police harrassment

california
i live in a fairly small town (galt) the police are constanly stopping me for stuff one day i was walking out my back gate and an undercover cop stops me wants to run my name and searches me the cop says someone is selling drugs out of my house i told him he was crazy once they followed me in my car i got on the freeway he followed me on and then pulled me over and said he wanted to see if there was a guy in my car. can they harrass me like this when im walking to work at 11pm i get stopped they run my name and of course want to search me will i let them because i dont know my rights and i dont have anything to hide. what can i do to make them leave me alone

[calatty]

Sue them for violating your civil rights.

[TYRIS]

lets start from the begining. why would the police think that someone in your residence was selling narcotics? if the police have a reliable source then they would attempt to identify everyone within the residence. if they have a legitament reason to stop you ( regardless of how many times) then it is not technically harrassment. i have done this on occasion, within reason. when you are contacted by a law enforcement agency, and it is a consensual contact (ie: they walk up and say "hi, i'm so and so...) you do not have to give them consent to search you. a law enforcement officer can only do a "cursury search" of your person if they have reaon to believe that you pose a threat to their safety and possibley have a weapon on you. this also refers to vehicle stops. in regards to suing them for violating your civil rights, it probaley would not work due to the fact that they probaley have a legitament reason for stopping your vehicle or contacting you (i know i would). if you have done nothing wrong and you believe the officers are harrassing you, i would take the problem to their supervisor. if this does not satisfy you, i would go up the chain of command until i spoke with the chief of police.

tyris

Good post TYRIS. You just identified a "Terry stop"