# Assisting the police **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 2, 2013, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assisting-the-police/662459 "2013-07-02T16:59:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [July 2, 2013, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assisting-the-police/662459/21 "2013-07-02T18:52:53Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Of course I help the police. They’re not all corrupt bastards. I stick my foot out, then sit on the apparent perp until the officer can control the situation. I might hand you the cuffs until I can catch my breath.😃 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2013, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assisting-the-police/662459/22 "2013-07-02T18:54:47Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > They’re not all corrupt bastards. Cite? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![lawbuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@lawbuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawbuff)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2013, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assisting-the-police/662459/23 "2013-07-02T18:58:21Z")
In Ohio you have to assist a police officer by law unless it poses a risk to you. 2921.23 Failure to aid a law enforcement officer. (A) No person shall negligently fail or refuse to aid a law enforcement officer, when called upon for assistance in preventing or halting the commission of an offense, or in apprehending or detaining an offender, when such aid can be given without a substantial risk of physical harm to the person giving it. (B) Whoever violates this section is guilty of failure to aid a law enforcement officer, a minor misdemeanor. Then we have the culpable mental state “negligently” to battle out if arrested for failure to aid. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2013, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assisting-the-police/662459/24 "2013-07-02T19:13:33Z")
> [@lawbuff](#): > > In Ohio you have to assist a police officer by law unless it poses a risk to you. > 2921.23 Failure to aid a law enforcement officer. > > (A) No person shall negligently fail or refuse to aid a law enforcement officer, **when called upon for assistance** in preventing or halting the commission of an offense, or in apprehending or detaining an offender, when such aid can be given without a substantial risk of physical harm to the person giving it. > > (B) Whoever violates this section is guilty of failure to aid a law enforcement officer, a minor misdemeanor. > > Then we have the culpable mental state “negligently” to battle out if arrested for failure to aid. The officer has not requested our assistance in this hypothetical. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2013, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assisting-the-police/662459/25 "2013-07-02T19:14:29Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > The officer has not requested our assistance. I would also say that assaulting a fleeing suspect who may be violent also poses a risk. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2013, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assisting-the-police/662459/26 "2013-07-02T19:18:30Z")
I think the **when called upon for assistance** is the pertinent bit. Unless the cop is calling for help or is being tackled and obviously needs help, I’m staying out of it. It’ll give the cop one less thing to keep track of. Even if I didn’t think staying clear was the best way to help - bad knees. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2013, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assisting-the-police/662459/27 "2013-07-02T19:27:51Z")
You could also assist by offering advice, such as, “Officer! Run much faster, else he will escape!” ---
**Author:** ![lawbuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@lawbuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawbuff)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2013, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assisting-the-police/662459/28 "2013-07-02T19:36:13Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > The officer has not requested our assistance in this hypothetical. I am unsure how I would react at that time. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2013, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assisting-the-police/662459/29 "2013-07-02T19:41:56Z")
Handing him a business card as he runs by would be frowned upon by the bar, so I guess I’ll trip him if I can react quickly enough. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2013, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assisting-the-police/662459/30 "2013-07-02T19:44:01Z")
If I had time to think about it, I’d probably try to shove a chair or something in his path. Should it come up later as a civil suit thing, I could claim I was just trying to get out of the way and the chair ended up tripping him. Beyond that, I’d stay out of it, being a rather small woman who is disinclined to get injured. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2013, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assisting-the-police/662459/31 "2013-07-02T19:50:17Z")
Peter Parker had to live the rest of his life with guilt for not stopping the perp. I’d consider tripping him. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2013, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assisting-the-police/662459/32 "2013-07-02T19:56:28Z")
Obvious answer: Roundhouse kick. This is assuming I forgot my nunchucks at home. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assisting-the-police/662459/33 "2013-07-02T20:39:37Z")
As others have pointed out, my preferred solution would be kicking a chair or other object over in his path–ideally tripping him without engaging in physical contact, with a bonus of plausible deniability. If that isn’t practical, I would go for tripping him. If, for whatever reason, tripping seems unlikely to work, I would engage in more substantial contact, but not tackling. Tackling has too great a chance of going wrong, and if he’s really of only average size, I should be able to stop him for long enough without it. ---
**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:** [July 3, 2013, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assisting-the-police/662459/34 "2013-07-03T00:19:08Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Handing him a business card as he runs by would be frowned upon by the bar, so I guess I’ll trip him if I can react quickly enough. Quite correct. It’s easier to hand him your card after he’s in a heap on the ground. He might fumble the handoff, as it were, if you try to give it to him while he’s running by. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assisting-the-police/662459/35 "2013-07-03T00:48:55Z")
I’d stay out of it unless the officer gave me some kind of instruction to do something, like “Hey, trip him”. And this is coming from someone that almost always helps the cops out whenever I can (I run a business, so the brownie points are always good). In fact, just a few weeks ago, the cops were chasing a guy and he ditched his car in our parking lot and took off on foot. The cops had to leave (to keep following him) and I offered to [park my forklift](http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f44/JoeyJoeyPP/IMG_20130608_134353_065_zps1cff1f31.jpg) behind his car until the tow truck got there. That way if he came back for it, he couldn’t get anywhere. (Though, I wish I had parked the other way so it he came back, it would have looked like I had just stopped behind his truck instead of clearly blocked him in). Having said all that, no, I wouldn’t touch a ‘bad guy’ running from the cops. Keep in mind, he didn’t do anything to you, specifically. If you hit him or trip him and he hurts himself, you’ll likely be on the line for any injuries he sustains. ---
**Author:** ![Glazer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a88e57/32.png) [@Glazer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glazer)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assisting-the-police/662459/36 "2013-07-03T01:06:03Z")
Let him run by. Then “accidentally” step in front of the cop to let him get away. Later I have a couple of the boys swing by the perp’s place and get my cut. ---
**Author:** ![AlaskanMatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@AlaskanMatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlaskanMatt)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assisting-the-police/662459/37 "2013-07-03T01:15:04Z")
I’d give him a good forearm/elbow shove. In that situation I am definitely doing enough to let the cop catch up and get him, but feeling fairly safe that I won’t get stabbed, etc. in the process (as I might if I tackled him and we were close-quarters). 23 y/o male ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assisting-the-police/662459/38 "2013-07-03T02:37:30Z")
I’d stick out my foot, but I’m not drinking any coffee. ---
**Author:** ![akennett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee59a6/32.png) [@akennett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akennett)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assisting-the-police/662459/39 "2013-07-03T02:42:02Z")
I am neither paid to take action nor protected by law for doing so. Besides, a purse snatcher is likely not the most violent of offenders, so my conscience is clear. Let Piggy McCopperson deal with him. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2013, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assisting-the-police/662459/40 "2013-07-03T03:15:27Z")
I would run into the cafe, but only to protect myself from a possible shooting. Self-preservation baby! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assisting-the-police/662459.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assisting-the-police/662459.md?page=3)