Quote:
Originally Posted by Blackadar
I have a problem with it. There was NO PROBABLE CAUSE to make an arrest. I would argue that the officer didn't even have reasonable suspicion, which is what is needed to pull him over. But even if he did, that's not enough for an arrest.
Refusing to answer the questions is not probable cause and is not grounds for an arrest. Being white in a black neighborhood is not probable cause. Having a rich car in a poor neighborhood is not probable cause.
Essentially you're justifying arresting people over their skin color just because you think they don't belong. That's not just bad policy, that's illegal. Maybe arresting people for their skin color is legal in England, but that's not the law in the USA.
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No I'm not, and you know it, but way to play the race card - that came out the pack from nowhere.
Look at it this way: if you go into a meeting and shake someone's hand and smile, will you get a better reaction in return than if you punched them to the floor? Is the latter course of action a good idea, especially if that person does have the ability to make your life a hell for an extended period of time?
If as would appear to be the case the poster had literally nothing to hide, why not be open and honest instead of being evasive? Not answering questions meaning you can't be detained? That's madness, and again means no-one would ever be arrested unless they were caught in the act.
Asking for an attorney to be present clearly protects you, but also means that you are going to be detained for a longer time. If he had just explained what was going on, who knows, maybe the cop would have gone OK, sorry to have stopped you, away you go. It's happened to me a couple of times, and while it's annoying that it delays me a five or ten minutes, as I have nothing to hide I've got nothing to fear, so it's no problem: not everyone the police stop have done something wrong, but some will have - if they don't stop anyone, preventative policing will be hugely ineffective (or even more ineffective I guess depending on your viewpoint)
I grant you as a middle class bloke who grew up in a village rather than a town or city, my attitude is likely different to someone who grew up in a poor urban area, but i can't fathom why people think being obstructive, aggressive, belligerent or just plain dicks to the police is the way forward? Particularly if you have literally nothing to hide? Surely that just means that if you have been unlucky enough to draw one of the few bad cops on a bad day, they could try and find something and pin it on you? Better just to play the game and be answer the questions IMHO - doesn't mean you have to kow-tow or be a pussy, just answer the questions.
I will qualify that by saying the one thing that must make a big difference between here and the US is that both parties could well be armed, which must make both parties more twitchy, but that's another argument entirely.