To the editor:

Many citizens of Polk County are upset with the increasing number of roadblocks.

I am not alone when I mention that I will not attend many local functions because of roadblocks. It’s a fact that you cannot leave the Steeplechase or barbecue festival unhindered. At night, they are downright dangerous. Recently, Homeland Security collaborated with the Polk County Sheriff’s Department and the Town of Columbus police on a roadblock. Will this collaboration result in free goodies, such as riot control gear, from the feds?

Drivers license and registration check points are illegal. The police and district attorney conveniently avoid reading the entire Statute, 20-16.3A. Subsection (c) states “Law enforcement agencies may conduct any type of checking station or roadblock as long as it is established and operated in accordance with the provisions of the United States Constitution and the Constitution of North Carolina.”

Article I of the North Carolina Constitution, Section 20 states “SEC. 20 General Warrants – General warrants, whereby any officer or other person may be commanded to search suspected places without evidence of the act committed, or to seize any person or persons not named, whose offense is not particularly described and supported by evidence, are dangerous to liberty and shall not be granted.”

The fourth amendment to the U.S. Constitution states “Amendment 4 -Search and Seizure. Ratified 12/15/1791. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.