Uploaded June 2023 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
South Dakota v. Opperman is an important case for police officers to know. Whether you are a deputy finding an abandoned vehicle on a rural highway, a state trooper towing a vehicle after a DUI, or a city cop removing a vehicle for a 28 day impound, at some point in any law enforcement career, you will remove a vehicle. What's more, is you will remove a vehicle that you don't have probable cause to "search". That's where vehicle inventories come in! But, inventories are not a crutch for a lazy investigator, or a loophole to bypass the constitutional rights of a citizen. It's very important to know the why, and the limitations involved in vehicle inventories. Check out the video!
South Dakota v. Opperman is an important case for police officers to know. Whether you are a deputy finding an abandoned vehicle on a rural highway, a state trooper towing a vehicle after a DUI, or a city cop removing a vehicle for a 28 day impound, at some point in any law enforcement career, you will remove a vehicle. What's more, is you will remove a vehicle that you don't have probable cause to "search". That's where vehicle inventories come in! But, inventories are not a crutch for a lazy investigator, or a loophole to bypass the constitutional rights of a citizen. It's very important to know the why, and the limitations involved in vehicle inventories. Check out the video!
