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Subject:Re: California: Re: Open container (alcohol) law & the Westy????
From:Blue Eyes
Date:Wed, 4 Nov 1998 01:54:09 -0600

Bryan describes "a California Highway Patrol officer" who is "not sure
how a judge would make the call on the bottle being in the rearmost
cabinet of a Westy," but who states that he would "just ask you to
empty the bottle in front of me, and send you on your way without it"
enforced by his own illegal implied threat of intimidation that if you
fail to do as he "asks" he will "will write you up for an open
container."

Granted, I'm lifting these quotes to reform them into a different view
of his posture.  But I believe it's a fair, valid and illuminating
view.  I believe that if he were video taped pulling that stunt, he
could be charged and found guilty of having perpetrated a crime
himself.  It sounds like a real abusive of power.  He says he doesn't
know if the closed bottle back in the motorhome is legal or not, but
he's ready to implicitly threaten a citizen who he judges to not be a
"jerk" rather than defer until he can learn what IS legal.  My Westy
title says it is a Motorhome.  Just my opinion Bryan, but I think your
friend would be acting like a jerk..

John