Film as Accomplice

It's an unfortunate fact that the words "illegal window tint" appear in a large number of police reports nationwide. Polling daily news reports from around the country will provide an exhausting number of incidents. Illegal tint is so closely associated with "suspicious vehicles," that officers frequently admit it is one of their number one tools for identifying potential criminals.

Here's a condensed list of what has surfaced in recent days:

Greenville County, Tenn.-When officer Dustin Jeffers attempted to stop a Greene County man for a window tint violation, the man led officers on a chase before eventually stopping in a driveway. During the pursuit, according to warrants, several bags of a substance thought to be cocaine were thrown from the vehicle. Bags that were recovered contained cocaine residue, warrants alleged. After determining the owner of the vehicle, warrants issued and police did, in fact, discover drugs. The man was charged by a Tusculum police officer with possessing cocaine for resale and felony evading arrest … Gainesville, Fla.-A case that began with a traffic stop for illegally tinted windows ended late Sunday with Alachua County deputies confiscating $23,000 worth of marijuana. Sgt. Josh Crews pulled over a vehicle to check the tint level on the windows. After determining the tint was illegally dark, Crews said the occupants of the car appeared extremely nervous. Crews reportedly asked for permission to search the car, and the occupants declined, but agreed to have themselves searched. One occupant had a wad of $2,300 in cash in one pocket. A narcotics canine team was called in to check the car and the dog alerted to indicate the presence of drugs. Deputies reported finding two pounds of marijuana inside the car … Opelousas, La.-A man was pulled for illegal tint, but charged with driving while intoxicated, improper lane usage and modified exhaust system, in addition to the tint violation. A woman, also in Opelousas, was pulled for a tint violation, but also charged for a suspended driver's license, second-offense possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and expired motor vehicle inspection.