“and am refusing to follow the news about this slide into totalitarianism.”
If that makes any more sense.
I’m in exactly your boat and agree w your thoughts.
Except I don’t have the Japan part. So I can ignore the news, but I can’t (safely) ignore the incoming reality.
Yeah I’m not saying there is a zero chance of the police trying to pin it on you, but it’s pretty small. It’s not like people killing a random person then reporting
the body to the police is a common thing that your average homicide detective is going to instantly suspect.
I would definitely say the moral imperative out weighs that risk. Having a body to mourn(and answer to what happened to their loved one, even if it’s not a nice one) an makes a massive difference to next of kin. Not to mention there is also a non-zero chance that the police having a body is the difference between a murderer being caught and being free to kill again (unless the victim is a pretty young white lady the police sure as hell aren’t going to be busting a gut to investigate without a body)
This is pretty much irrelevant unless you are a high profile critic of the Trump administration. The police unlikely to try and pin a murder of a random stranger on you because you posted some anti-trump comments on the SDMB
Not reporting a body because you’re concerned the police will pin it on you is one thing, not reporting a body just because you have somewhere to be is even more immoral IMO
I guess I should have said “someone” instead of “I” as I was giving reasons someone (else) may not want to get involved.
Though a missed flight (home) could have financial implications - a hotel room, rebook fees, meals, extra day’s parking at the airport, etc. Personally, I might not like spending the money but financially, it wouldn’t break me but there are some who might have to contemplate the financial consequences of doing the right thing - that unplanned trip home for a funeral or to see a dying relative one last time is already taxing their tight budget; an extra $200 might mean they can’t afford rent next month.
Some years ago we were behind an obvious impaired driver near where we lived. We called 911 & the cops found him, pulled him over & he was ultimately arrested for DUI. A little while later there was a knock on our door, it was the PD; they need us to fill out a statement as we were the probable cause for them looking for & pulling him over. Oh great, I just got someone arrested & now he's going to get my name & address as part of discovery. Doing the right thing potentially put me / my property at risk. That interaction DID change what I'll do in the future. Luckily for everyone else, I will still call the cops if I see an impaired driver, I just refuse to give any them any of my info anymore.
You are correct- unless you happen to know that person well- like if you find your Girlfriend or boyfriend or boss, etc. But you will be detained for a while.
True. If you find it while out hiking and it is unlikely that it will be found by others soon, you really should. But if it is in Central Park, maybe you can let the next dog walker/jogger find it. Mind you- I would likely report it, unless I was on the way to a VERY important appointment. Say it is a critical job interview, or like Spiderman said- a missed flight. But I think you should report it.
I wonder if you would be held until a detective comes if you really needed to go right away for something like a flight.
If someone is willing to provide contact information to answer questions later,
it got posted before I finished.
Personally, I believe that the US isn’t there now and reporting a dead body wouldn’t make one a serious suspect.
But I can emphasize with people who are concerned.
Yes, e.g if you are a Latino on holiday in the USA or a similar scenario…
No way in hell I’d contact the police… Just to end up potentially in prison in central America, paid for by the USA, without any legal recourse.
Sorry but the "cost-benefit “ equation of reporting just got whacked out of balance over the last few weeks
Am i the only one who worries that some camera captured my walking towards the body, and when someone else reports it, I’ll look suspicious for not having reported it?
Fwiw, when i was in Hawaii, we saw a car in front of us that looked like the driver was very drunk. We called 911 to report it. The police asked where we were (where we saw the car, that is) and that was pretty much it. I have no idea whether they looked for it found the driver, and they never asked for our contact info. Although i suppose they had the phone number and could have looked up whose phone it was.
I once reported a similar drunk driver. They asked for my contact info during the call but that was the last I heard of it.
I actually ended up in low speed “pursuit” of this guy to be able to vector an officer to where the guy was as he weaved his way through a residential area. He parked at an apartment building, got 2 suitcases of beer out of his trunk, and went into the building while I watched from my car down the block. Officer Friendly showed up a couple minutes later, came up to my car, and I pointed out which car and which building entrance. His demeanor said “Oh, yeah, him again. I’ll go get him. Sigh.”
I did not hang around to see the show’s finale.
It could be a rookie cop, first day on his own on patrol. It could be department policy to have a seasoned cop/detective at least talk to the witness as it’s not unheard of for people to give false info to cops or for a spouse to publicly plead for their partner’s safe return only to be subsequently arrested for their murder.
That same camera may have also captured the deceased, separate from you, earlier, or at the very least, you w/o the deceased. IOW, it may be clearing you as a suspect.
Depending upon how out in the open the body is you may not have noticed it; was your head down in your phone, were you watching/listening to wildlife of the other side of the path? What other context clues are there? I’ve walked past any number of bodies in the city at night. I’ve just assumed they were homeless bedded down for the night, especially if they’re next to a shopping cart. Asleep ≠ dead & they don’t need any police harassment from me.
I think we can agree that if you claimed you found your spouse dead in the park, that the police would treat you much differently than if you found a stranger.
I’m pretty sure the police are a little smarter than that and can tell the difference.
The police can’t detain you without a reasonable, articulable reason for suspicion. I would be really surprised if a police department had a written policy that anyone who reports a major crime must be detained until interviewed that very day by detectives. It sounds unconstitutional