So the other day me and my father went out for a walk just to get some exercise. When we were halfway done with our little outing we were stopped by the police...for walking suspiciously! We fit the discription too! Apparently we were walking slow and looking at houses as we went. Also we didn't look like we came from the community? (The people we pasted on our way was dressed the same as we were. )... And someone reported that to the police and they went on the manhunt! I guess they had nothing better to do. Sad actually. After showing our ID's, demanding who reported our "suspicious walking", and telling every pedestrian that passed by not to walk slowly the Cop was embarressed enough to finally let us go.
So be warned! Don't walk slowly or look around at your surroundings! Thats a clear sign that your a bandit or terrorist.
Sorry to hear about your strange experience. This sorta reminds of me of the time my husband (boyfriend at the time) told me not to stare at anybody when we were in NYC visiting his family. Apparently city people get offended or nervous when a stranger gives them a quick stare. I cracked at him asking if I should just stare at the sidewalks the whole time.
That's what you get for not staying home in front of either your television or computer or whatever other flickering box you own. Don't you realize we're living in a Bradburian Society? Good thing you were with your dad, 'cause you don't want to be caught by yourself as The Pedestrian.
Fear is America's anti-drug.
Last edited by transmet on Tue Jan 15, 2008 3:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
Wow that is, well not even weird absurd is the word I'd use. I've been stopped a couple of times myself in my youth principally because I had my hood up on my hoody, on a skateboard and I was in a posh area. They soon retreated when they heard my 'unsuspicious' accent.
Lance's comment reminded me: "Fear is the mind killer."
Ahem, whether you like the particular movie I'm referencing or not, that's a true statement nonetheless. Especially in this time of modern yellow journalism. What with bird flu, west nile, identity theft and who knows what else, people would rather give into fear just to feel anything anymore. We're like one big exposed nerve, hardened and raw, ready to overreact to every little stimuli we encounter.
Sorry to hear about your experience. Something similar happened to me once. I used to live on a very rough street with an extremely poor reputation. I was driving home from college one afternoon when a cop pulled me over. I wasn't speeding, I used my signal, my registration and everything was up to date. Clearly, without saying anything, he thought I was a prostitute cruising the strip (something young girls do on this street all the time). Ironically, I was wearing a shirt that said "Don't label me." He immediately realized his mistake (seeing my textbooks in the backseat) and told me to have a nice day. Damn fool.
wELCOME cONSUMER wrote:Lance's comment reminded me: "Fear is the mind killer."
Ahem, whether you like the particular movie I'm referencing or not, that's a true statement nonetheless. Especially in this time of modern yellow journalism. What with bird flu, west nile, identity theft and who knows what else, people would rather give into fear just to feel anything anymore. We're like one big exposed nerve, hardened and raw, ready to overreact to every little stimuli we encounter.
Sorry to hear about your experience. Something similar happened to me once. I used to live on a very rough street with an extremely poor reputation. I was driving home from college one afternoon when a cop pulled me over. I wasn't speeding, I used my signal, my registration and everything was up to date. Clearly, without saying anything, he thought I was a prostitute cruising the strip (something young girls do on this street all the time). Ironically, I was wearing a shirt that said "Don't label me." He immediately realized his mistake (seeing my textbooks in the backseat) and told me to have a nice day. Damn fool.
Okey dokey then.
Explain the fur coat you were wearing and the black guy with the neon green tiger print fedora in the back seat
Fiiiine. I was choosing to omit those prime details but geez, go and blow my cover why doncha!
Not Sir Phobos wrote:
wELCOME cONSUMER wrote:Lance's comment reminded me: "Fear is the mind killer."
Ahem, whether you like the particular movie I'm referencing or not, that's a true statement nonetheless. Especially in this time of modern yellow journalism. What with bird flu, west nile, identity theft and who knows what else, people would rather give into fear just to feel anything anymore. We're like one big exposed nerve, hardened and raw, ready to overreact to every little stimuli we encounter.
Sorry to hear about your experience. Something similar happened to me once. I used to live on a very rough street with an extremely poor reputation. I was driving home from college one afternoon when a cop pulled me over. I wasn't speeding, I used my signal, my registration and everything was up to date. Clearly, without saying anything, he thought I was a prostitute cruising the strip (something young girls do on this street all the time). Ironically, I was wearing a shirt that said "Don't label me." He immediately realized his mistake (seeing my textbooks in the backseat) and told me to have a nice day. Damn fool.
Okey dokey then.
Explain the fur coat you were wearing and the black guy with the neon green tiger print fedora in the back seat
I laughed at the fact that someone supposedly reported you to the fuzz in the first place! "This is a local town for local people, we won't have any trouble here"!
With your comment, "it didn't look like we came from the community" I was reminded of this scene from The League of Gentlemen series [YouTube clip]
Out of the gloom a voice said unto me;
"Smile and be happy, things could be worse".
So I smiled and was happy
and behold;
things did get worse...
Actually being a 3rd person to this I'd say it actually could have been VERY resonable. What if there had been a few breakins that month in that neighborhood and everybody living there was on "orange alert"? I wouldn't have called the cops myself but I wouldn't get mad at, say, my neighbor Edith calling the sheriff, because she is a frail old lady and cannot handle herself with an intruder like I can.
Overall the situation and what happened was goofy IMO, but there are circumstances where it is logical.
Not Sir Phobos wrote:Overall the situation and what happened was goofy IMO, but there are circumstances where it is logical.
Uhhh..... a father and his daughter out walking? If it were 2 guys who looked like they were canvasing the neighborhood, that's one thing. But this sounds like harassment, plain and simple.
Having been on the receiving end of exactly this kind of b.s. police abuse, I understand Penguinton's frustration. But then again, I'm the type to stare at you right in the middle of Times Square.
Sugarflower wrote:my husband (boyfriend at the time) told me not to stare at anybody when we were in NYC visiting his family. Apparently city people get offended or nervous when a stranger gives them a quick stare.
Ugh, I put no trust in the police anymore. Last year I actually had a police officer falsley accuse me of drunk driving. I was completely sober, on my way to delivering my paper route. He followed me for 3 miles trying to see if I would "slip up" then when I didn't, he pulled me over anyways and said that I was weaving. He snuck up the side of my car with his hand on his gun and then motioned for me to roll down my window. As soon as I rolled it down he asked "Mam, which bar did you just come from?" When I answered that I had not been drinking and was completly sober he tried to say that my car "reeked of alcohol." He said that he could smell the alcohol "pouring out of my car." I don't drink, had never brought alcohol inside that car and there was no alcohol smell whatsoever. The cop asked me 5 different questions trying to get me to say that I was drunk.
Finally I just asked him if he would give me the blood alcohol test so I could be on my way. He made me do all of the tests (stand on one leg, walk the line, pen test, etc) and then asked me to get back in the car. Then he called for backup. When the other cop car got there I got scared and called my parents, telling them that I think the cops were trying to illegally arrest me for drunk driving. My parents had routes too (we need the income to pay for college for my sister and I) and my dad drove over to question the cops. He knew I wasn't drunk because I had been with him all night. They actually pulled their guns on him and told him to leave or they would arrest him too. After my dad left, the cop made me wait in my car another 40 minutes and then he wrote me a ticket for going 49 in a 35 mph zone and weaving within the lane.
I wasn't speeding or weaving or drunk and that cop knew it. He lied to my face and wrote me a bogus ticket. Before he let me go on, I looked at him and told him that he just wiped away all of my trust and confidence in the police and that I would "see him in court!" I was so angry, I could barely throw my route I was shaking so bad with anger.
The next day we went to a lawyer and he took my case for $250.00 because he was so sickened by the cop's corruption. He told me that if I hadn't called my dad that the cop would have probably arrested me for drunk driving. I was shocked, but the lawyer said that they do it all of the time, especially to young kids. He said they arrest people who are completely sober, take them to the jail, make them take the blood alcohol test and when it comes back negative they make them take a urine test and then hold them for 2-3 days while they wait for the results to come back. When the results come back negative, then they just charge you with speeding or weaving or pretty much whatever they want to. The lawyer said that this corruption and fascist behavior was a huge money maker for police forces in small towns and suburbs.
Anyway, my case went to court and I pretty much won - I just had to pay a $20 fine because the judge wouldn't take the weaving off of my record. The lawyer said that is was just the judges way of "saving face" with the police department even though he knew I was innocent too. But the best part was that THE COP THAT WROTE ME THE TICKET WAS SHAKING AND STUTTERING WHEN HE HAD TO FACE THE JUDGE (AND ME W/ LAWYER AS PROMISED)! Haha, just seeing the cop tremble made it worth the money and trouble to contest the ticket!
So, after that whole experience I really don't have too much faith in cops or elected officials. I know they have difficult jobs and that most of them are probalby good. Like the average person I always knew that some cops could be corrupt, but when something like this happens to you, it is a whole 'nother story. Just remembering that cop looking into my eyes and staring at me staight in the face while he lies to me and write me a ticket, makes me sick. I am just shocked that it happened in my hometown, where I grew up. I had never been in trouble with the law in my life, and after this I really am starting to question everything about our government and our society.
So, ya never ever trust the police...ever ever!
Last edited by toonybabe on Wed Jan 16, 2008 6:58 am, edited 2 times in total.
The Three Laws of Robotics:
1. A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
-I, Robot (Asimov)
toonybabe, that story is... incredible. I can't believe you had to go through such a terrible thing. It was very brave of you to remain dedicated to fighting those false citations. A lot of people wouldn't bother. I'm thinking especially of new citizens who are here legally but do not feel confident in their english speaking skills. I see these types of people everyday, they work hard and try not to cause trouble but when they are harassed like this, they just deal with it because they don't know they have options and rights. Society has to keep our authority figures and public servants in check, even though most of the time, we don't bother. They are there to serve and protect, not to badger and harass.
A good thing to say when an officer approaches your vehicle is to politely inform him/her that you are recording their conversation. Whether it's true or not, it's perfectly legal and the thought of being recorded will sometimes keep the officer in line. Most cell phones have a memo feature that allows you to record your voice for several minutes, or just call someone and let them stay on the line while you interact with an officer. My mom got out of receiving a citation for "illegally using her horn" when the car in front of her wouldn't move at a green light. The officer started arguing with her and she said she was recording everything and he begrudgingly let her go with a verbal warning.
We need policing but we don't need individuals that are drunk with power and bogus quotas.
We fit the discription too! Apparently we were walking slow and looking at houses as we went. Also we didn't look like we came from the community? (The people we pasted on our way was dressed the same as we were. 
)... And someone reported that to the police and they went on the manhunt! 
I guess they had nothing better to do. Sad actually. After showing our ID's, demanding who reported our "suspicious walking", and telling every pedestrian that passed by not to walk slowly the Cop was embarressed enough to finally let us go. 
I can't believe you had to go through such a terrible thing. It was very brave of you to remain dedicated to fighting those false citations. A lot of people wouldn't bother. I'm thinking especially of new citizens who are here legally but do not feel confident in their english speaking skills. I see these types of people everyday, they work hard and try not to cause trouble but when they are harassed like this, they just deal with it because they don't know they have options and rights. Society has to keep our authority figures and public servants in check, even though most of the time, we don't bother. They are there to serve and protect, not to badger and harass.