> In practice, they seemed to bring the dogs out when the driver of a vehicle was very obviously high
In practice, they bring out the dog whenever they don't get consent to search.
This is how street policing works:
1) Have a feeling about a car.
2) Tailgate that car.
3a) If there is an obvious visual justification for a stop, like a broken taillight, unlit license plate, temporary tags in the window, or tinted windows, attempt to pull that car over.
3b) If there isn't an obvious visual justification for a stop, follow very closely for an extended period time until a minor traffic law is broken, or you get a call over the radio to go somewhere else (in which case, end.) When someone "rolls past a stop" or forgets to use their turn signal when switching lanes, speeds by a few mph, or stops short causing you to brake (because you are half a car-length behind them), pull them over.
3c) If they do nothing, pull them over once you get bored with following them and say they were driving erratically.
4) Mention to the driver your pretense for pulling them over while looking them over. If they look poor, give you attitude, or you just don't like them, ask them for consent to search.
5a) If they give you consent, search.
5b) If they don't give you consent, tell them that you have a reasonable suspicion because you smell something, and that if they don't give you consent, they will have to wait at the side of the road for 10-30 minutes for the dog to come. To avoid that wait, they can just give you consent now.
5b1) If they give you consent, search.
5b2) If they don't, wait for the dog (unless you get bored or get a call), when the dog comes, tell them the dog alerted. Search.
6a) If you find something, act accordingly.
6b) If you don't find anything, say you're going to let them off with a warning for the excuse you used to pull them over, get back into car and drive until you have a feeling about another car.
The pretty sad thing is that this process is pretty obvious on the cinema verité cop shows, it's such a standard practice that they don't mind doing it when you're looking. The shameful thing about it is that these shows edit out the 99% of the time that the person has nothing, and that the dog "alerts" and they don't find anything. A pretty cool thing with the new "Live PD" show is that you get to see the dog alerting every single time, and listen to the cop accusations that "you must have smoked earlier, or you must be letting someone drive your car, or else my dog that has never not alerted wouldn't have alerted."
Charges based on the scenario you described would get thrown out of car 9 times out of 10.
5b) If they don't give you consent, tell them that you have a reasonable suspicion because you smell something, and that if they don't give you consent, they will have to wait at the side of the road for 10-30 minutes for the dog to come. To avoid that wait, they can just give you consent now.
If they have a reasonable suspicion due to smell, they don't need the dog to conduct a search. The point of using a dog is when there isn't a smell, to have the dog "alert" even in the absence of a detectable smell--generally by claiming that certain non-alert behaviors were actually alert behaviors indicating the dog detected the presence of drugs. (Police search dogs are trained to "alert" by barking and sitting once they detect drugs, but in most stops officers claim the dogs "alerted" them by sniffing continuously or pawing at a particular location.)
Here is one incident where police accidentally ran into a parked car with a man in the passenger seat. They then arrested him for hitting and damaging their car. He was later exonerated by video from a security camera.
I’ve heard stories like this going back to the ‘60s. I suspect there are an order more incidents like this that never make a major news outlet, and probably an order beyond that which end up being citizens word against the cop’s because there is no video to back it up.
In practice, they bring out the dog whenever they don't get consent to search.
This is how street policing works:
1) Have a feeling about a car.
2) Tailgate that car.
3a) If there is an obvious visual justification for a stop, like a broken taillight, unlit license plate, temporary tags in the window, or tinted windows, attempt to pull that car over.
3b) If there isn't an obvious visual justification for a stop, follow very closely for an extended period time until a minor traffic law is broken, or you get a call over the radio to go somewhere else (in which case, end.) When someone "rolls past a stop" or forgets to use their turn signal when switching lanes, speeds by a few mph, or stops short causing you to brake (because you are half a car-length behind them), pull them over.
3c) If they do nothing, pull them over once you get bored with following them and say they were driving erratically.
4) Mention to the driver your pretense for pulling them over while looking them over. If they look poor, give you attitude, or you just don't like them, ask them for consent to search.
5a) If they give you consent, search.
5b) If they don't give you consent, tell them that you have a reasonable suspicion because you smell something, and that if they don't give you consent, they will have to wait at the side of the road for 10-30 minutes for the dog to come. To avoid that wait, they can just give you consent now.
5b1) If they give you consent, search.
5b2) If they don't, wait for the dog (unless you get bored or get a call), when the dog comes, tell them the dog alerted. Search.
6a) If you find something, act accordingly.
6b) If you don't find anything, say you're going to let them off with a warning for the excuse you used to pull them over, get back into car and drive until you have a feeling about another car.
The pretty sad thing is that this process is pretty obvious on the cinema verité cop shows, it's such a standard practice that they don't mind doing it when you're looking. The shameful thing about it is that these shows edit out the 99% of the time that the person has nothing, and that the dog "alerts" and they don't find anything. A pretty cool thing with the new "Live PD" show is that you get to see the dog alerting every single time, and listen to the cop accusations that "you must have smoked earlier, or you must be letting someone drive your car, or else my dog that has never not alerted wouldn't have alerted."