Pubdate: Sun, 30 Mar 2014
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2014 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Alison Noon
Page: 2B

COLORADOMAN SUES IDAHO POLICE OVER "LICENSE-PLATE PROFILING" IN POT SEARCH

A Colorado resident has filed a lawsuit claiming he was the victim of
what his attorney calls "license-plate profiling" during a road trip
through Idaho last year.

Darien Roseen filed the federal lawsuit Wednesday in the District of
Idaho, more than a year after he said he was unlawfully detained and
searched for marijuana on the basis of his Colorado license plates.

Mark Coonts, one of three attorneys on the case, said the 69-year-old
was cleared after local law enforcement officers in Payette County,
Idaho, detained Roseen and for hours searched his Honda Ridgeline
truck for the source of an alleged pot smell.

"Assuming guilt based on a license plate - that's just a violation of
our civil rights," Coonts said. The suit was first reported by Fox 31.
Roseen, retired vice president of Weyerhaeuser Real Estate- an arm of
the forest products company worth $16.5 billion, according to Forbes -
was searched Jan. 25, 2013, on the way from his daughter's baby shower
in Washington state to his second home in Pagosa Springs.

At the time, medical marijuana was legal in the District of Columbia
and 18 states, including Colorado. The state of Washington and
Colorado had recently passed state laws that would allow sales of
recreational marijuana, but it would be a year before recreational pot
would be available.

Just inside the Idaho border with Oregon at 11:40 a.m. that day,
Roseen pulled off Interstate 84 to use the toilet at the rest stop,
according to the complaint and demand for jury trial. Just before he
exited the interstate, the complaint said, Roseen passed an Idaho
State Police trooper parked in the median.

Trooper Justin Klitch, who is listed as the first defendant in the
lawsuit, followed Roseen to the rest stop, where he activated the
overhead lights on his patrol car and then walked up to the parked
Ridgeline.

The complaint claimed Klitch followed Roseen only because of his
Colorado license plates, which led the trooper to conclude he must be
transporting illegal substances.

Klitch did not initially give Roseen a reason for contacting him, but
eventually said that Roseen failed to signal before he exited and that
he bumped into two curbs at the rest stop. Roseen insisted that he did
signal before the exit. He said he could not distinguish curbs hidden
under snow and was distractedwhenKlitch "suddenly appeared behind
him," the complaint said.

The trooper rejectedRoseen's reason for getting off the highway-that
he had to use the bathroom - and insisted that Roseen was attempting
to avoid the state police. Klitch then asked Roseen why his eyes
appeared glassy and accused Roseen of transporting something "that he
should not have in his vehicle," the complaint said.

Roseen told the trooper that he possessed valid prescription
medications. In the complaint, Klitch then asked, "When is the last
time you used any marijuana?"

"He was offended by his treatment- assuming that not only was he a
user but that he was carrying marijuana into Idaho just based on the
fact that he has Colorado license plates," Coonts said.

Roseen repeatedly told him he does not use marijuana and never has,
Coonts said.

Three times, Roseen refused to allow Klitch to search his Honda, but
opened up a few areas "if it was going to get him back on the road
faster," the complaint said.

Roseen said he never smelled the odor of marijuana that Klitch claimed
he detected coming from his trunk. Klitch used that odor as probable
cause to search, transport and hold Roseen and his truck at the local
sheriff's office.

"He didn't go right out and say 'Where's the weed, old man?' " Coonts
said. "But the whole interaction was just, 'Give me the weed, I know
it's here.' "

Klitch drove Roseen to the Payette County Sheriff's Office in the back
seat of the patrol car. Without Roseen's consent, Fruitland City
Police Department Officer Eric Christensen transported Roseen's truck.

At the sheriff's office, Roseen was allowed to use the bathroom under
supervision. Klitch told Roseen he was free to leave, but he could not
have his truck because officers had not finished searching it.

The trooper issued him a citation for careless driving, which Coonts
said has since been resolved.

Klitch, Christensen and at least six other officers searched the
vehicle. The search turned up no illegal substances, Coonts and the
complaint said. Roseen's lawsuit seeks general and punitive damages.

A few people with similar stories have contacted the Boise law firm
heading the suit, Jones & Swartz, since hearing about Roseen's
petition, Coonts said.

"It may be a pervasive problem, and as more people come forward
that'll play out. But at this point, I don't know the extent," Coonts
said.

Idaho State Police would not comment on the matter Saturday, but a
representative said the department plans to issue a statement on the
litigation later this week.
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MAP posted-by: Matt