I guess...

In the words of the great Joe Strummer (paraphrased a little bit):

You fought the law, and the LAW WON.

The biggest reason America has the 21+ age law is because most people under that age do not know how to handle themselves in acohol-influenced situations. I, for one, am one of those people. You may not be.

Whatever the case may be, you did break the law, and you should be rightly punished for it.

On the plus side, this is another item I can add to my list of why Alcohol is not worth it.

Enjoy your fine. You're paying for the officers protecting us from thieves, murders, and terrorists.

I don't think a minor in the US does not have the right to refuse a breathalizer. (Actually, I think they can, but have to submit to a blood test instead. In either case, you can't refuse testing altogether.)

Or maybe this is just my state. I can't remember.

That's just how people in America are. Everyone is suspect. Trust no one who hasn't earned it. I live in America, and for the most part, it seems that people can be quite introverted here. That lends to distrust and the creation of BS laws. Why wouldn't it?