well I got arrested

[B Dids]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
What did you do to get stopped?

This is why I hate cops. [censored] randomly questioning citizens without cause is bullshit.

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you obligated to provide ID to police officers in the states?

[/ QUOTE ]

There's like 5 pages on this topic in B&M in one of the threads about the NYC poker club busts. I recall the answer is "no but..."

[rollingdirty]

[jakethebake]

[ QUOTE ]
Wow i didn't know people could go to jail for parking tickets. In Houston it is a civil offense not criminal, so only the car goes to jail.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is untrue. If you don't pay them, you can go to jail in Houston. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[B Dids]

Getting a parking ticket may not be criminal, but being a cheap [censored] and not paying them probably is.

[rollingdirty]

[ThisHo]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
What did you do to get stopped?

This is why I hate cops. [censored] randomly questioning citizens without cause is bullshit.

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you obligated to provide ID to police officers in the states? I know in Canada the only time you are obligated to provide ID is if you are suspected of having committed a crime or if the cop witnessed you commit a traffic offence. Cops will give you attitude if you don't provide ID when they ask for it, but that's about it.

I had the same sort that happened to the OP happen to me a couple of years ago. I was cutting through a park on my way home from my girlfriend's house and as I exited the park a cop car pulled up and slammed on his brakes in front of me and threw his lights on. I just stood there and looked at the cop like he was a retard. He got out of the car and asked me why I was out so late. I asked him if there was a law against being out so late. He looked really pissed that I had answered his question with a question. He then asked me for ID, which was simply to intimidate me. I asked him if he suspected that I had committed a crime. The a$$hole replied "That's what I'm trying to find out". I told him that he could follow me home if he wanted, but I wasn't going to give him my ID because I hadn't done anything wrong. I was only a block from my house, and the guy actually followed behind me at 5mph the whole way, to check if actually lived in the neighbourhood, I guess.

It's one thing to be vigilant, it's totally another thing to randomly hassle people on the street, hoping that you'll stumble upon a criminal.

[/ QUOTE ]

Part of police work is PREVENTING crime, correct? Checking to see why some dude is wandering through a residential area in the middle of the night seems to fall into this category to me. I've had it done, I don't mind. I'd prefer they understand what's going on in the neighborhood rather than taking 20minutes to respond when called for an actual crime.

If the cop is a dick about it, thats a different story, but when you start a conversation with a police officer with "is it illegal to ..." you're just asking for a problem.

I guess I'm just old fashioned
ThisHo

[jakethebake]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Wow i didn't know people could go to jail for parking tickets. In Houston it is a civil offense not criminal, so only the car goes to jail.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is untrue. If you don't pay them, you can go to jail in Houston. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

Sorry Jake i usually agree with you but no not in Houston as in the actual city not talking about any of the small towns. It is a civil offense.

[/ QUOTE ]

O.k. we're talking about two different things here. We're both right actually. You cannot be "sentenced" to jail time for unpaid tickets. However, if you don't pay them, they will issue a warrant and you are subject to arrest. One you go to court, if you don't pay the fine, you can be jailed for contempt.

[Boris]

good for your street cred yo!

[ihardlyknowher]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
What did you do to get stopped?

This is why I hate cops. [censored] randomly questioning citizens without cause is bullshit.

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you obligated to provide ID to police officers in the states? I know in Canada the only time you are obligated to provide ID is if you are suspected of having committed a crime or if the cop witnessed you commit a traffic offence. Cops will give you attitude if you don't provide ID when they ask for it, but that's about it.

I had the same sort that happened to the OP happen to me a couple of years ago. I was cutting through a park on my way home from my girlfriend's house and as I exited the park a cop car pulled up and slammed on his brakes in front of me and threw his lights on. I just stood there and looked at the cop like he was a retard. He got out of the car and asked me why I was out so late. I asked him if there was a law against being out so late. He looked really pissed that I had answered his question with a question. He then asked me for ID, which was simply to intimidate me. I asked him if he suspected that I had committed a crime. The a$$hole replied "That's what I'm trying to find out". I told him that he could follow me home if he wanted, but I wasn't going to give him my ID because I hadn't done anything wrong. I was only a block from my house, and the guy actually followed behind me at 5mph the whole way, to check if actually lived in the neighbourhood, I guess.

It's one thing to be vigilant, it's totally another thing to randomly hassle people on the street, hoping that you'll stumble upon a criminal.

[/ QUOTE ]

Part of police work is PREVENTING crime, correct? Checking to see why some dude is wandering through a residential area in the middle of the night seems to fall into this category to me. I've had it done, I don't mind. I'd prefer they understand what's going on in the neighborhood rather than taking 20minutes to respond when called for an actual crime.

If the cop is a dick about it, thats a different story, but when you start a conversation with a police officer with "is it illegal to ..." you're just asking for a problem.

I guess I'm just old fashioned
ThisHo

[/ QUOTE ]

This is absurd. We live in a free society. Tell the cop it is none of his business (but in a polite way). You may still get arrested, but the cop will be violating your constitutional rights and you should win in court.

[HopeydaFish]

[ QUOTE ]

Part of police work is PREVENTING crime, correct?


[/ QUOTE ]

It is, but there's a fine line between preventing crime and infringing on my rights. I should be allowed to walk around my neighbourhood without being stopped and questioned by police. Being stopped simply for walking down the street at night and being ordered to produce ID may not seem like all that an egregious violation of someone's rights. It's violating my freedom of movement, and I don't like that. I shouldn't need the permission of the police to walk down my street at night.

It's a slippery slope when you start allowing the authorities to take away bits and pieces of your freedoms. Where does it stop? Should I also have to submit to a search of my person if the officer demands it? After all, I could be carrying something illegal -- and we do want to "prevent crime" don't we?

Should police be allowed to search your home whenever they want to? After all, it's all in the name of preventing crime.

[ QUOTE ]
Checking to see why some dude is wandering through a residential area in the middle of the night seems to fall into this category to me. I've had it done, I don't mind.

[/ QUOTE ]

It's the old "if you have nothing to hide, what do you have to worry about" argument. As a law abiding citizen, I don't like being *forced* to have my privacy violated by the authorities.

[ QUOTE ]
If the cop is a dick about it, thats a different story, but when you start a conversation with a police officer with "is it illegal to ..." you're just asking for a problem.

[/ QUOTE ]

The cop was a dick about it. He was treating me like he suspected that I was up to no good, rather than treating me with respect. He was acting like a bully, and law abiding citizens have a right not to be bullied by the police. As for me "asking for trouble" -- do you understand how horrible that sounds? So because I bruised the cops ego by not immediately kowtowing to his demands, I'm "asking" for my rights to be violated? That's absurd.

[ QUOTE ]

I guess I'm just old fashioned


[/ QUOTE ]

No, it just sounds like you're willing to give up your rights and freedoms a little too easily for the illusion of more security.