By Reza Ganjavi
Dear Mr. Marius Weyermann, Commander of Zurich Cantonal Police
I respect your profession and organization very much. Police plays a very important role in the society and contributes to our great country, Switzerland, being one of the safest places in this mad world. Thank you for your service. But KAPO needs to improve in learning and respecting Constitutional Rights and Police Law.
I was visiting a friend in the wonderful, cultural city of Winterthur, home of the great Beyeler Foundation and birthplace of the Swiss classical music superstar and good friend of mine: Maurice Steger - in the beautiful country of Switzerland, with a car. I was pulled over by one of you police cars due to a random road safety check. It wasn't the kind of check where the street is blocked and cars are checked for safety measures. I was actually signaled to pull over. Two police officers were in the car - a more senior one was a male who was the lead and a younger lady. I was driving 100% legally in a 100% legally compliant car. The male officer approached the car and without saying hello, and without asking for my ID, or asking for my permission, he went straight for the car's back door to open it! I was shocked! I told him to stop! He needed to ask for my permission first -- or he had to have probable cause for such an intrusive action which is a violation of my basic right as a Swiss citizen and human - as guaranteed by the Swiss Federal Constitution and international treaties Switzerland belongs to. When he realized that I know my rights, he refrained from opening the door. I wouldn't mind normally because I had nothing to hide, but he did not have the right to enter the car without my permission and without probable cause. The lady who was with her witnessed what he did.
He tried hard to find something wrong with the car but he could not. At the end, after causing me unnecessary stress, they left.
Officer Brütch Admitted It Was A Random Stop
I asked for his name. His name is officer Brütsch. When I asked him why he had stopped me, he said, verbatim: "this is a random check". He spoke good English.
The very fact that he admitted the stopping me was a random check means that he absolutely did not have probable cause to try to open my back door which is what you do when you want to enter a vehicle. He did not try to search the car, but even to search a car, your police officers need to have probable cause. The border control / customs police can search a car without probable cause but they are governed by Federal law that allows them that power, but your police officers do not have that legal authority.
But unfortunately, they do not seem to know their limit. And as such, they may violate people's rights by behavior that they consider to be legal but it is not. That's the conclusion I came to after researching the matter (see next section).
I asked Mr. Brütch which law gives him the permission to enter my car without cause or permission. He said you can read it on the internet. I said I have the books of law right here on my computer. Which book of law and which article. And he told me it's the road traffic law, which was actually wrong book - it's not in there, and I looked in there while he was searching for problems (that he didn't find) and I didn't find anything, and I asked him again, and he just ignored my question.
He also asked me where I am from - which is irrelevant and has no business to know because I showed him my ID as a Swiss citizen. Of course I would have told him my origins if he was courteous and polite and respectful but he wasn't. He was extremely rude and he violated my basic right to privacy of wanting to enter my private space without permission, and without probable cause. We are better than dictatorships. We are better than that.
Winterthur KAPO is not well trained about their legal powers and respect for privacy
I researched the matter by asking two Winterthur police officers if they are allowed to enter a car in a random traffic stop. They both said yes. But the legally correct answer is NO!
The officers in Winterthur police station near the train stations were not wearing name badges, and their names were not displayed at the counter. Is this your normal protocol? I thought public facing police officers who are at the front desk of a police station should have a name badge or at least show their name on the counter.
I asked the one at the counter the question about their rights. He gave me a false answer. He said they have the right to enter a vehicle they stop, even without probably cause.
Then I asked him to cite the article of law which allows them to enter a car without probable cause. His response was: "we know it". "We know it"!! He knew it but he didn't want to say. Fact is he didn't know it because it does not exist. Just just made it up to justify the wrong information. They operate pursuant to a wish, that they should have that power - the wrong assumption that they do have that power. But in reality they do not - based on legal experts I spoke with.
I said: very well I'm happy you think you know the law but please tell me which article it is - at least which book of law. Then the police officer decided to just leave the office - and closed the door and disappeared! I rang the bell two times. He refused to come out - to answer the question. He had no answer because he was promoting a fiction as a fact.
The Law Contradicts Your Police Officers' Claim Of Their Power
PolG 550.1 July 2021 section 35.1 and 36.1 require "reasonable suspicion" - which did not exist in this random police stop as Mr. Brütch admitted. Furthermore, there was no grounds for any reasonable suspicions, and there was no reasonable suspicion, as your police officer confirmed. Therefore, your officer acted outside his legal authority. And this was not an isolated case. Other police officers I spoke with also wrongly believe they have the right to open the door and search or enter a vehicle without having reasonable suspicion.
I hope this served to help you improve your fine organization.