| stopped by the cops
Posted: 8/2/2008 9:53:07 PM | Twice in a week my boyfriend was stopped by the cops. Both time s the police demanded to see his ID, and ran his name through the computer.
Was he speeding or otherwise breaking the law? No, he was on foot, walking to 7-11 - but he was dressed all in black, has a mohawk and several piercings.
Do the police have the right to demand ID from someone who is merely walking down the street? And then to run the name, looking for warrants?
Apparently a mildly unconventional appearance is all it takes to negate the idea that this is a free country. | |
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| stopped by the cops
Posted: 8/2/2008 11:12:06 PM | | Eh, I'm a fairly clean-cut white male. I've been pulled over and ID'd a couple of times when I decided to walk to the corner store rather than drive. The first time he also wanted to search my grocery bag. | |
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| stopped by the cops
Posted: 8/2/2008 11:16:49 PM | Interesting question.
I remember when I was 17, summer job, working a 4:00 PM to 1:00 AM shift. If I missed the 1:05 AM bus after clocking out, I had to walk home about 4 or 5 kilometres, mostly through commercial / industrial areas, wearing “work clothes” and a lunch kit.
I would get stopped by the police; asked “where I was coming from / going to”.
I would feel a bit indignant at the time, though there was no aggression on the part of the police.
In hind sight, they were (probably) watching “my back” as much as they we watching out for the neighbourhood (I believe).
As long as the police are not aggressive, I think there is no reason to read more into things. Better than wondering where the police are when you need them. | |
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| stopped by the cops
Posted: 8/3/2008 12:40:53 AM | Since they have a badge and a gun they can do about anything they want to do. | |
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| stopped by the cops
Posted: 8/3/2008 5:40:09 AM | | The guy chooses to dress in a way that is a political statement against authority. He draws attention. The cops want to know who he is, and they want him to know they know who he is. He loves having his ideals affirmed. He gets a great rant against the machine without paying a price for it. Minor inconvenience, major indignation. Tempest in teapot. I have my lighter in the air as I write this one handed. | |
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| stopped by the cops
Posted: 8/3/2008 5:51:15 AM | | Or it could be that your friend looks like somebody they're looking for. If it happens again maybe he can ask the cop, "By the way, just curious -- what made you decide to ask me for my ID? This is the third time this has happened I wish I knew what I was doing to attract your attention like this." | |
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| stopped by the cops
Posted: 8/3/2008 5:54:34 AM | | When I was about 19, I was walking late at night in a very bad neighborhood, something I did often since I worked the 4 to midnight shift. A cop car pulled over and one of the cops said, "Where are you going this time of night?" I told them I was walking home from work and the cop said, "There's been some trouble and this is a bad night to be out by yourself. Why don't you let us drive you home?" I did. Usually it was the pimps pulling over to ask me where I was going! I'd tell them, "To castrate that b***ard who gave me herpes!" and they'd peel out. | |
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| stopped by the cops
Posted: 8/3/2008 6:15:23 AM |
Or it could be that your friend looks like somebody they're looking for.
That would have been my guess, perhaps there's someone out there who looks like your boyfriend that the police are trying to find. As long as all they did was run his ID, I wouldn't fret too much about it.
Do the police have the right to demand ID from someone who is merely walking down the street? And then to run the name, looking for warrants?
They have every right, as long as they aren't beating it out of him. How else do you expect the police to find people who have warrents out on them? I'm pretty sure that if your boyfriend is warrent free, that a few moments out of his day won't hurt him any.
Apparently a mildly unconventional appearance is all it takes to negate the idea that this is a free country.
They will stop anyone, not just those who look different. I've been asked for ID when I was living in the city. Several times I was out with my friends and cops would stop and ask where we were going and to see our ID, it took 5 minutes and we were on our way. No biggie. They were doing thier jobs. | |
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| stopped by the cops
Posted: 8/3/2008 6:48:11 AM | Hooked and Happy,
While I agree that the police may have been looking for someone that her boyfriend appears to be, I don't buy it. I am not down with this "just because someone looks like a thug, they are " theory. I have also seen this done with too many ethnic friends as well.
I do not believe that the police have the right to ask someone for ID if they are walking down the street. Many moons ago, when in JR. high, we had a teacher who was a hippie. He informed us that the police could not ask who you were unless you were under arrest. Since I was never in a position that I was asked my name by the police, I was never able to test that theory. The most I have ever been asked by a cop was where I was going.
If we go with the theory that the police have to have probable cause to pull a vehicle over then where is the probable cause to "pull" a pedestrian over?
Cheers,
A | |
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| stopped by the cops
Posted: 8/3/2008 7:34:49 AM | I get pulled up by the cops too, i just talk to em like friends, they move on.
If you look different, you stand out, its the thier job to check things out that arent "Ordinary"
But yeh, they have the right to ask for ID and such, atleast around here they do, but if you dont have anything to hide, whats the issue other than getting slowed down a bit? Just as likely to get slowed by a random stranger asking directions or for a ciggarett... | |
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| stopped by the cops
Posted: 8/3/2008 7:59:18 AM | I suppose that the police have been rewarded time and time again for stopping anyone who looks different or whose personal appearance doesn't fit with the norm. If they didn't get convictions by this behavior, then they would probably get the message sooner or later and forget about stopping people based on how they appear.
When my son was growing up, he had long hair. When he first got his driver's license, we let him use the family car, which happened to be a "woody station wagon". It wasn't until he got his first car (a Monte) that the police started pulling him over. Hmm....interesting. | |
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| stopped by the cops
Posted: 8/3/2008 8:27:22 AM | | I guess this is why we're seeing more and more criminals who appear seemingly "normal" looking, eh? Won't be a suspect until they've committed their crime. | |
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| stopped by the cops
Posted: 8/3/2008 9:51:13 AM | he could've just fit the description of someone the police were looking for.
if it was late, then yes, i would understand. i was attacked walking to a 7/11 by someone who ironically fits the description of your bf.
don't let it get under your skin, its their job. | |
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| stopped by the cops
Posted: 8/3/2008 9:56:23 AM | To the OP:
Just shows the stupidity of the cops, really.
If someone had a warrant for anything serious, why would they wear clothing and dress in a way that would make them stand out?
They're not there to protect the people, they're there to protect governments, corporations and money.
The police are just gang control: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZKJwdJRbCo | |
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| stopped by the cops
Posted: 8/3/2008 10:38:28 AM |
he could've just fit the description of someone the police were looking for.
He politely inquired if that was the case, and was told "No."
if it was late, then yes, i would understand.
9 o/clock on a Sunday morning
But yeh, they have the right to ask for ID and such
Do they? Under what law? One is not required to have ID in order to walk down the street. | |
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| stopped by the cops
Posted: 8/3/2008 10:42:23 AM | law enforcement runs deep in my family, we are merely doing like the others said, just checking, you run we follow, you stay but show signs of guilt we check, we remain nuetral some of us act like jerks but the rest are just doing what the community wants.
you hate cops til you need us, we are doughnut eating coffee drinking pigs, but in some boroughs, towns or villages there are no doughnuts.
some of us train with fire/rescue on our time off others get lazy | |
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| stopped by the cops
Posted: 8/3/2008 11:01:04 AM |
you hate cops til you need us, we are doughnut eating coffee drinking pigs, but in some boroughs, towns or villages there are no doughnuts.
I get this very notion from ALOT of people, especially from those who have broken the law, go figure. I have some officers in my family as well and despite what a persons perception of a cop is... most of them are just doing thier jobs.
If someone had a warrant for anything serious, why would they wear clothing and dress in a way that would make them stand out?
Yeah, your right, everyone out there with warrents walk around in suits and ties. Sheesh...People will wear whatever they want no matter what thier social status or whether they are criminals or not. The thing is, in this world today, you have to know that dressing "out of the norm" (whatever the definition of norm is) will get you attention, whether it be good or bad.
Why complain about being stopped and asked for ID? Unless you have something to hide, just show them, and nothing will come from it. Why make such a huge deal out of it... that is, of course, unless you have a reason for not wanting the cops to know who you are. Hmm. | |
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| stopped by the cops
Posted: 8/3/2008 11:30:55 AM | I have a dislike for the pigs for many reasons.
You have no idea how many times I've been pulled over, clearly just because I'm young and drive a fairly old car. The reason "Random checks.".
I've had to stand out in the rain whilst they've checked my license on their computers, many times.
I'm also a recreational drug user, I've usually got a bit of green on me, at least. Luckily, I've never been caught with it, even when I've been searched. I'm not harming anyone except the government's pockets, by possessing it, yet they'll keep me waiting for ages whilst they search me and my car for it.
Then there's the whole "Police brutality" side of it, whilst they're not so much like that over here, I think the video I posted provides ample evidence that it goes on all over the world. Look into Operation M.O.V.E, for a perfect example.
It's like I said, they're there to protect banks, large corporations and the government, not people.
Also, is known, wanted, criminal more likely to want to stand out, or are they more likely to wear a normal t-shirt and normal, blue jeans?
Don't get me wrong, I know there are good pigs out there, who just believe they're doing good, but in their case, it's the law itself that fails, not the ones trying to uphold it. | |
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| stopped by the cops
Posted: 8/3/2008 11:37:03 AM |
Apparently a mildly unconventional appearance is all it takes to negate the idea that this is a free country.
First off, we do not live in a free country. Secondly, I also consider what your boyfriend did to be "suspicious behavior". And yes the cops do have the right to stop someone for suspicious behavior. The police not only have the responsibility of stooping crimes, but also preventing them. And if they are doing their jobs correctly, and looking into any and all suspicious behavior, then it is inevitable that some of the people will be completely innocent.
I would just like to point out that I do feel a bit bad that your boyfriend was confronted the first time. But why did he do it again, knowing what could happen? I mean, if I were approached by the police for walking to a bank wearing a ski mask, the last thing that I would do is do it again in the same week. That is unless I was looking to be labeled a dumb-ass. | |
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| stopped by the cops
Posted: 8/3/2008 11:41:31 AM | I am not down with this "just because someone looks like a thug, they are " theory.
It's true that not everyone who dresses like a thug is a thug. But if you are going to wear a thug's uniform, don't get mad if someone mistake you for one.
But yeh, they have the right to ask for ID and such Do they? Under what law? One is not required to have ID in order to walk down the street.
Just because one is not required to have ID in order to walk down the street doesn't mean the Po Po's can't ask to see it.
Guess what, it's not a requirement to have an ID when you are drunk in the passenger's seat of a car either, but that doesn't mean that the police can't ask for it if the vehicle is pulled over.
The bottom line is if you give them a reason to suspect you, then get ready to be suspected. | |
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| stopped by the cops
Posted: 8/3/2008 12:42:01 PM |
I would just like to point out that I do feel a bit bad that your boyfriend was confronted the first time. But why did he do it again, knowing what could happen?
You are right, he should stop walking down the street, knowing he might be stopped again.
But if you are going to wear a thug's uniform, don't get mad if someone mistake you for one.
A spiky haircut and a few earrings equals lawbreaker? My, if only the world was that simple. | |
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| stopped by the cops
Posted: 8/3/2008 1:18:37 PM | Cops do all kinds of profiling, it is a known fact. The fact that your boyfriend dresses unconventionally is not a reason to stop him, but the cops are a conservative bunch by nature, generally speaking.
My nephew is a young black man and he is pulled over so much that it has become the family joke at reunions. The other day he was riding a bike for his health and guess what?
The cops pulled him over! He was told that on the previous night a man (black male, in his twenties) , uh HELLO?Had shoplifted an item from the Kwik Trip!
Ok, come on,,, enough is enough,,,, I would love to hear a point of view from a cop on here and what actually goes on within precinct walls. | |
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| stopped by the cops
Posted: 8/3/2008 1:31:52 PM |
(black male, in his twenties)
If that's the kind of accurate and detailled descriptions employed by the boys in blue to apprehend dangerous criminal masterminds, I think it's safe to asssume we can all sleep comfortably in our beds knowing that they're effeciently looking out for us. | |
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| stopped by the cops
Posted: 8/3/2008 1:45:46 PM | | Well said, Paumanok and Warrior Dawg. While I know police brutality exists, I also know that when you get stopped you get back what you put out. The main duty of the police is NOT to protect property, it's to protect society - that means each of us. It's not out of line to ask why you were stopped, but bottom line is they don't have to tell you. Many, many serious crimes get solved because a street cop just got a feeling. You never know - someone walking down a road could be in trouble, broken down, sick, hurt, off his meds, suffering from alzheimer's - a million different things. If they get to know who he is and what's he's doing (as long as it's nothing suspicious) they'll leave him alone. | |
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| stopped by the cops
Posted: 8/3/2008 1:57:20 PM | | I would like to know what time of day it was..Has there been drugs and crime in your neighborhood? We live in a new era..When I was a kid we had drive by shoutings,or I gonna cut you..now you can be robbed in daylight and shot just waiting for a bus..Police have gotten more aggresive thats for sure..Lets hear the whole story...Oh ya does he have a record? | |
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