Trenton, NJ – A Philadelphia woman who was arrested after she refused to answer questions during a traffic stop in New Jersey has sued state police, claiming troopers violated basic rules by arresting her for remaining silent.
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Rebecca Musarra, an attorney, filed the federal civil rights lawsuit after the Oct. 16 stop on Route 519 near the border with Pennsylvania in Warren County, NJ.com reported (http://bit.ly/21zKGbV ). At least three troopers insisted after she was pulled over that refusing to answer questions was a criminal act, according to the lawsuit.
Spokesmen for the state police and the attorney general’s office, which is representing the troopers, declined to comment on the allegations. State police spokesman Capt. Stephen Jones said the department’s internal affairs office conducts a review any time misconduct is alleged.
“In the event that problems are identified, training and/or disciplinary measures are implemented where appropriate,” Jones said in an email.
Lawyers for the state have sought in court filings to have the case dismissed, claiming that the troopers “acted in good faith and without fraud or malice.”
A trooper pulled Musarra over for suspected speeding, requested her license, registration and insurance, and asked if she knew why she was being pulled over, according to dash camera footage obtained by NJ.com through an open records request. Musarra said she provided the documents but didn’t respond to the troopers.
“You’re going to be placed under arrest if you don’t answer my questions,” one of the troopers told her before she was handcuffed and taken to a police station. Musarra asked the troopers if she was being detained, and one of the troopers said, “Yeah, obstruction.”
Musarra said a supervisor watched dashboard camera footage and let her go without charges.
She will win in court. She does not have to answer any questions. She only has to provide the requested documents which she clearly did.
I can’t understand why cops have to ask someone in an aggressive manner “DO YOU KNOW WHY YOU WERE STOPPED”. Why can’t they just state “I’m stopping you for speeding, or for an illegal turn”, etc. It is an idiotic and absurd tactic to ask a motorist a question, such as the above, which can be clarified immediately. The only reason that the cop handcuffed and arrested the motorist, was that she was guilty of not being subservient, enough to those bullies. Unfortunately, this happens every day of the week.
Did they tell her “you have a right to remain silent” when they arrested her?..
The issue is her right to silence before not after areest
The issue is her right to silence before not after areest
#2 – The police ask questions in order to engage the driver in conversation in an attempt to gauge the person’s fitness to operate the vehicle (eg, under the influence of medication, sleep deprived, etc.)
As to the specific questions they ask, one popular question is: “Do you know how fast you were driving?”. Answering “No” is actually an admission that one wasn’t paying attention to a critical factor in the proper operation of the vehicle. The best response is “Yes, I do know how fast I was driving” and actually knowing how fast (within a “reasonable” margin of error.)
[Disclaimer: I’m neither an attorney nor a police officer]
To #8 - If a person presents all of his documents to the cops (i.e. license, registration, and proof of insurance, and the driver is not drunk, or wanted on any warrants, the car is not stolen and the license is not under suspension and is still valid, along with the registration), then there is no need for the cops to harass or talk down to driver 217;s like dogs, and give them a lecture. They should just expeditiously give them a ticket, and adjudicate the matter in court. Last year, there was the case of a female Texas motorist, who was not acting subservient enough for a Texas Highway Patrolman. He threatened to  220;light her up 221; with his taser, because she wouldn 217;t put her cigarette out, and didn 217;t bow down to him. As a result, he also arrested her on some trumped up charge. The motorist had mental problems, and unfortunately hanged herself in her jail cell. Now, the Texas state trooper is in the process of being fired! The matters could easily be resolved if many of these cops would only use a little more tact at the scene of the stop; instead, many of them act like John Wayne, or Rambo!