I walk my dog a lot – frequently on the paved Multi-Use Paths in town. When a skateboard comes toward us from the other direction, I have to shorten and lock the leash, and use the “leave it” command.
It matters not who or what is riding the skateboard. My dog wants to lunge toward it. Not to do violence. Neither of us is actually sure what he would do, but we’re not going to find out.
Sometimes, it’s the same with inline skaters (and those two-wheeled scooters). Always with skateboards, though.
In case you didn’t now it. A: the police can come up to anyone and ask to engage in conversation. That includes a person sitting in their parked car or, yes, knocking on the door to their house. People are free to say, “No, thanks” or, as you put it, “Its none of your fucking business!” Its incumbent upon the cops to walk away. B: Non-emergent calls come into 911 all the time. One is not likely (as in, it never happens) to get charged with anything for using 911 that way. C. Whatever information police can gain from an encounter like this is already available to them. I’m not sure what you mean by “collecting”. Yes, if they even do a report, the tag number will probably be entered in some database never to be seen again. If you are out and about in public in car with easily viewable license plates, you have given up to some degree, a reasonable expectation of privacy.
Harassment usually requires repeated behavior designed to annoy or inconvenience someone. A one time knock on a window by the police or anyone doesn’t meet the elements of harassment.
I don’t think that’s true. I’m fairly certain the police can require you to present ID (especially if you’re sitting in a car). They might not be able to do anything beyond that and even if I’m wrong, I have a feeling saying ‘no thanks’ or ‘it’s none of your fucking business’ isn’t going to result in the cop saying ‘okay then’ and walking away.
Watch Trevor Noah’s rant about stop and frisk. If the person sitting in the car is a POC, there’s a good chance this isn’t a ‘one time knock on a window’, it’s a common occurrence. Now, to be clear, I’m not saying that the person who called or the officer who responded was specifically harassing that person, but it might seem different to the person that draws the attention of the police any time they sit in their car for more than 20 minutes.
Yes, indeed, people are free to tell a cop "Its none of your fucking business!” - Cops can also wrest you to the ground, put handcuff on you and take you to the police station, and unless they hurt you or use racial terms, they will not face any consequences. Calling the cops on someone not doing anything illegal wastes taxpayer money, takes the police away from what could be a more serious call, and always runs the risk of the irritated cop getting angry at a rude response.
If you are “operating a motor vehicle” (definitions differ state to state, a car parked, engine not running may or may not be “operating”) then they can demand a license. Otherwise they can ask your name, but not ID.
Yep, and although a POC has a much greater chance of getting harassed, cops have bad days like anyone else, and being called out on a bogus call is a source of ittitation.
The problem is that in real life, my guess is that cops rarely “walk away.” At the very least, they’re going to tell the person in question to move along. Let’s game out the scenario. A is someone sitting in their parked car in a suburban neighborhood, in front of someone else’s house. For purposes of this scenario, let’s say they’re playing Pokemon Go, but it could be any number of other non-criminal activities. B is the officer who is responding to a call placed by someone who thought A looked suspicious.
B: Taps on window. Hello, we had a report of a suspicious person. Can you show me some ID?
A: Shows officer their ID.
B: Can you tell me why you’re parked here?
A: I’m playing Pokemon Go. Their’s a gym nearby, and I’m trying to catch a perfect IV dragonite.
B: Not knowing anything about Pokemon Go. The neighbors are concerned about your presence here. I’m asking you to leave the area.
A: I’m on public property and have a right to be here.
B: While calling for backup. Please step out of the car. I’m detaining you for suspicious behavior.
A: I’m not doing anything illegal.
B: You’re going to have to come with me.
I don’t see that as being at all unlikely, especially if the A is Black and B is white.
In most states one can only be told to get out and be subjected to a pat-down if there exists a reasonable suspicion that criminal activity is taking place (step out of the car) and/or there is reasonable suspicion that the person is armed and dangerous (pat down). Whether or not the cops adhere to the law is a different question. Then, you are talking about a possible violation of rights. None of which has anything to do with a concerned neighbor calling the police. Is it your stance that people who are suspicious of some activity near their house not call the police because of potential police brutality? It isn’t up to you or anyone else to determine what does or does not constitute suspiciousness to another person.
As far as a waste of time and resources - dispatch prioritizes calls and something like this wouldn’t be at the top of the list. That said, if there is a unit available there is no reason to not send one. If you have a beef with the way cops do their job, fine. But don’t try to tell someone to not call because of your beliefs.
I think it’s part of the same question. What’s more important to the person sitting in the car? What the police should do or what they actually do?
A big part of this discussion is less about if the police should be called on a suspicious vehicle and more about whether or not you should consider that vehicle suspicious due to nothing more than it be parked on the street and not recognizing it.
True, but that doesn’t mean people can’t talk about their opinions and attempt to change the minds of others. The OP is specifically soliciting those opinions.
Ok, let’s play out the hypothetical in a different direction. There’s a person you deem suspicious sitting in their car on the street in front of your house. You call the police and express your suspicions. The police come by. Fortunately for the person in the car, the officer happens to be a good officer who is in a good mood that day. The officer determines that the person in question is not up to anything illegal and tells that person “feel free to keep doing whatever it you were doing, this is a public area and you are well within your rights to enjoy your activities at this location.” Do you then return to whatever it was you were doing and ignore that person? Call the police again and ask them to send a different officer? Go out there yourself and confront them because the police refused to make them move along? What is the ideal way you see such a situation being resolved?
There were any number of eminently foreseeable knock-on effects of legalizing cannabis that obviously weren’t considered by the herb’s most forceful proponents.
I concur, this is pretty damn likely. Now sure the detainee likely won’t be charged and certainly won’t be convicted- (unless he fights back) but still, he will be sent away in handcuffs and his car impounded.
Yeah, I would agree with this. Sorry if people have experiences “racism” or “profiling”. Simply seeing a person of color in your neighborhood should not be considered inherently “suspicious”. But public street or not, neighbors and the police who serve them have a right to perform a reasonable level of inquiry when they see something that is out of character for the neighborhood.
Sure they do. Need to make a call? Or look something up online? You can’t do it driving. And I would assume that someone parked had found a wifi signal. Don’t want randos using your wifi? Lock it down.
Maybe they are having a hard day and just need to sit. Or maybe they are eating. There could be a million reasons. In the end, it’s a public street, you don’t own it.
