Your bad experiences with "the law"

[EJinCT]

...during a routine stop to ask for directions a cop put a gun directly to my head. I was only 22 at the time...and from then on, being stopped for any reason was a frightening experience.

This post made me wonder if I may be very fortunate when it comes to encounters with L.E.O's

My "worst" direct experience with a L.E.O was being stopped, while walking in front of my parents home, ( where I lived for 14 years) and asked what I was doing in the area.    ( And I've been in quite a few "questionable circumstances", but won't go into details as I wish to refrain from self-incrimination; but I will say they were not violent in the least.) Perhaps I am that "quirk" in the statistics.


So who else has "horror stories" that they would be willing to share?

[Raineyrocks]

Surprise, surprise, me again

One of the scariest encounters I had was when my boyfriend and I were driving down a 2 lane one-way street in Philly and this guy in a white car kept trying to pass us in an invisible 3rd lane.  Anyways as soon as we got to a 7-11 store this asshole pulls in the parking lot and parks his car half in the parking lot and half on the street blocking my boyfriends truck.  My boyfriend grabs a roofing tool to protect us, gets out of his truck thinking this other guy is a whacko so the other guy gets out and has his revolver, laser pointer and all pointed right at my boyfriend.  I got out of the truck too figuring screw it I'm loyal and not going to let my boyfriend face this alone, they start screaming at each other, this went on for about ten minutes while the asshole took turns pointing his laser at the both of us.  Well what you know, jerk-off is an undercover cop,finally pulls his badge after all of that !
He busted my boyfriend, I took the truck home and when it went to trial my boyfriend got found guilty with a couple years probation.

[error]

Guilty of WHAT?!!

[Raineyrocks]

Aggravated assault because he was holding a roofing tool in his hand when he got out of his truck to see what this guy was up to.

[Vote Tyler Stearns]

Our experience is with a LEO wannabee. My son (then 14) and husband were staying at a hotel in CT with my son's soccer team for a tournament.  Some of the boys were walking around the hotel in the evening, not causing any trouble, just walking in a pack.  My son noticed that an older man kept following them.  My son headed back to his room around 11PM.  Not wanting to awaken any other guests, my son knocked very quietly on the door so my husband would let him in, but my husband didn't hear the knock.  Within seconds the strange man that had been following the boys hustled up to my son's side and told him he was with hotel security and that they had video of my son stealing a wallet from the pool area.  My son said he didn't steal anything and asked if he could get his father.  The guy asked, "What do you need your father for? Just admit that you took the wallet and I won't have to call the police."  My son said "No.  I didn't do anything wrong."  The guy took him by the arm and told him to go with him and took him out a side door of the hotel into the dark night.  The guy kept interrogating my son, insisting that they had videotape of him stealing.  My son kept denying it and asked when this purported theft took place.  The guy wouldn't answer him, just kept threatening to call the police.  My son kept saying, "Well, go ahead and call the police, I didn't do anything wrong."  My son kept asking to get his father, but the security guy kept saying they could work the problem out between them.  Long story short, the guy finally accompanied my son back to the hotel room and my son knocked on the door to awaken my husband.  My husband asked when the theft took place and the guy gave a time when my son wasn't even at the hotel...his team was playing in a soccer game miles away. 

The security guy finally let up and went away.  My son was very shaken up, and my husband pissed.  But, it wasn't until later that he realized how inappropriately this LEO wannabe had acted.  Not letting a 14-year-old boy get his father (who was only a matter of feet behind a closed door), and taking this boy outside into a darkened area.  It was a wake-up call for us that our very mature teenage son would even consider going off with a strange guy and it generated some family discussion.

Anyway, I ended up calling the hotel manager to complain about the security nazi.  I believe he was fired.  We ended up getting a complimentary stay at Marriott.

[Raineyrocks]

  Wow Malevil,

That is creepy indeed!  Thank goodness your son wasn't kidnapped or something!  Kids do get intimidated by creepy adults a lot. My guys always tell me they won't go anywhere with anyone, who knows, I think they might.
I taught them if a car comes up and the guy/gal has a gun and tells them to get in, to run zig zag away from the car and that if they do get shot it's probably better than what would happen to them in that 3 ton cage.

When I was 16 I had this biker with huge muscles pin me down and hold a machette, (sp?), against my neck and felt his stiffy on my leg so I knew what he was going to do but I wasn't scared at the time at all.  I kept thinking why does he need this weapon when he has such big muscles.  Anyways he looked into my eyes and said he couldn't do it because of how I was looking at him.  Whatever.........

[Quantrill]

My only real bad experience with the law was my fault so I can't complain about that one.

I've dealt with many cops and it's startling how so many of them seem to hate the everyday citizen.  They honestly think they're doing good by yelling and intimidating people.  They assume that if they pulled you over, then you must be guilty of something.  I understand their job is difficult (i.e. dealing with 'real' criminals) but damn.  Uphold the constitution or find a new line of work...


Oh, and I've found out they HATE it when you refuse consent of your car.  Really seems to piss these guys off!

[thinkliberty]

Oh, and I've found out they HATE it when you refuse consent of your car.  Really seems to piss these guys off!

When the police ask if they can search my car, I have always told them. "I will think about letting you search through my car. If I can search through your car first."

They have never taken me up on my offer.

[EJinCT]

IMO many L.E.O.'s start off with good intentions but eventually develop predjudices and become very judgemental after some time on the job due to so much exposure to criminaly miinded individuals.

Ya mean the other cops?

[SpeedPhreak]

Dont hate the game, hate the player

Sorry EJ - I was w/you until you said this & it is almost true. yes there are good cops - few & far btwn.  most let the power go to their head eventually & turn to the dark side. i wanted to be a cop & made it through most of the testing when I asked myself if i this was really what i wanted & believed - no.  I dropped out right then.

the reason I disagree - is because the game itself is unconstitutional.  most "laws" that they try to enforce shouldn't be laws in the 1st place... most here no that.  If cops really had the best intrests of the people in mind they would do just the opposite - openly allow noncrimes to take place.

back to the original ? - i have a few storied on both sides... but i will tell of 1 to illustrate the point that I believe their can be good ones...

this guy & I were facing each other turning the same direction onto the same street - i was turning left, the guy in a van was turning right. he started to go & so did I.  he got pissed & intentionally cut me off (by turning into my lane) & I honked at him... making him madder.  he tried to make me rear end him & blocked me from passing him.  we got to a stop light & there was a cop that saw it all.  the cop pulled me out of my car & put me in his cruiser.  my brother moved my truck & the guy followed us to a parking lot.  i explained everything to the cop & he let us go while he held the other guy.  now this is an example of both - the cop(i feel) obviously profiled us but in the end he saw that the other guy was the guilty party & let us go (w/out an apology).  It could have been much worse... he could have made a huge deal about the guns, called back up, ran us, held us all day & maybe even charged us w/some b/s charge.  In the end the cop did the right thing... even though i feel he didn't start of that way.  this was pre 9-11.

the other guy - 40s w/kids in his van.

me - mid 20s at the time, piercings, about 180lbs in shape, my brother about 19 about 210 in shape w/tattoos, my brothers friend skinny, white & black mixed w/ a big afro.  we were listening to punk music & had 3 pistols in cases (all mine) in the back of my truck w/about 900rnds of ammo (we were on our way to the range).

[EJinCT]

Dont hate the game, hate the player

Sorry EJ - I was w/you until you said this & it is almost true. yes there are good cops - few & far btwn. 

the reason I disagree - is because the game itself is unconstitutional.  most "laws" that they try to enforce shouldn't be laws in the 1st place... most here no that.  If cops really had the best intrests of the people in mind they would do just the opposite - openly allow noncrimes to take place.

No need to be sorry because you have a different perspective from your experiences than I do.

IMO, we cant blame L.E.O's for the laws as they did not create them. The laws came to be because people were complacent and the foliticans took advantage of that. I totally agree that many laws need to be changed.

Of course my own perspective is biased from having more positive encounters with L.E.O's, than negative.

[error]

No, they didn't create the laws, but they enforce them. And for that they can certainly be blamed.

[MaineShark]

IMO, we cant blame L.E.O's for the laws as they did not create them. The laws came to be because people were complacent and the foliticans took advantage of that. I totally agree that many laws need to be changed.

If someone leaves a hammer sitting on the sidewalk, and another person picks it up and bashes me in the elbow with it, I'm not going to accuse the owner of the hammer for being "complacent" with storage of his tools.

Joe

[thinkliberty]

No need to be sorry because you have a different perspective from your experiences than I do.

IMO, we cant blame L.E.O's for the laws as they did not create them. The laws came to be because people were complacent and the foliticans took advantage of that. I totally agree that many laws need to be changed.

Of course my own perspective is biased from having more positive encounters with L.E.O's, than negative.

If a group of people hire a person or a company (soldiers of fortune) to abduct people that do things that they don't like, even if the that person is not hurting anyone else. Then we should not blame the soldiers of fortune. Because they need to make a living and are just doing their job. 

[EJinCT]

No, they didn't create the laws, but they enforce them. And for that they can certainly be blamed.

Certainly those that unjustly uphold laws can, and should, be held accountable. I'm not implying differently.


As for the analogies; I guess I'm not as much of an extremist when it comes to my perspective; and don't see any validity in comparing apples and oranges.