Via reddit, a former top narcotics officer in West Texas, Barry Cooper, has created a video showing how to “hide your stash” and “never get busted”. NPR manages to give some advice while explaining how law enforcement officials are outraged.
Although tips on how to outwith “the Man” are always welcome, I found the frankness about the job and the moral angst felt by the officer most interesting:
“I used to break into houses at three o’clock in the morning with 10 other men, after throwing a flash grenade through the window,” Cooper says. “I would drag Mom and Dad away and send the kids to the department of human services — over a bag of pot — and totally ruin that entire family. I started reaping what I had sown.”
His honesty about profiling:
“We would pull over cars that had college bumper stickers, because we knew college kids often partied with marijuana,” Cooper says. “We would pull over ‘Vietnam Vet’ plates, because a lot of our vets developed a habit over there.”
“I feel bad about it,” he admits. “I would look for Mexicans. I would look for black people. It works.”