Marijuana profiling in Nebraska leads to two-hour search of Colorado dad, kids
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| Deputy Jason Mayo likens tracking down illegal pot to finding a needle in a haystack. |
"When we see a nice vehicle with Colorado tags, it instantly makes us start watching you," he quotes the trooper as saying. "And then we noticed how young you looked, which was another red flag. You were ultimately speeding, which is why you were stopped, and those circumstantial facts are why we obtained permission from you to search."
The reference to physical appearance also jibes with other profiling tales we've been told. For instance, Westword writer Chester is young, bearded and wears his hair long.
In the end, the police canines didn't find any drugs -- but they did locate something else of interest. "The officers also found it keen to open up a box of Milk Bones I had in the back seat for my own dogs, and gave their K9 officer a treat," the dad says.
After this ordeal was finally over, the father says he talked to "several Omaha city cops" about what happened, and they "indicated that when they have a slow night or they are training new officers, Colorado tags are almost always an instant, usually drug-related ticket of some sort."
This anecdote suggests that officers in Nebraska enjoy it when Coloradans cross the state line. But the dad isn't convinced. In his words, "I have no doubt if they couldn't be subjected to lawsuits for profiling, they would openly tell people in Colorado to stay out."
Here's the aforementioned "drug pipeline" report from TV 10/11, sister channels based in Lincoln and Grand Island, Nebraska.
More from our Marijuana archive: "Marijuana profiling: Coloradans should ditch weed before state line, says Kansas attorney."
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