Speaking of roadblocks, Saturday, Oct 12/96, the New Mexico State Police
had one set up on NM#404, (14 officers and one Sgt.) stopping all
traffic both ways on a desert mountain pass between El Paso and White
Sands. When I was stopped, a courteous automaton approached, hand on
pistol and asked for my DL and insurance card, and did a visual search
of my car. Immediately angered and resentful of this State intrusion and
violation of my rights, I handed him the requested documents, and having
checked my paperwork, he looks through the window at the back seat area
and asks me "what's under the blanket?" I told him his search was going
to have to be limited to what he could see as I was not granting a
consent search beyond what he could see through the windows of my
vehicle after illegally stopping me at this roadblock. Illegal? Pull
over there and talk to the nice officers, says he. Yes I said, stopping
people for searches in the pretext of seeing their paperwork. Says he:
the court said it's ok (in limited Roadbloacks )as long as we stop
everyone. Says I, the court is wrong and it's still unconstitutional,
you do not have a warrant and I have broken no law. To me, the fact they
did NOT ask for vehicle registration indicated they were fishing. The
robot calls his Sgt over, who takes over and warns me that this can
become very unpleasant, and at this point, I show him my retired badge
and ID, asking how unpleasant is that? He then says, why didn't you say
something, you coulda been gone by now? I told him that I am a plain
citizen and suggest he knows what he's doing is wrong and that it's a
pure fishing expedition. He angrily said:(and he really surprised me)
"Hey, I'm just doing what I'm told, now get outta here before I decide
to ruin your day".

They cut me loose and drove off, keeping my Ithaca 37 which was under
the blanket and 1911A1 under the center console.

My point is that this is out of control, and folks are going to start
getting hurt in these little European-like (vere are your papers?)
roadblocks, fishing for whatever they can find. If I didn't have
masterbadge and I.D., I would have been illegally and unconstitutionally
searched against my will. Very few people have a badge to get them out
of something like this, and deferring to  intimidation by armed
authority, most will have their rights violated. My sense of the
roadblock personnel was that excepting the Sgt., they didn't know they
were wrong or didn't care. The average age of the officers was late 20's
early 30's.

Now that they're going to start these around schools, and I assure you
that it will be in as high handed a manner as they can manage. Many
people don't see or don't want to see what's happening to the
Constitution or our human rights recognized by that Constitution, or the
Police State being assembled right around the Constitution, in the name
of the "drug war" or the "chirrun". It's here and it's here now and if
you don't strenuously object to these searches and roadblocks whether
for DUI, Drivers License/Insurance/ guns/drugs, and drive your political
reps nuts about it, sooner or later you will get the anal probe of an
illegal search in the name of the "drug war" or for guns near schools.
Of course those that like and feel safer with more unenforceable,
useless law and more intrusion (with no effect on criminals, just the
violation of honest citizens rights) may you be hoisted on your own
petard, and soon.

As I waited in line to be searched in this desolate and remote desert
location, I reflected on my extensive police and military training and
experience and thought that these roadblocks are really quite vulnerable
out there in the desert so far from backup. Quite vulnerable......It's
going to get ugly one day when folks decide they've had enough. And if
statists don't think it can happen here, just visualize a larger scale
resentment of the "man" beyond Watts. Like the black minority, the white
minority within the white majority has it's limits in absorbing the
abuses and effects of the ever intrusive Police State.

What really bothered me, (inspite of my training and familiarity with
police operations) was my own barely repressible reaction of fear, being
trapped, resentment, mistrust, disrespect and intense dislike and the
powerful urge to immediately, actively and physically resist this
infringement of my right of unrestricted and peaceful travel.
Fortunately, I didn't have to act because unlike most of my fellow
citizens, I had a retired peace officer's badge. What about those that
feel like that and do not have a getoutta jail/roadblock exit badge? I
guess we'll soon find out when some get stopped and fight rather than
have their rights violated. It's no longer a matter of if this is going
to happen, just a matter of when.

regards

Joe Horn Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Retired 20+ years US
ARMY, CENTRAL HIGHLANDS, RVN, 1965-68 (915) 549 8904