# A Cop and His Epic Failure **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 4, 2012, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cop-and-his-epic-failure/608398 "2012-01-04T17:55:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cop-and-his-epic-failure/608398/41 "2012-01-05T19:02:35Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > [Stickney](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stickney,_Illinois) has just over 6000 people. The chances of him stopping her in the future is fairly high. How many officers does a village of 6000 have? Not many, I’d suspect. Depends on where she lives or works. Stickney is part of the sprawling metropolis region of the Chicagoland area, not a village in the middle of nowhere, so if she doesn’t have to go there - and I personally recommend against going as the stench from the Water Reclamation Plant can be smelled miles away (I’ve done it when the wind is right.. er, wrong), then she can avoid him in that respect. It was mentioned on the news this morning, though I don’t have a cite, that there are laws against government workers using personal information gathered through their workplace. It may well be not only within her rights, but also not unexpected, for someone in her situation to file suit in a case like this. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cop-and-his-epic-failure/608398/42 "2012-01-05T21:28:14Z")
The man is totally in the wrong, I can understand where he’s coming from, but he shouldn’t be a police officer, not now or ever. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cop-and-his-epic-failure/608398/43 "2012-01-05T21:36:10Z")
Meh. Yes, he shouldn’t have used a restricted database to look up her address. However, there are other ways to find a person’s address, such as Googling her name. So first I’d like to see proof that he looked her name up in the database, which is definitely a no-no. However, I think that his note was charming. And I read at least one account that said that she actually dated him once. So I’d like all the facts to come out. Only when we can see the full picture can we really make a determination as to who is the creepiest in this scenario. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cop-and-his-epic-failure/608398/44 "2012-01-05T21:39:01Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > I dunno, I thought that note was kind of charming. I agree. Maybe it was a little weird to leave a note on the car but I bet he thought it was less intrusive than calling her. Sort of reminds me of a time when a man I had met socially a few times called me to ask me out, he “confessed” to getting my number by peeking at the Rolodex ( this was many years ago) of a mutual friend. I didn’t find it creepy at all, it was probably preferable to him asking my friend for his number then having him ask me if it was OK to give the him my number etc. I went out with him a few times, no fireworks but nothing creepy either. ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cop-and-his-epic-failure/608398/45 "2012-01-05T23:11:45Z")
The story sure made a splash. > **[Woman sues after cop 'issues ticket for speeding... then asks for a date'](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2081930/Evangelina-Paredes-sues-Stickney-police-officer-Chris-Collins-asked-date-issuing-ticket.html)** > > Evangelina Paredes accuses Stickney cop Chris Collins of violating her privacy by searching motor-vehicle records for her address. > **[Evangelina Paredes: Woman Claims Cop Used Speeding Ticket to Ask for Date](https://www.ibtimes.com/evangelina-paredes-woman-claims-cop-used-speeding-ticket-ask-date-390850)** > > Evangelina Paredes filed a lawsuit against Stickney cop Chris Collins for violation of privacy, claiming the Chicago police officer used a speeding ticket to find her address and track her down for a date. > **[HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News](https://www.huffpost.com/?err_code=404&err_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2F2012%2F01%2F03%2Fevangelina-paredes-lawsui_n_1181629.html)** > > Read the latest headlines, news stories, and opinion from Politics, Entertainment, Life, Perspectives, and more. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cop-and-his-epic-failure/608398/46 "2012-01-06T00:56:52Z")
> [@AndyLee](#): > > I don’t see this is very different from corporation policy. My last job I had, it was clearly stated, we were not to date, vendors, clients or customers of the company. > > It just makes good business sense. I work for a financial institution. While we don’t have a policy per se against dating clients or vendors (provided no conflict of interest exists) looking up information in our computer system for such purpose (or any purpose not directly rellated to business) would result in termination on the spot even without actually contacting the customer. If the cop looked her up in a police database, or even copied her name of police paperwork to google he should be fired, end of story. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cop-and-his-epic-failure/608398/47 "2012-01-06T01:00:20Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Depends on where she lives or works. Stickney is part of the sprawling metropolis region of the Chicagoland area, not a village in the middle of nowhere, so if she doesn’t have to go there - and I personally recommend against going as the stench from the Water Reclamation Plant can be smelled miles away (I’ve done it when the wind is right.. er, wrong), then she can avoid him in that respect. Yeah, I just looked it up on Google Maps and this town is only a couple of miles north of Chicago’s Midway Airport. This is a pretty dense area and the town is bordered on all sides. It’s not a small farming community. ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cop-and-his-epic-failure/608398/48 "2012-01-06T01:13:07Z")
Next to Cicero and Chicago… ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cop-and-his-epic-failure/608398/49 "2012-01-06T01:37:30Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > You’re _probably_ right, though I’d argue that you don’t actually _know_ that. Your sister’s stalker experiences don’t necessarily reflect all stalker experiences. > > This was the first action the man took. How many inappropriate actions does it take before someone becomes a stalker? If you can stop a stalker after one “stalkerish” act, that’s a good thing. I’d rather have a response to this than wait and see what kind of creepiness the person might do next, you know? The legal definition of stalking is more than one act. Asking someone out once is not stalking. ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cop-and-his-epic-failure/608398/50 "2012-01-06T01:48:44Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > The legal definition of stalking is more than one act. Asking someone out once is not stalking. If a male Doper left a note on a female Doper’s car window \*\*once \*\*without having had _any_ prior communications, or exchanged any information about each other’s location, other than normal and public SDMB posts? ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cop-and-his-epic-failure/608398/51 "2012-01-06T02:03:59Z")
> [@brittekland](#): > > If a male Doper left a note on a female Doper’s car window \*\*once \*\*without having had _any_ prior communications, or exchanged any information about each other’s location, other than normal and public SDMB posts? As **Loach** wrote above, there must be at least two acts for stalking to have taken place. Also, one must also be in reasonable fear for their safety or the safety of a family member for stalking to have occurred in most, if not all, states. This is true for IL where this took place. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cop-and-his-epic-failure/608398/52 "2012-01-06T02:32:36Z")
This was completely unprofessional and inappropriate, possibly illegal, and the man carries a gun. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cop-and-his-epic-failure/608398/53 "2012-01-06T05:03:24Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > The legal definition of stalking is more than one act. Asking someone out once is not stalking. But that’s not what he did. If he wanted to ask her out, he should have done it when he met her in person. It would be weird and somewhat inappropriate but not creepy or stalkerish (note the _ish_…we aren’t saying he IS a stalker, we are saying it’s the type of behaviour we would associate with one). Looking up her name in a work-related database is already crossing one line. It simply isn’t appropriate and it isn’t a normal way to try and meet people. Going to her home when she wasn’t there, tracking down her vehicle in an apartment parking lot and leaving a note is another line. Again, it isn’t a normal way to try and meet people, particularly people who you haven’t really “met” outside of a brief professional interaction. He is a cop - a person in a position of authority (and armed at that, though that’s not necessarily an issue). Such a person is often intimidating to begin with, because of their role in society. When a person in an authoritative, intimidating role tracks you down without your knowledge in order to ask for a date - something that always has a sexual component to it, even if it’s very little - that can be very scary. Again, he didn’t simply ask her out on a date. He behaved in ways that are inappropriate, outside the norm and potentially quite intimidating, and did so _outside her home_, where you should feel the safest. It’s stalker_ish_ behaviour. It’s not just an unwanted advance. ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cop-and-his-epic-failure/608398/54 "2012-01-06T05:21:38Z")
Could a cop tell that someone is available, ie, a single and/or not living with anyone, just by giving them a speeding ticket or can they look up info as such? Or shouldn’t the possibilities like her husband or possible live-in boyfriend finding the note instead of her any concern at all? Do we think that he simply decided to go to her address, without knowing any further info or whether she might be home or not (ie, her car being in the packing lot), and just happened to find that her car there? Or did it take a bit more work? Devil is in the detail they say. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cop-and-his-epic-failure/608398/55 "2012-01-06T12:40:43Z")
I don’t see how we even know that he _knew_ her address. I mean, I presume her address is on her driver’s license, which I presume she presented to him when the ticket was issued. So the next day he’s consumed with thoughts of this woman and tries to remember the address he had just glanced at the day before. Surely remembering what you saw yesterday isn’t against policy. Ah shit, was 732 Pine, or 723? Maybe I’ll just cruise down Pine Street and see if I recognize her car. ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cop-and-his-epic-failure/608398/56 "2012-01-06T12:53:11Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > I don’t see how we even know that he _knew_ her address. I mean, I presume her address is on her driver’s license, which I presume she presented to him when the ticket was issued. So the next day he’s consumed with thoughts of this woman and tries to remember the address he had just glanced at the day before. Surely remembering what you saw yesterday isn’t against policy. Ah shit, was 732 Pine, or 723? Maybe I’ll just cruise down Pine Street and see if I recognize her car. I would definitely pick you as one of my jury. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cop-and-his-epic-failure/608398/57 "2012-01-06T13:15:50Z")
> [@brittekland](#): > > I would definitely pick you as one of my jury. _shrug_ Leaving a note on my car isn’t evidence that you have used a proprietary database to find my address, or even that you know what my address is. It’s just evidence that you found my car. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cop-and-his-epic-failure/608398/58 "2012-01-06T13:56:47Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > I don’t see how we even know that he _knew_ her address. I mean, I presume her address is on her driver’s license, which I presume she presented to him when the ticket was issued. So the next day he’s consumed with thoughts of this woman and tries to remember the address he had just glanced at the day before. Surely remembering what you saw yesterday isn’t against policy. Ah shit, was 732 Pine, or 723? Maybe I’ll just cruise down Pine Street and see if I recognize her car. She was compelled by law to provide her license to this man. She didn’t do it freely. How about all the other times he pulled someone over? Did they really speed or did this guy simply want to get a closer look at a woman? ---
**Author:** ![Chicagojeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@Chicagojeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicagojeff)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cop-and-his-epic-failure/608398/59 "2012-01-06T14:03:42Z")
Well. this is more common than one might think. As for "Work related: database… thats called the state crime index center… hence in Georgia it’s the GCIC… and when i look you up for non professional reasons that’s suppose to result in my immediate termination. This pales in comparison of the genius who decided to sneak into another guy’s cop car and run Barack Obama on a namecheck… suffice to say the President came back clear… and the Secret Service came by for a visit!! ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cop-and-his-epic-failure/608398/60 "2012-01-06T16:03:54Z")
> [@brittekland](#): > > If a male Doper left a note on a female Doper’s car window \*\*once \*\*without having had _any_ prior communications, or exchanged any information about each other’s location, other than normal and public SDMB posts? I can not say for sure about all 50 states. But here in NJ the statute very specifically uses terms like “repeatedly” and “a course of action”. As a police officer who has charged people with stalking I guarantee here it has to be more than one occasion. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cop-and-his-epic-failure/608398.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cop-and-his-epic-failure/608398.md?page=4)