STOPPED BY THE POLICE!

WinterGhost · Gots My GED Joined: 27 Sep 2007 Posts: 110 Votes: 1

You know, this pisses me off...When I lived in Calexico(I still live in the valley) I would take walks around town...because I love Calexico and I'm not afraid to just take a nice walk around town. Anyway this past year of 2006, within a 4 month time span, I was stopped 4 times by cops. I was not doing anything wrong, I don't think I looked suspicious, I was not drunk, not doped up or anything...I was just walking! So I got really mad one time at a well known cop(I'm sure you all know him) and talked back and told him to leave me alone and go catch the real criminals...and not pester some guy who's walking...

...then my guitar gets stolen and they don't do a GOD DAMN thing about it!

I want to hear your Cops-Stop-you-for-stupid-things stories.

elchrist · Posted: 03 Oct 2007 02:26 PM Post subject:

I once got stopped on my bike before dawn as I entered KGs heading towards the gym. I was wearing black "gym" clothes and a black hoodie... my bike was black.

The cop thought I was the guy he was looking for, but he let me go after a few questions and letting me know I needed a blinking light installed on my bici.

I was in KGs, so I assume a lot of crime still happen in this 'hood. I wish the cops would have stopped the mofo who stole my bike as quickly as they stopped me.

superplayer · Posted: 06 Oct 2007 12:32 PM Post subject:

One night a few months ago I was buying a money order at Lee's Casa de cambio late at night and there was this guy kind of a farm worker just waiting there. For some reason the cashier was just there waiting for a long time doing nothing and I was like wtf? Then this police car quiclky stops by with two cops, one gets the other guy and the other gets me. He tells me, 'hey what's with that money?' and grabs both of my hands and moves them to my back. I remained silent, for I knew what would happen if I complained. The other cop though seemed more smarter and tells this cop 'hey, it's not that one, it's this one.' Turns out that the other guy was trying to cash a fake check. After this, this cop finally started acting a little more polite and told me about the situation.

What pisses me off is that they could ask a few questions before taking action in this manner.

salieridelcai · Posted: 07 Oct 2007 01:02 PM Post subject:

I remember ages ago, I got stopped because ,according to Calexico PD, I fit the description of a burglar, black t-shirt and blue jeans. Never mind the fact I actually had nothing on me, they stopped me just for the hell of it.

Gryphon1 · Posted: 16 Oct 2007 06:52 AM Post subject:

You know what I love about this post? Your all victims! If the cops didn't get out of the car and check you out, you'd be complaining that they dont do anything.

Primarily at night younger officers are trained, so that they have limited exposure to citizens, and concentrate on the criminal element.

The "older" wiser officer is usually a senior or training officer and is there to teach and evaluate the younger officer to make sure he doesn't do something stupid or illegal, and to make sure everyone is safe and the right decesions are made.

Unfortunatley due to the high turn over rate, and the advancement of officers to specialty positions, we really have very un experienced officers patrolling the streets. Most arent from "here" in the valley, and dont "get" what life here is really like until they are here 4 or 5 years.

We also have a new contingent of former "Deputies" who were patrolling the farmlands, so Calexico policing and that style of contact is foriegn to them. So some are having some adjustment issues.

Im not saying if your out past midnight your a crook, but I'm only stopping persons who I know to be involved in criminal activity, or appear to be involved in an ongoing crime, or shouldn't be where they are at for that time. Something unusual, or piques my interest, I get out to see whats up. Thats what we are paid to do, stick our noses in and make sure that bike is yours, see who is passing counterfeit money, catch burglars, whether they have property on them or not. Once we can see them they usually drop and hide whatever they were carrying.

So, are there really any stupid stops? Probably, but remember you don't know why the officer is stopping you. Be polite, answer his questions without attitude, hell, thank him or her for checking and you'll be on your way. The officer will get in the car and think, thats not a bad guy, he's allright.

And maybe that would cut down on the bad vibe, and aggressive cop stuff when some of them make contact with civilians. I always use the reflection pool theory when making a contact. I treat you as you treat me. and 9 times out of 10, there is no beef. Usually that 10th time, their is some criminal activity afoot.

Thats why we check.

G1

elchrist · Posted: 17 Oct 2007 07:41 AM Post subject:

verbal · Posted: 17 Oct 2007 02:20 PM Post subject:

WinterGhost · Gots My GED Joined: 27 Sep 2007 Posts: 110 Votes: 1

Ooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!

THAT'S RIGHT!!!!!!

AikiMike · Posted: 22 Oct 2007 12:24 PM Post subject:

Reasonable suspicion is a legal term dealing with the conclusion that an experienced peace officer would reach from all of the circumstances present at the time. It doesn't mean that criminal behavior has actually taken place, it simply means that something looks fishy and should be checked out. I don't know about Gryphon 1's statistics, but a high percentage of suspicious behavior proves quickly to be innocent activity. I think his comment about "no beef" is accurate too - once the officer learns that his inquiry has established that no crime has, or is taking place, if he explains his actions to the citizen, most people are good with it.

Generally speaking, the cop on a beat knows his area well; who should be there and who is out of place, what times businesses are open and when they're closed, all sorts of things that the average citizen pays no attention to. They look for things out of the ordinary and then they check those extraordinary things out.

Gryphon1 · Posted: 30 Oct 2007 02:55 PM Post subject:

Thats correct, and a good beat cop knows the chowder heads causing the problems, you'll spend 90 percent of your time with 10 percent of the population, the criminal type. Recedivism rates are usually around 80 to 85 percent. I see that here in the valley as far as criminals are concerned, If I get out of the car to check, something is up.

G1