Customer Reviews

Never Get Busted Again 1: Traffic Stops (2pc)

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Narcotics officer Barry Cooper racked up over 800 felony and misdemeanor narcotic arrests, taking in millions in cash and assets for his departments in Texas, before turning in his badge and speaking out against the War on Drugs. Cooper saw the ineffectiveness and hypocrisy of the War on Drugs from the inside, even as he was the top cop in the state for drug busts. After arresting the both mayor's son and a councilman for drug possession, Cooper came under political pressure with further convinced him of the failure of the system. He retired from the force and became a target for nuisance arrests, so he's speaking back with Never Get Busted Again, a tell-all instructional video to "keep you from going to jail for an unjustified law that is already being broken daily by millions of non-violent citizens."

In his opening address, Cooper states that 42% of Americans have tried marijuana in their lives, and he does not believe that 42% of the country deserves to be in jail, so our laws on cannabis are not working. This reviewer heard about Cooper's DVD on National Public Radio (NPR), of all places, in a piece in which Cooper eloquently stated his position for the reform of marijuana laws. I'm a fan of COPS and any true crime show, so I figured, how much more real does it get?

His DVD is both a powerful social commentary and a practical instruction video. He breaks down the search and seizure laws, explaining what "probable cause" and "reasonable suspicion" mean in terms of a traffic stop. He even busts the myth that you should always refuse consent to search - cops do use the invocation of 4th amendment rights against you, even though they shouldn't. He discusses what does and doesn't mask odor and reveals the science and methodology behind canine search dogs.

Cooper says, "My main motivation in all of this is to teach Americans their civil liberties and what drives me in this is injustice and unfairness in our system." I always recommend that my friends be a card-carrying members of the ACLU, and now I'm going to add on a recommendation to view Cooper's passionate and practical video about the need for radical change in our national drug policy.

Full Disclosure - we are the distributer of Barry Cooper's Never Get Busted. This review is Barry's own words in response to the review by Herb Hunter. Barry wanted to clear some things up that were stated in Herb's review.

"Unfortunately not all police officers operate with the same mission that Cooper had when he was a counter drug cop."

Didn't you mean "fortunately?"

"He focused primarily on a stretch of highway known for drug trafficking and developed profiles that might not raise red flags with other police agencies in other situations and neighborhoods."

In the "Profiling" section of my film, I take the viewer to a stretch of highway known for drug trafficking and I also take the viewer into a small town, Big Sandy, TX and share how city cops profiled. There is a difference and I explained that in the DVD.

"...and how futile it is to try to conceal dope from the law."

Not sure what you mean here. I certainly expose the tricks cops use to break the 4th amendment but then teach how to fool drug dogs and where to hide your stash. It is never "futile" to learn how to fool the cops so you can get home safely.

"I didn't really see the benefit to caving in and allowing for an officer to search the car under any circumstances, as he suggested earlier in the video."

The benefit is staying out of jail. Because cops do not respect the 4th amendment, if a person refused consent, 10 other officers show up with 10 more cops and cause the dog to false alert so they can search. In comparison, if you give permission and you stash is well hidden, the officer is likely to check the glovebox and trunk and let you go. I know this because this is what I did. Jeff Steinberg (defense attorney for 40 years, nothing but drug cases and on the board of NORML and Bobby Mims (East Texas attorney of 30 years and has tried 15 capital cases) agrees my advice is sound. It sounds backwards but makes sense. There are times to refuse consent as well. I am going to edit the DVD in time to share when this is a good idea. I wish I would have shown the other side in the first edit. Sorry 'bout that!

"The problem here is that there is NO SUCH DOCTRINE allowing for a "plain feel" of the inside of an automobile. Plain feel applies to people, not cars."

YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY WRONG. I am glad you are a law graduate but please make sure you give proper information regarding the law. The following is a quote I took from Jon Katz, a famous criminal defense attorney:

"Under Michigan v. Long, the driver and passenger areas of a car are subject to a Terry frisk where the police have reasonable and articulable suspicion to believe that weapons are contained therein. However, a cop's claim that s/he conducted a Terry frisk does not automatically make the frisk legal; that is a question for a suppression court judge, who must determine whether the frisk was made pursuant to reasonable and articulable suspicion that weapons are contained in the area frisked, and that the area is the lawful subject of a Terry frisk to begin with."

"...if he feels what seems to be contraband (he knows what a crack rock feels like through a pants pocket, etc.) then the "plain feel" doctrine lets him expand upon that initial pat down search and investigate the contraband."

This is not true either. If this were true, a cop could go into your pocket for carrying around a piece of gravel! Terry Frisks or "plain feels" are designed to protect the officer from weapons. So far, hundreds of attorneys have poured over the DVD and you are the only one saying it is legally incorrect. There have been attorneys who challenge my advice on the consent issue but none have pointed out errors in the law I explain. I appreciate your interest and effort though!

Regards,

Barry N. Cooper
CEO/NeverGetBusted

As the saying goes, "If only I knew long ago what I know now" ...

I've made so many mistakes that this DVD could have saved me from. I lost my driving license for a year because of having cannabis in my car. Boy, the number of wrong things I've done while driving, and been caught or managed to be lucky and NOT get caught... I certainly feel blessed, but I could have avoided losing my license and getting DUI's on my record had I watched this DVD first. I can't wait to see what the other volumes of Never Get Busted will share.

This information is truly valuable and clearly aimed at helping people stay out of trouble with the law and jail. As a former top drug cop in Texas, Barry's advice is helpful because he's BEEN there, he's aware of how the other side works. It offers an insider look at police mentality so we understand how cops twist the law, and incite fear to violate our rights. There are precautions that every smart smoker should take to stay out of jail, and this DVD explains them well.

In my opinion, Barry has more credibility than many of his anti-prohibition counterparts/critics because he's been there. He knows how everything works firsthand.

I'm a law graduate and an occasional watcher of COPS (hey, it's entertaining), so when I heard about this video on the news, I had to check it out. It's well produced, informative and entertaining, and if it can help straighten out a kid before he gets nailed for something stupid, so be it. Better to have this video talk some sense into them than have to system do it. However, there are some shortcomings.

The author/producer is a former cop with tons of experience busting dopers on the Texas highways. This in and of itself puts a unique perspective on the subject matter and is much more practical than well meaning but limited info put out by the ACLU. The lawyers at the ACLU might know what rights you have, but if that's all you know it won't be enough - you need street smarts. In fact, a lot of young kids probably get into deeper trouble using the smart-alec Alan Dershowitz approach.

Cooper explains what a cop does before during and after a search as well what he looks for when deciding to pull a car over. Unfortunately not all police officers operate with the same mission that Cooper had when he was a counter drug cop. He focused primarily on a stretch of highway known for drug trafficking and developed profiles that might not raise red flags with other police agencies in different situations. Reasonable suspicion for him might not be suspicious at all to another cop in another place.

He also contradicts himself in one part of the video where he suggests that if you are pulled over and really do have dope in your car, that you let the officer search. The rationale here is that the cop won't do a full on search of every crevice looking for dope if you come clean up front. Hoping the cop doesn't find your dope is not a smart gamble. As Cooper demonstrates, the rest of the video goes on to show just how far they will go to search you, your car, your belongings, and how futile it is to try to conceal dope from the law. I didn't really see the benefit to caving in and allowing for an officer to search the car under any circumstances, as he suggested earlier in the video.

The most glaring error was his explanation of the "plain feel" doctrine of criminal procedure. When a police officer is conducting a pat-down search of a person for weapons (also known as a Terry search). Cooper explains (incorrectly) that if you refuse to allow a police officer to search your vehicle during an ordinary traffic stop (pre-arrest, non felony stops; i.e., ordinary traffic violations) then the police officer can have you step outside of the car while he conducts a search of the drivers area of the car for weapons.

However, there is NO SUCH DOCTRINE for this type of search under these circumstances for the inside of an automobile. The "plain feel" standard he describes applies to people, not cars and is totally inapplicable here.

While the police can order you out of the car, a simple traffic stop itself does not grant the legal basis to conduct a Terry search for weapons, nor does it allow them to do any search of the vehicle absent probable cause or consent. Upon viewing this I attempted to email Cooper but received no response.

Other than that, the legal aspects appear to be correct, but you should consult with a criminal defense attorney in your state if you have questions.

EDIT: Mr. Barry Cooper responded to me in another review (Disinformation; Disinformation). Although I am surprised Amazon allows a "review" by the author of his own work versus a comment on an actual review, Mr. Cooper corrected me in one area and I appreciate that. But please realize he was wrong about the "plain feel" doctrine then, and he is even more wrong as of today (April 21, 2009). The Supreme Court just issued a new ruling in Arizona v. Gant that obliterates the type of searches Mr. Cooper describes in the video. See the text of the court decision or ask a criminal lawyer about its significance, its big. Mr. Cooper will probably address this in a future video release.

After watching both dvd's Busted and Never Get Busted Again, I would have to say that Busted is better.

The consent to search that Barry advises seems wrong. Again you don't know how well the police will search. In Barry's own police video's he kept poking and talking to the suspects until he found something he could use to arrest them. So it makes no sense to agree to a search and then play the conversation game with police in which you dig yourself into a deeper legal hole. It's against the law to lie to police so if you stop answering questions by saying "I'm going to remain silent, I'd like to see my attorney" then your consent to a search was for nothing. I didn't like the false positive that the drug dogs can give but maybe the dogs won't be available or is there a time limit that police can hold you before they need to let you go? The Busted dvd mock police threatened to use the dogs but after 10 minutes of waiting the mock police gave a speeding ticket and let them go.

some of the video is kinda cheaply made... most is well thought out. Guy knows what worked for him... decent film at a decent price

Would i take what he says in the dvd to be the bibble on not getting caught? NO! Just because it depends on ur circumstance! But anyway i did learn somethings that are urban legends, for instance you think that a drug dog is a super animal, can sniff anything within a hundred miles! According to this guy they fail more often, than they find items in cars! Overall great tips from someone whos been there, n know the tricks of the trade! One more thing, one other review wrote that if you get pulled over, n you have dope to let them search your car, and Herb Hunter dissagreed with that statement, but what barry means is that you should have it already stashed in a cut spot, n you shouldnt be driving with more than a joint, reason is that a cop doing a search will not be looking for a joint, more like pound, and most likely skip right over it! But if you refuse and k-9 shows up smells your joint that cop is gana search your car top n bottom and will find joint! Great dvd 5 STARS!!!!

I had to order this just because....it was very, very, interesting and I enjoyed watching every bit of it.