how long can a traffic stop last are there any restrictions on what police officers can say or do during a traffic stop on April 17 2019 William Claver was driving South towards Chattanooga Tennessee police officer Daniel Wilkey a Hamilton County deputy sheriff stopped Claver for a tinted window violation the driver didn't know it at the time but he was facing a police officer described by the New York Times seven months later as having been charged quote with rape extortion stalking and assault as well as false imprisonment child molestation and forced baptism was that wrong should I not have done that yes that's right forced baptism and there's video believe it or not [Music] welcome back to the civil rights lawyer Channel this video began as just being about a traffic stop that occurred to William Claver in April of 2019 but the officer involved here Deputy Daniel Wilkie well former deputy is really an insane story just in and of itself this may be the only officer I've ever heard of who has forcibly baptized and Rusty among multiple other allegations much of his misconduct has been caught on video but first let's look at the April 17 2019 traffic stop with Mr Claver that would find its way to the sixth Circuit Court of Appeals there the court examined the issue of whether police officers could prolong a traffic stop to have a drug dog arrive and sniff for drugs how long can police officers hold the driver at a traffic stop when and for how long can they prolong the stop under the Fourth Amendment after stopping the driver and approaching his window Wilkie told Claver that he stopped them because his windows were quote way too dark and requested his driver's license that was it 8 10 pm as clabber search for his license Wilkie then required about where Claver was headed when Claver didn't respond Wilkie asked not going to talk to me and about this time police officer Tyler McRae another Hamilton County Deputy pulled up and approached the vehicle's passenger side window after several seconds Wilkie asked cliver you okay and again requested his license Claver then asked am I being detained Wilkie responded Yes after which Claver handed over his license the Fourth Amendment prohibits police officers from prolonging a traffic stop beyond the time necessary to investigate and write a ticket for traffic violation unless the officers have reasonable suspicion that to stop vehicle's occupants are engaged in some other crime that's Rodriguez versus United States 2015 U.S Supreme Court officers May detain the driver only for the time necessary to complete the tasks associated with the reason for the stop the Supreme Court has provided a list of acceptable tasks that are connected generally to safety and driver responsibility officers will usually question a driver about the traffic infraction they will run the driver's license plate they will request and review the vehicle's registration and insurance information they will check for outstanding warrants and lastly they will write a ticket officers also commonly question drivers about their travel plans so long as they do that during the time that they undertake the traffic related tasks for the infraction that justified the stop officers may also ask questions about whether the driver has drugs or weapons in the car or even walk a drug sniffing dog around the car these unrelated tasks turn a reasonable stop into an unreasonable one if it prolongs to stop the Reasonable Suspicion basis for the traffic stop detainment here was an allegation of dark tint later the officers would argue the existence of other criminal suspicion including suspicion of Claver being a quote Sovereign Citizen and Claver visibly shaking this they would argue Justified the officer's suspecting Claver of being in possession of drugs as Wilkie and McRae headed back to Wilkie's Cruiser Wilkie said the words Sovereign citizen McRae the officers then talk Loki observed that claver's van had an obstruction as he called it which was a Marine Corps sticker over his license plate he also claimed to have noticed that Claver was quote shaking like a leaf he told Deputy McRae that they should quote make sure he ain't got no pot or anything Wilkie suggested that they call for a drug sniffing dog so about five minutes into the Stop the officers returned to clapper's fan and requested his registration insurance card also private insurance yes also sir I don't know if you know statue for improper display you can have it kind of foreign matter of ethereal on top of your uh tag okay your little the Marine Corps sticker I appreciate the service I was in the military also just can't have those stickers on your tag okay it's against the statue Wilkie I lost my tag I was in a wrestling match or something my tag broke off Wilkie 3099 if you need that you're a wealthy yes sir you know he will all right you can get your insurance card with you it's on my phone it's on your phone you can take it down if you need to that's fine Wilkie continued the question clever he asked him whether he had ever been arrested whether he was on any kind of medication or had any kind of disability because he said you're shaking did the deputies have Reasonable Suspicion to prolong the stop to have Reasonable Suspicion here the deputies needed a particularized belief and that is one that's tied to Claver and an objective belief and that is one that's tied to articulable facts rather than amorphous hunches that clever possessed drugs the court looks to the totality of the circumstances the sixth circuit here rejected the officer's claims that Claver might be a sovereign citizen solely because he asked if they were detaining him they noted that the video showed that Claver was reasonably polite not loudly confrontational unless everyone who is reluctant to speak with the police might be a sovereign citizen the deputy's claim appears to have rested more on a subjective hunch than objective facts the court noted that the officers failed to identify as single judicial decision or evidentiary citation suggesting that persons quote Sovereign citizen status correlates with the likelihood of possessing drugs at 8 18 PM now eight minutes into the Stop the deputies returned to the police cruiser and requested a canine Officer dispatch informed them two minutes later that one was in route to the scene Wilkie then filled out paperwork for the traffic ticket over the next several minutes at 8 24 PM McCrae approached clever a few minutes before Claver had begun recording video of himself from inside his van he filmed himself peeling the tent from the inside of the driver's side door window again I refused them permission that's my vehicle McRae attempted to ask him about his military service Claver responded that he didn't mean to be disrespectful but that he would not answer any more questions hello I say hello Marine Corps stickers between the Marine Corps did you retire from the Marine Corps I'm not going to ask you any more questions okay I don't mean to be disrespectful that's fine buddy you're just prayful to me yeah I just I just seen Marine Corps stickers I just wanted to inquire about that yes I'm a veteran thank you I appreciate you sir thank you how long you served or anything you want to talk about how long you served in the Marine Corps how come if uh if I'm not being if if I'm not being arrested I'd like to be on my way okay well he's writing your ticket right now okay well then unless I'm being detained if I'm being arrested you need to Read Me My Rights or you need to let me according to the Fourth Amendment you're detained whenever the blue lights come on so Deputy Wilkie continued filling out the ticket until the k n officer arrived at 8 32 PM Wilkie then returned to the van and ordered Claver to exit the van for the dog sniff flavor all right Sarah sawy Daisy PD is here another canine we're gonna have to have you do step out of the vehicle might have to come back here and sign the citation he's going to run his canine around your vehicle see if the detecting kind of Narcotics or anything like that if he does detect narcotics inside your vehicle we're going to start your vehicle we'll see what's inside of it but at this time as you step out for me so you can come back here and sign my ticket and that dog can run around the vehicle let me roll that up get the bugs up yeah that's fine you need that cane oh I'm not not yet okay [Music] so now it's 8 40 p.m Deputy McRae told Wilkie and an incredulous cliver that the dog had alerted to drugs inside the van McRae and Wilkie then searched the van for five minutes foreign [Music] foreign they found nothing as clivers signed the citation he said to Wilkie in case you were wondering I have muscular dystrophy Wilkie replied that's all you had to say Sir Claver then drove off it was 8 50 P.M thank you y'all see that y'all were in here have had it first Mr clever filed a pro se lawsuit against Wilkie and McRae among others the defendant officers moved for summary judgment the court denied those motions on the ground that the officers unreasonably prolong the traffic stop without reasonable suspicion that Mr Claver possessed illegal drugs the defendant officers filed an immediate Appeal on qualified immunity grounds the sixth circuit issued an opinion that just came out on November 3rd 2022 in the end the sixth circuit held that a reasonable jury could find that both officer Wilkie and McRae unreasonably prolong the stop so the sixth circuit upheld the denial of qualified immunity to the officers noting that quote we have a mountain of case law indicating that heightened nerves represent weak evidence of wrongdoing and cannot be the primary justification for a stop okay so then the aftermath of Deputy Daniel Wilkie a New York Times article December 11 2019 comes out Tennessee Sheriff's deputy indicted on 44 charges including rape and stalking Daniel Wilkie was charged on Tuesday with rape extortion stalking and assault has previously been accused in lawsuits of false imprisonment child molestation and forced baptism so just a crazy crazy story came out detailing all of the charges of misconduct and the lawsuits against him so December 27 2019 he resigns and then there is another lawsuit that's filed that comes out over this forced baptism that ended up winding its way through the federal courts ended up in just a bizarre federal court order there's also accompanying video footage that is showing this incident this this incident of forced baptism foreign unfortunately there's just too much to get to in one video make sure you subscribe so you can catch part two of The Saga of of Deputy Wilkie how long have you been held at a traffic stop let me know in the comments remember freedom is scary deal with it [Music]