Police Harrassment?

Question

I was walking home at 2am, I noticed that my body was shifting left to right because of my pelvic and spine.

A cop was driving an unmark car and came around. I was minding my business, I have my mp3 player that I listen to music.

He ask me what I was doing, I told him that I was going home. He step out and mention that there were "report" of person pulling on handle to steal something from car. He ask for my ID.

I gave it to him since I didn't have the strength to argue longer. He then verified my ID over the walkie-talkie.

He gave it back and then he ask me whether I was drunk. I couldn't believe it. I was insulted. I told him that I don't drink and I am not drunk. He said "I can smell alcohol from your breath". I didn't drink at all. He then say... I could careless if you drink.

In short, I was upset for being harrass after he pull away. I was also upset that he think that I was drunk when I am not.

My speech impediment and spine / pelvic problem made me like it?

Answer 1

He had probable cause to stop you, and run your ID.  at 2am, if I saw you on a street alone, I would probably stop and ask if you were lost or OK, I probably wouldn't have checked your ID as I would have had no cause for just seeing if you were alright.  However, He can ask if you were drinking - BUT to do it accusingly is just wrong.  One of the things we learn in academy is that there are may reasons why people slur their words, it could be caused by medication, a speech impediment, just having oral surgey or dental work; and there is a reason that someone's breath may smell like alcohol - they could have a blood sugar imbalance.  It's all in the approach.  If he pulled you over to investigate a complaint, ran your ID, found it it wasn't you, asked if you were drinking, and you said no, and then he left.  He did nothing wrong, that's not harassment.  If you are incomfortable with anything that he did, by all means, contact the police department, and file a report.  If you do not have his information, our comm centers keep track of all units.  If you let them know where you when he pulled you over, they could find out what officer it was assigned to that beat, and then give them an approximate time, and they can find the radio call to dispatch telling them he's getting out of the car to do a check.

Good Luck

Answer 2

be happy he was out protecting the homes

being out at 2AM is very unusual.

Answer 3

Tolerance and understanding to be followed by both sides are vital in such a situation!  I won't call this a police harassment but a routine check!

Answer 4

The officer had reasonable suspicion that a crime had been committed in the area.  You were possibly the suspect.  There is no "saying no" to a request for ID in that case.

You weren't harassed, the officer stopped you for a valid reason, and then released you after a brief investigation.

If you feel you were mistreated, then file a complaint with the Department he works for.

Answer 5

First of all, if you have a speech impediment and a pelvic/spine disability, you have to expect there to be misunderstandings like this.  I would simply explain to any officer that detains you that you have said issues right off the bat.  The officer has a right to take you into protective custody if you're drunk, alone and in public and could be sued if it's proven he knew you were drunk and just let you be prior to you having an accident or something.

Also please understand that police officers deal with a wide array of people.  They are lied to by people as upstanding as doctors and teachers on their way home from work (stopped for speeding), and they are lied to (of course) by your average, common criminal.  Lying is human nature.  Everyone lies and many are quite good at it.  

Though police officers get extremely proficient at discerning truth from lie over the course of a career, once in a great while he/she can be fooled.  The really good liars sometimes don't give off many indicators of deception.  It might cause an officer to make accusations that he or she realizes may be false, but know it will undoubtedly get more of a reaction from the suspect to try to get more indicators by way of a response (voice tone, facial expression, body language, etc.).

Sounds like your officer accused you of being drunk to just get a reaction out of you because he couldn't tell whether you had or had not been drinking, and whether you were truthful or not (because of your speech and back issues).

As for the attitude of the police officer, please remember the element he/she deals with day after day, for years on end.  This isn't an excuse for rude behavior, but an explanation you surely can understand.   And you shouldn't expect a police officer to deal with you in a bright, cheery, sing-songie polite manner as your pharmacist or the guy at the convenience store would.  Cops are under a lot of stress, sometimes only minutes before you deal with them, in situations of extreme importance and that are often times potentially life threatening.  AND they're authority figures, which (like it or not) gives them a bit of a free pass for exchanging smiles and pleasantries, if they're not in the mood.  Again, they're cops, not your dentist.

Finally, there are so many people out there prowling around, looking in cars, and looking in store windows in hopes something is unlocked.  If you're walking alone a lot in an area of high crime, you're going to be detained once in a while to see if you're connected to crimes that are transpiring all around you.  That's just the way it is.  You should find it incovenient, for sure, but you certainly should understand it.

And no, you can't say no to a police officer asking you for an I.D.

Answer 6

Your limited intelligence will be a barrier for your throughout your life.

Harassment is defined as a 'continued pattern'...  the officer didn't 'harass' you, he was within the boundaries of the law to approach you and require identification.

You really need to lose that chip on your shoulder. Life would be a lot easier.

Answer 7

Basically you can't without being taken in, you have to identify yourself and your address. Beyond that you don't have to say where you're going, where you've been, or anything. Although he might get cocky with you if you don't.

However look at it from the cops perspective. He has reports of someone trying to break into cars, he sees you in the area. He makes note of your name via running your name though the system, and then if he sees you again after a similiar report, they have a suspect.

He was lying to you about the "I don't care if you're drinking" thing though. He wanted you to admit you had so he could take you in for that.

Answer 8

i don't know what you are hiding, that talking to a cop bothers you..

i love talking to cops,but that's because i have nothing to hide