Bonnaroo traffic stops pop up again

There’s an age-old question that asks: ‘Which came first, the chicken or the egg’?
With Bonnaroo in Manchester for its seventh straight year, I have an equally perplexing philosophical question: ‘If a vehicle is obviously on its way to Bonnaroo, should local law enforcement officers stop it.’
It’s a question that came to mind as I was driving to work yesterday. A pick-up towing a camper was pulled over on the bypass and six sheriff’s department vehicles were behind it. Yes, it does seem like quite a bit of manpower for a traffic stop.
With so many sheriff’s officers in one spot ‘ and in a high-profile location ‘ I wasn’t the only person who noticed. Several people asked me about the traffic stop and that, in turn, triggered conversation about stopping motorists on the way to Bonnaroo.
I’ve pondered this question for years and understand both sides. On one hand, I hate to see people hassled on their way through our fine community. On the other hand, drugs are illegal and I’m not going to sit here and encourage officers to let people break the law.
From my perch, I want everyone who visits our county to leave with a good impression. This includes the folks heading to Bonnaroo. We all know they spend a whole bunch of money on their way through Warren County. They buy gas, groceries, ice and beer, among other things.
We also know a number of these vehicles, and they’re not hard to spot, will have drugs inside. For officers looking to make drug arrests, a steady stream of Bonnaroo traffic is reason to salivate.
But here’s where it gets tricky. Because we know these vehicles likely have drugs inside, law enforcement officials can’t do anything about it because that falls under a term called profiling.
Chances are, most of us remember the fiasco five years ago where 24 arrests got thrown out of court because Judge Larry Ross ruled that officers had overstepped their authority and stopped vehicles solely because they looked like they were Bonnaroo bound.
Profiling is an interesting provision. It means just because somebody looks like they’re breaking the law, and probably is breaking the law, officers can’t do anything about it until they’re actually spotted breaking the law. This prevents all Arabs from getting body-cavity searches at airports, and protects all Hispanics from getting pulled over for driving without a license.
As for the local Bonnaroo debate, I have problems with both arguments.
One side says leave our visitors alone and don’t give them a hard time on their way to Bonnaroo. We should be more hospitable to people visiting our community, this side claims.
My problem with this is why do people get a magical get-out-of-jail-free card just because they’re going to Bonnaroo? If it’s all right for Frederick from Vermont to have drugs on his way to Bonnaroo, why isn’t is OK for Billy Joe from Irving College to have drugs on the way to see his girlfriend?
The other side says law enforcement has a job to do and officers shouldn’t sit back and let people drive through our county with vehicles packed with drugs. If people aren’t doing anything wrong, they shouldn’t mind being stopped.
My problem with this is we have a basic assumption of innocence in this country. We might not be doing anything wrong, but we don’t want officers kicking in our front door either.
I think our local officers have settled on a fairly good mix. Maintain a heavy presence but don’t stop people without probable cause. As for six sheriff’s department vehicles at one traffic stop, I can’t explain that.
James Clark is editor of the Standard. He can be reached at 473-2191 or by e-mail at [email protected].