"You just destroyed my window, officer"

[Grace62]

Here's the problem for the police.

"When the driver encounters the police officer at the checkpoint, he greets the officer. The driver's side window is lowered about 2 inches. Here is the conversation that follows:

Navarrete: "How are you doing?"

Officer: "Can you roll down your window?"

Navarrete: "I can hear you just fine."

Officer: "I want you to roll the window down."

Navarrete: "Why is that, sir?"

Officer: "Because I'm going to break it if you don't open it."
(there is no law that says you have to roll down the window all the way in a traffic stop)

Navarrete: "Go ahead."

Officer "I'm sorry?"

Navarrete: "Go ahead."

Officer: "Go ahead and break it?"

Navarrete: "It's up to you.

Am I being detained or am I free to go?"

Officer: "You are not free to go."

Navarrete: "So am I being detained?"

Officer: "You are being detained."

Attorneys for the two men said they plan to argue in court that they were illegally detained because they had complied with what they were told to do, up to the point where the officer said they were detained.

Isaac Blumberg, an attorney representing Alfaro, said the window was rolled down enough to have a conversation.

"I contend that they did comply," Blumberg said.

The officers at the checkpoint did not ask the driver to show his driver's license until after both men were detained, Blumberg said.