[From article]
“The detaining of the defendant was unlawful because the officers did not have a reasonable basis to suspect criminal activity by the defendant prior to detaining him on the bus,” Judge Charles J. Hely wrote in an order allowing the suppression of evidence in the case against Gregory Luperon, 27, of Framingham, who is facing a drug trafficking charge after T police say they found the more than 1,200 Oxycodone pills he stashed in the bathroom after realizing officers were going to search the bus.
Luperon’s attorney, Francis Doran Jr., called Hely’s ruling a “victory for freedom.”
“It is more than just five minutes of your time. If you were there on that bus, it is a terror-inspiring tactic,” Doran said of transit cops’ “drug interdiction” searches, during which officers step aboard and warn passengers that a police dog will be checking their bags.
Transit officers randomly searching a Lucky Star bus at the South Station terminal on July 14 say they noticed Luperon acting suspiciously after police announced they would be conducting a “random narcotics sweep,” court documents show.
Luperon allegedly rushed into the bus bathroom and hid 12 bags containing 1,233 Oxycodone pills above the sink before stepping off the bus, police said.
He was arrested after officers who noticed his behavior uncovered the bags.
http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2015/05/random_sweeps_violate_passengers_rights_judge_says
Random sweeps violate passengers’ rights, judge says
Ruling brakes T drug bus-ts
Thursday, May 21, 2015
By: Owen Boss, Joe Dwinell
Boston Herald
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