“Just because you have rights doesn’t stop anything from happening to you.” – Don Frew, consultant on ritual crime
GRAPE CREEK, Texas – Nikki Featherston was driving home after stopping at a convenience store when she saw police lights in her rear-view mirror. She didn’t think she was speeding or committing any other traffic violation, but pulled over to the side of the road to await the sheriff’s deputy. Their exchange during the stop highlights the misunderstandings which can take place when Pagans have something they consider ordinary in their possession, but police consider suspicious.
![LAPD Police Cars [Photo Credit: Flickr's 888BailBond]](https://wildhunt.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/5132674433_53353a7a64_z-500x375.jpg)
[Photo Credit: Flickr’s 888BailBond]
There had been a break-in in the area and law enforcement officials were stopping cars they deemed suspicious to look for stolen goods. The deputy asked Featherston if he could search her car and since she didn’t think she had anything alarming in it, she agreed.
“And things escalated quickly. I was suddenly in handcuffs and being detained by another police officer while the first one searched my car,” said Featherston.
While police didn’t find stolen goods, they did find a sage smudge stick in her car.
The deputy showed her the smudge stick and asked Featherston what it was. He also asked her why it was wrapped in string, if she smoked it, and if she was high.
“I said no sir, you just light one end and let it smolder. I use it to cleanse, like a priest does in a church. You don’t inhale the smoke, just let it surround you,” said Featherston.
Featherston said the deputy seemed confused and asked her again, “So it gets you high?”
Don Frew
Don Frew, current National Interfaith Officer for Covenant of the Goddess, has been a consultant on ritual crime for local police, the FBI, and the Justice Department since the mid-1980s. In addition to co-authoring a manual for police on Satanism and Paganism, he’s consulted on high-profile cases such as the Nightstalker, the Son of Sam serial murders, and the McMartin preschool child abuse case.
When asked if police are typically trained on the types of items persons in a minority religion may have in their possession, he told The Wild Hunt that this isn’t typically the case, unless there is a known community of that religion in the area. He also said police may treat situations or items they are unfamiliar with as possibly dangerous.
Which may be why Featherston found herself handcuffed and being questioned carefully about her smudge stick.
When deputies starting talking about testing the smudge stick, Featherston asked them if they would untie the string and remove a leaf for testing or cut a section from an end. Featherston had grown the sage herself and the smudge stick was a sacred tool used in practicing her religion. She knew the officers needed to check it, but hoped they would treat the stick with respect.
Instead, Featherston says, they threw it away and let her go with a verbal warning to update her driver’s license to her new address.
Mr. Frew says police may act with less sensitivity than they should, but often, as in this case, it isn’t a big deal. He noted though, “They treated the smug-degree stick inappropriately and some training would be helpful.”
Frew says it appears Featherston handled the stop, and the confusion over the smudge stick, well. He says you should, within reason, calmly and helpfully do whatever police say. “If there’s a problem, deal with it later. You don’t want things to escalate.”
Where it may get a bit more complex is if you have a ritual tool, such as an athame, in your car. Frew says it’s a judgement call if you voluntarily agree to a search of your car or refuse. If you have an athame or a sword in your car and decide to allow police to search your car, tell them before the search begins. “Don’t describe it as a ritual tool, they might jump to the conclusion it’s for sacrifices. Tell them it is a symbolic item used in the practice of your religion,” Frew advises.
His advice to Featherston, or any Pagan who finds themselves in a similar situation, is to write a letter to the police department. He says to let them know you are not filing a complaint, but looking to clear up any confusion or answer any questions thy may have in case they encounter something similar in the future. Frew says police appreciate when you can help them do their job better.
Even better, Frew says, is to be proactive. “If you are a very out Pagan contact your local police before there is an issue. Introduce yourself, give a bit of information about the organizations you belong to, and offer to help with questions as they come up. If you try to do this after the fact, it may be seen as trying to cover up for someone.”
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When it comes to athames what’s legal and what’s illegal can vary from place to place. When transporting an athame I suggest always wrapping it up in a towel or bag, and if possible, placing it in the trunk of your car.
In Australia the laws are stricter. Carrying / possession of a “concealed weapon” can incur up to 2 years in prison. The definition of a concealed weapon are very board, even a box cutter in a pocket can be deemed it.
I have yet to hear of pagan / witch getting in trouble, but have heard of non-pagan religious ceremonial weapons as being used as evidence. :/
I would add to that suggestion a lockable carrying case. Most of the laws around concealed weapons or unlawful use hinge on the accessibility of the weapon. If it’s on your person or within reach under your seat or generally anywhere in the passenger compartment, you’re screwed. If it’s locked away and/or in the trunk, it will be, if not completely legal, a decent defense in court or an officer that you were not in a position to readily attack or threaten anyone. Another way to avoid athame trouble of course is to leave the thing at home. It’s an important tool to me, but certainly not an indispensable one in all situations. Particularly if I’m going to be doing ritual in some public space, I’ll often opt to bring a wand or nothing at all.
Cases are a a great idea! At the very least putting one in a sheath is a good idea (and far away from your person while traveling).
I know many Witches who are scared to fly with a blade, but I’ve travelled with both athame and sword in my checked baggage across the country. I don’t suggest flying international with one though.
aka “Your whiteness will not protect you.”
Not so sure about that. If the smudge stick had been found in the car of a person of color, the police might not have been even as reasonable as they were.
I’m glad Don Frew is still in there kicking. And while I agree that the police are always interested in doing their job better, ahead of that psychologically is inviting them to not see, e.g., athames and smudge sticks as threats.
Never consent to a search.if they’re asking for consent they have no probable cause to suspect you of a crime.
Iv’e spent hours in the back of a squad car waiting for the canine. They thought I would lose my patience and start something or consent. After about two hours of waiting, they’ve lost their patience and drove off with me waving goodbye.
Good for you! That’s exactly the right way to do it. Don’t lose your cool but also don’t give in. There is absolutely no good reason to consent to a search even of you have “nothing to hide”. Especially then. It is never incumbent upon a person to prove their innocence, but decades of drug war tactics and general ignorance of the law have groomed our population into accepting authoritarian rule. If we habitually forfeit some of our most basic rights, we shouldn’t be too surprised when the government tramples others.
What is a “smug-degree stick”? Is it a typo or a joke about the cop’s attitude?
So do other religions have to go to the cop station and introduce themselves and explain their religious worship and the tools they use?
There’s nothing demeaning about educating the authorities about us. Our minority status is a fact that we can’t change, but we can choose what to do about it. How we do this of course varies from place to place.
I was “lit up” once because my taillights were out. So, I pulled over, put the car in “Park”, shut the engine off, rolled down the window, and had my license/registration/proof of insurance at the ready. In very short order, I was in cuffs and Mirandized and in the back seat of the cruiser on my way to the police station, photographed at the wall in full and profile and put in a holding cell to await processing.
Four-and-a-half hours later, I was released. What brought all this about? My athame, sitting in the seat beside me in its scabbard. I was on my way to a ritual, you see, on the Navy Base, and this is where I was pulled over.
Because of this, I was passed over for promotion and regarded with suspicion by my Chief. My athame, which I made myself – blade and all – with a deer antler hilt into which I had set semiprecious stones, stitched and tooled and decorated the leather scabbard (salvaged leather from an old coat I found), all in accordance with appropriate rites, was not only confiscated, it was destroyed.
This was how I spent my Yule, 1988, in Newport, Rhode Island. Lovely, eh?
So the comments here from others concerning wrapping it in a towel or ritual cloth or whatever, having it in the trunk, or even a lock box of some kind (this could be enchanted as well, even set with stones and marked with runes…lots of possibilities!) are definitely warranted, helpful, and something to consider – not just for your athame, but for any other ritual items…even smudge sticks!
Just as an aside for everyone, an active duty service member pretty much surrenders all Constitutionally guaranteed rights. When I was active duty, we used to joke that we gave up our rights to protect yours.
You are NEVER obligated to allow the police to search your car. If you refuse, the cops have to convince a judge to issue a warrant. For a routine traffic stop, that would be a hard sell. Don’t be ugly, just say “No”. Traffic stops are covered by the 4th Amendment. It isn’t a question of whether you have something to hide or not or whether you want to be “helpful” or not, it is your right to refuse.
WASP PIGS