Judge dismisses New York City jail officers' dog sniff lawsuit

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Reuters

Judge dismisses New York City jail officers' dog sniff lawsuit
By Jonathan Stempel
June 16, 2016

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit by New York City's correction officers union to end a city policy allowing guards to be strip-searched and disciplined when drug-sniffing dogs detect narcotics on them.

U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan said the Correction Officers' Benevolent Association lacked standing to bring claims over the "canine sniffs," including that the searches violated the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

She said this was because no member could demonstrate an "actual or imminent" risk, as opposed to a "conjectural or hypothetical" risk, that the sniffs would uncover illegal drugs, or trigger false positive alerts because of guards' proximity to inmates who use them.

According to court papers, the policy requires officers to be searched when dogs detect narcotics, and subjects them to suspension and possible arrest if contraband is found, or suspension for refusing to be searched.


Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/judge-dismisses-york-city-jail-officers-dog-sniff-180652075.html?nhp=1

[christx30]

1. You guys work in a highly controlled enviornment.

Dogs must be used to make sure no one brings in any contraband substances. The health and safety of everyone is at stake.
If you don't want to be searched, don't work there. If "they could find thing on me and arrest me!" is your concern, you should probably work somewhere else, for all of our sake.

[bluestateguy]

2. Privacy for me, but not for thee

I wonder how these officers feel about stop and frisk on the streets.

[Kelvin Mace]

3. Gosh, now you know how the common folk feel

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2011/01/07/132738250/report-drug-sniffing-dogs-are-wrong-more-often-than-right

Drug-Sniffing Dogs Are Wrong More Often Than Right
NPR

The Chicago Tribune sifted through three years worth of cases in which law enforcement used dogs to sniff out drugs in cars in suburban Chicago. According to the analysis, officers found drugs or paraphernalia in only 44 percent of cases in which the dogs had alerted them.

When the driver was Latino, the dogs were right just just 27 percent of the time.

[Midnight Writer]

4. It is not the dogs, it is their handlers

Just watch videos of dog searches online (there are hundreds of them) or even on episodes of COPS where the police know they are being filmed.

The handler calls the dog over, pats his hand on the vehicle or person, and when the dog "hits", rewards him with praise or a treat.

Hell, I could get my dumb ass dog to "hit" every time with those cues.

[Kelvin Mace]

5. The point is,

there is no standardized training/certification criteria and the dogs can be influenced by the handler, so the reliabilty of drug sniffing dogs is right up there with polygraphs and voice analysis, worse than a coin flip.