MANATEE COUNTY TRAFFIC STOPS NETTING DRUGS

During a traffic stop, a sheriff's deputy asks a driver for permission to
search the car. The driver consents to the search and the deputy begins to
look for what he is really after: illegal drugs.

That scene played itself out 1,020 times along Interstate 75 in Manatee
County between April 26 and 30. The stops, called pretense searches, are
legal and being used more and more along Florida's highways.

"Certainly we know this has been controversial in the past," said Dave
Bristow, spokesman for the Manatee County Sheriff's Office. "But we're also
out there enforcing the speeding laws along the interstate."

A pretense search works like this: A deputy or trooper stops a car for a
traffic violation. During the stop, officers look for a legal reason to
search the car for illegal drugs. If they find none, the driver is asked for
permission to search -- which, authorities say, most drivers grant even
though drivers are not required to do so.

With their permission, the deputies call in drug-sniffing dogs from a unit
assigned in the area. If no drugs are found, the driver is given a traffic
ticket or a warning.

More such interstate sweeps are planned for later this year, Bristow said.
The Florida Highway Patrol plans to conduct six to eight of the operations
along I-75 between Tampa and Naples in 1999, FHP Lt. Malcolm Rhodes said.

The Manatee County Sheriff's Office contacted the Florida Highway Patrol and
the U.S. Customs Agency in order to set up last week's sting, Bristow said.

"It doesn't matter if the police have a hidden agenda, as long as the stop
is legal," said Christopher Slobogin, a law professor at the University of
Florida. "And, usually, these traffic violations wouldn't normally amount to
a stop."

The use of mass traffic stops to search for drugs has become popular since
the practice of profiling by law enforcement was banned, said Diane Bailey,
a former Pinellas County prosecutor who now works as an adjunct professor at
Stetson University Law School in St. Petersburg.

Profiling is the practice of stopping a car because it and its driver match
criteria thought to indicate a likely drug smuggler.

Courts have ruled that the practice is racially discriminatory.

"When you start following a car, looking for a reason to stop it, that is
when you run into legal problems," Slobogin said. "If you are stopping
everybody, it is not discriminatory."

Bristow said his agency's recent traffic/drug sweep was not a means of
finding a way around the profiling ban. "We don't think we're close to doing
that," Bristow said.

The Sheriff's Office plans to keep statistics of cars stopped during future
operations to ensure that there is no discrimination, Bristow said.

The search last week resulted in 45 arrests on drug charges and seizures of
5 pounds of marijuana, 7 pounds of powder cocaine, 17 grams of crack cocaine
and 30 ecstasy pills. Deputies also issued 153 tickets and 670 warnings for
traffic violations.

The results from the operation show that I-75 is quickly becoming a favorite
route for drug traffickers on Florida's west coast, Rhodes said. "I wouldn't
go so far as to call it a drug corridor, but we know it's there," Rhodes
said.

The Manatee County Sheriff's Office decided to conduct the sting after
receiving several tips about drug trafficking along I-75, even though the
narcotics were not destined for Manatee County, Bristow said.

Based on the results of the stops and what authorities describe as the
growing volume of drug trafficking on the state's highways, similar
operations are being planned for the future, Sheriff Charlie Wells said.

Regarding the commitment of his staff to searches along interstates for
drugs primarily coming from and going to counties elsewhere, Wells said, "I
don't think you can look at it selfishly. Even if those drugs are not
directly targeted for this county, they may end up here anyway."

Such operations also have been conducted recently in Pasco County and along
the east coast. Bailey suggests that, despite their success and popularity,
they may not be a good use of law enforcement manpower.

"It's annoying," Bailey said. "It uses a lot of police (or sheriff's)
resources to catch minor speeding infractions as opposed to more serious
crimes."

Manatee County committed 25 people to the operation, the Florida Highway
Patrol allocated seven troopers and U.S. Customs allocated three officers.
The level of manpower commitment needed is the reason the sheriff's offices
in Sarasota and Charlotte counties are not taking part in such stings.

Chuck Ellis, spokesman for the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office, and Deputy
Chuck Lesasalto, spokesman for the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office, said
their departments are not taking part in interstate sweeps because of a lack
of manpower.

Wells said he has the manpower and will to conduct the stops and will do so
again in the future.

"This probably exceeded our expectations," Wells said of the amount of
offenses netted in last week's sting. "We'll do it again as a matter of
law-enforcement cooperation. We'll work hand in hand with other agencies."

Staff writer Brett Barrouquere can be contacted at 742-6163.