I’m starting to suspect we are not conversing with an actual police officer.
Do you seriously think its illegal for a police officer to have a conversation? Maybe its illegal for me to post this reply. I bet there is tons of case law about that.
Don’t worry, I got time.
Interesting tactic: a data dump tangientially connected with the assertion for which support has been requested.
Yes, it’s legal. It isn’t really that complicated. You can try it yourself as a non-police officer if you like.
One of our members is a judge (magistrate really). We’ve met in person. I’m sure he could vouch for me. And tell you how wrong you are.
That was not the tangent we went off on. It was about the nature of questions, and how police have power due to the nature of their duties, but also limitations that ordinary people don’t.
Some ordinary person could be rude and start questioning somebody about anything. A police officer on duty certainly can’t. That I even have to explain this is approaching the absurd.
Your evasion of a direct inquiry is telling.
You are wrong. Cite?
That direct enough?
There are at least three legal professionals telling you he’s right. Will you take our word for it?
I’m sure everybody would love to hear you explain why it’s legal for an officer of the law to ask any question of a citizen. Anything.
That was the claim.
Don’t try to weasel and say it’s in the course of a lawful investigation. That wasn’t the claim.
Don’t pretend we were taking about a conversation.
It was in regards to being questioned by an on duty police officer, with no probable cause.
Please, make our day.
They seem to have edited out the case law that forbids police officers from asking questions about bra sizes, political views or PINs. Since you are “familiar” with the relevant case law, please cite it and not extraneous crap.
Given that the police can legally lie to you to get you to confess to a crime, how on earth could it be illegal for them to ask anything they wanted?
http://www.10news.com/news/woman-wins-sexual-harassment-lawsuit-against-oceanside-police-department
I can’t believe I have to explain this. I really think there is some leg pulling going on now.
Yes, that is legal. It may be against internal policy, but it is legal. You are wrong. You couldn’t not be more wrong. You claim to have case law that supports you. You’ve been asked to cite it. Why have you not done so? You could easily put to rest the unanimous chorus of people telling you that you are wrong by doing so.
That link refers to a female police officer who won a sexual harassment case against her employer, the Oceanside, California, police department.
Nothing in that link refers to questions asked by any person of any person.
OK:
The Supreme Court said:
(Quoting Florida v. Bostick, 501 US 429, 1991).
The best you can come up with is a work place harassment lawsuit? Do we really have to explain the difference between a tort and a crime? Or to point out that sexual harassment of a coworker has nothing to do with what you are claiming?
His department may well have rules that frown upon his wasting time, or something. but he breaks no law by questioning somebody about anything, as long as the person he questions is free to disregard the inquiry and go about his business.
You keep posting half-assed links to shit that has no connection to this question. If you say a law is being broken, WHAT IS THE LAW?
Your google-fu is extremely weak. Give Bing a chance.
Just to give you the benefit of the doubt, are you talking about something like a cop asking a 6 year old girl if she would like to go behind that bush and have sex? Because, I’m pretty sure that would be a crime, for just about anyone, not just cops.
OR… are you saying there are questions that a police officer cannot ask because they are police officers, and we don’t allow police officers to ask “those” questions. Because, I’m pretty sure that’s a bunch of hooey.
Aything that is not specifically illegal, is legal. By definition and legal precedent. that is how the law works. Unless a specific law prohibits it, it is NOT illegal.
An officer can come up to you and ask you anything. That is not forbidden.
They CANNOT detain you without reasonable grounds or arrest you without probable cause. That IS forbidden, by the costitution and myriad cascading laws and precedents.
So if you mean, can a police officer take you down to the station and ask questions whenever they feel like it - no. Can they ask you questions when they com up to you on the street? Of course. Can they barge into your house and ask all the questions they want? Not without a warrant. In any of these cases, must you reply or give facts when asked? Other than the “give your name” issue - no.
So yes, a cop can come up to you and ask you questions. You do not have to answer. (Under specific circumstances enumerated in this thread, you may have to identify yourself verbally).
If the questions are inappropriate and complaints are made - then the officer may face disciplinary actions from his superiors. This is not a criminal offense, it is a violation of policy. You or the cop can be fired without being convicted or even charged with a crime -or even when not having committed a crime. That is a separate issue.
Why is it legal for a cop to ask any person any question? Because there isn’t a law against it.
For it to be illegal, there would have to be a law against it. So to demonstrate something is legal, I have to look through the law books and not find a law against something. To demonstrate something is illegal, I have to look through the law books and find a law against something.
I’ve looked through the law books and I haven’t found any law against cops chatting with people and asking them questions, even personal questions that are none of their business.
If you think I’m wrong, then it’s up to you to look through the law books and point to the law that I missed that makes it illegal for cops to ask people questions, and show everyone what I missed. Or, say, dig up a news item where a cop asked someone questions and then was prosecuted for breaking the law.
Again, just like on Law and Order, the cops can visit your house and say “Mind if we come in?” And if you say, “Sure, come in,” they can enter your house without a warrant even though you had the legal right to refuse to let them come in without a warrant. And the cops can say, “Where were you on Friday night?” and you might answer “At home watching TV,” even though you have the legal right to not answer. And the cops can say, “You don’t mind if we take a look around then, do you?” And you can say, “Sure, go ahead, I have nothing to hide,” and so now the cops can legally search your house without a warrant, even though you had the right to tell them no.
The key part here is that when you allowed the cops into your home and answered their questions and let them search, you did it voluntarily. You consented to each request. The cops broke no laws. Maybe you consented because you thought that if you refused, the cops would make trouble for you. If so, then you can file a complaint against them. Or you could refuse to let them in, refuse to answer questions, refuse to let them search. And then they’d have to leave.
It is legal for cops to enter your property, ask you questions, and search your person and property, if they get you to consent first.
Forget that – that’s in the context of an investigation. I think he’s stuck on the idea of a cop asking a person questions without an investigation in play.
So, let’s imagine a cop comes up to you on the street and says, “Hey, I have a question: where did you go to high school?”
Completely legal.
Or let’s imagine a cop comes up to you on the street and says, “Hey, I have a question: what’s your shoe size?”
Completely legal.
Or let’s imagine a cop comes up to you on the street and says, “Hey, did you eat pizza last night?”
Completely legal.
Or let’s imagine a cop comes up to you on the street and says, “Hey, you know that scene at the end of A League of Their Own when Dottie drops the ball? You think she did that on purpose to help Kit?”
Completely legal.