# Controversial encounters between law-enforcement and civilians - the omnibus thread **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 10, 2014, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942 "2014-10-10T07:35:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 278
**Author:** ![JVDaly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/edb3f5/32.png) [@JVDaly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JVDaly)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/5541 "2015-07-28T20:18:54Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Is it your judgment that in such a situation, you would be best served by committing an act which could be construed as a threat by a person who is in your home, armed with a deadly weapon, and not as mentally infirm as you insist that you would be? But the point is that staying perfectly still in a threatening situation is much, much easier said than done! Seriously, why don’t you get that? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/5542 "2015-07-28T20:24:23Z")
> [@JVDaly](#): > > But the point is that staying perfectly still in a threatening situation is much, much easier said than done! Seriously, why don’t you get that? I get it. Anyone who desires to live rather than die should also aspire to get it. ---
**Author:** ![JVDaly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/edb3f5/32.png) [@JVDaly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JVDaly)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/5543 "2015-07-28T20:29:09Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I get it. > > Anyone who desires to live rather than die should also aspire to get it. I don’t believe you. I think that if cops burst into your house at three in the morning shining halogen flashlights, waving machine guns and screaming “HANDS MOTHERFUCKER! SHOW YOUR FUCKIN’ HANDS!” you’ll find it hard, if not impossible to “stay perfectly still” Most people would find it hard. Cops should be more understanding of this fact. ---
**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 28, 2015, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/5544 "2015-07-28T20:37:05Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > I wonder if there are any situations that are not best served by lying perfectly still. My ex-wife had that down cold. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/5545 "2015-07-28T20:37:06Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > You awake. You are not in full possession of your visual capacities. You are aware that sounds are occurring in your dwelling that indicate the presence of an armed force. You are aware that under such circumstances reaching for your glasses could be perceived as a threat. > > Do you choose to reach for your glasses? You seriously have armed public servants who aren’t sufficiently trained to deal with the concept of someone reaching for their glasses when woken at night? ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/5546 "2015-07-28T20:46:24Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > You seriously have armed public servants who aren’t sufficiently trained to deal with the concept of someone reaching for their glasses when woken at night? No, there are some armed public servants who are so poorly trained and fearful that they think any motion is somebody reaching for a gun. ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/5547 "2015-07-28T20:47:58Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > No, there are some armed public servants who are so poorly trained and fearful that they think any motion is somebody reaching for a gun. That is quite true. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/5548 "2015-07-28T20:54:59Z")
And instead of proposing better training and use of force guidelines, the Shithead twins believe they are absolutely justified in blowing you to hell for scaring them like that. ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/5549 "2015-07-28T21:02:12Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > And instead of proposing better training and use of force guidelines, the Shithead twins believe they are absolutely justified in blowing you to hell for scaring them like that. Training and guidelines?! What the hell are you, some sort of anarchist? ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/5550 "2015-07-28T21:02:36Z")
Well stop going around scaring people. That’s not nice. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/5551 "2015-07-28T21:30:34Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > You awake. You are not in full possession of your visual capacities. You are aware that sounds are occurring in your dwelling that indicate the presence of an armed force. You are aware that under such circumstances reaching for your glasses could be perceived as a threat. > > Do you choose to reach for your glasses? I got exactly what I was expecting - in Smapti’s work, people wake up with psychic abilities. Or if they don’t, they deserve to get shot. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/5552 "2015-07-28T22:28:52Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I got exactly what I was expecting - in Smapti’s work, people wake up with psychic abilities. > > Or if they don’t, they deserve to get shot. In fairness to **Smapti** , he’s either a robot, an alien, or a human so damaged that his mind can be barely called human any more. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/5553 "2015-07-28T22:31:12Z")
Maybe this is how humans will develop telepathic abilities - wake them up, if they move, shoot them, let natural selection take its course and in twenty generations; Professor X! ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2015, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/5554 "2015-07-28T22:51:08Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > You seriously have armed public servants who aren’t sufficiently trained to deal with the concept of someone reaching for their glasses when woken at night? Apparently. These servants also seem to have their own set of enablers and endorsers. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/5555 "2015-07-29T01:20:51Z")
I suppose the solution is to move to Indiana and simply shoot the officer who is making a bad entry into a home. ---
**Author:** ![CannyDan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cannydan/32/548_2.png) [@CannyDan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CannyDan)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/5556 "2015-07-29T03:14:49Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > I suppose the solution is to move to Indiana and simply shoot the officer who is making a bad entry into a home. Easy for you to say! You’ve probably got insomnia! And 20/20 vision. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/5557 "2015-07-29T03:27:59Z")
When I am woken by a disturbance, I shout and flail until I wake up enough to figure out what the fuck is going on, so I expect that I would be shot in my bed by the armed intruder police who would then claim to be fearing for their lives, using the tried (well, usually covered over and seldom tried) and true (well, more along the lines of covering up what is true) method of policing by shooting first and not asking questions later. ---
**Author:** ![AtomicDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@AtomicDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AtomicDog)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/5558 "2015-07-29T05:22:35Z")
An oldie from last summer: [Man arrested for walking while black](http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/spd-notice/) I see people using golf clubs as walking sticks all the time. And apparently, no one bothered to review the dashcam video to check the lying cop’s story before throwing the poor guy in jail. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/5559 "2015-07-29T12:59:53Z")
> [@AtomicDog](#): > > An oldie from last summer: > > [Man arrested for walking while black](http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/spd-notice/) > > I see people using golf clubs as walking sticks all the time. And apparently, no one bothered to review the dashcam video to check the lying cop’s story before throwing the poor guy in jail. Nice. > [@](#): > > Wingate was on his daily, 10-mile walk, using the golf club as a cane, when, according to official accounts, Whitlatch stopped him on Capitol Hill, claiming he swung the club in a threatening manner, striking a stop sign, while she was driving past in her patrol car. > > Video from her patrol car did not capture Wingate swinging the club, raising questions about Whitlatch’s account. > > _Smith, in his comments Monday, said there is no evidence showing that Wingate did not swing the club._ [My italics] This is the justification for defending the officer’s arrest? To paraphrase _South Park’s_ Thanksgiving episode: “There’s no evidence that aliens were not at the first Thanksgiving.” It’s like **Smapti’s** psuedo-argument that there’s no evidence that a suspect wasn’t going to shoot an officer. Until being proven otherwise by being dead, of course. Just to be safe, ya know. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2015, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942/5560 "2015-07-29T15:13:21Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > In fairness to **Smapti** , he’s either a robot, an alien, or a human so damaged that his mind can be barely called human any more. Yeah, he’s one where I have to step back and say “Wow, that person is completely fucking broken. It must be constant effort and constant confusion for him to adapt to normal Human society.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942.md?page=277) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-encounters-between-law-enforcement-and-civilians-the-omnibus-thread/700942.md?page=279)