Nah, they don’t get the benefit of the doubt anymore. “I smelled weed” has been used for decades to skirt probable cause requirements. Because it’s transient evidence that can’t be saved or replicated, and you can’t prove that they’re lying. You can be 100% clean, but a cop claims he smelled weed and now your car’s interior paneling is getting ripped out on the side of the highway.
The cop lied to get the search approved. No more, no less.
Yeah, it’s a statement that is spoken from a position of extreme privilege. Being able to “not care” about politics means politics has never directly impacted your day to day life, your health, your wellbeing…