NRD09 said:
Here's my problem: like all the sneaky wording op_06 is using, cops don't tell you what questions you do and don't have to answer when they ask them. It's true that they can ask you anything they want. But try telling one that you'd rather not answer something. It becomes your responsibility to know what you do and don't have to answer, then when you don't, the cop says you're uncooperative or whatever and takes you in under suspicion of something
TLDR; Don't be a jackass and you won't be treated like one. That goes the same for cops and the public.
I'm not sure where or why you think I'm being "sneaky" with my response to the OP. I've been a cop in Texas for a little over a decade and am only replying to this thread to provide some accurate insight. I've worked for two different agencies and have seen how numerous others operate. I've been an FTO responsible for training newer officers, an instructor responsible for teaching experienced officers, have been present for numerous critical incidents, and have been assigned to a few different specialized units. I'm here to offer some insight and perspective.
Not stories that I've heard from a friend's co-worker, a show on TV produced and edited for entertainment, or neighbor's cousin who is a cop.
I'm wise enough to know that most folks are set in their beliefs but all I can do is provide folks with some perspective and let them make their own mind up. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.
The thought that you'll be "taken in" for "being uncooperative or whatever" on "suspicion of something" is stupid. For the most part.
Anyone can google and see that there are ****ty cops who do ****ty things. I've read on here far too often that it seems there's only two sides to the argument. You're either a "bootlicker" who kneels to cops or should only crack your window to slide your driver license through the crack, stare straight ahead, and refuse to answer any questions.
Typically being polite doesn't equate to being a bootlicker and acting like a decent human being while saying "I'd rather not discuss that with you" doesn't equate to the "RESIST/I know my rights!!" that some folks like to scream.
As some folks have already suggested, a person's tone/body language offers much more than their actual spoken word. I think something along the lines of 70-80% of communication is non-verbal. Probably an even higher percentage than that.
Most folks have stories of being a victim to a crime, usually some type of theft or burglary, and the cops doing "nothing". I certainly have a few of my own.
A large amount of property crime is solved based off of cops making traffic stops and asking questions similar to what the OP is complaining about.
Unfortunately, we haven't discovered the ability to identify and apply "criminal" or "non-criminal" stickers to the back of vehicles so we don't waste your time.
What are cops supposed to do when folks complain about not "doing anything" to solve their burglary but turn around and complain about the tactics used to solve that very crime.
I can ask a passenger for his ID when I can clearly see their wallet in their pants. A response of "I don't have it on me/I don't have one/ raises an entirely different flag than "I don't feel comfortable giving it to you/do I have to give it to you?"
I personally have solved numerous crimes and closed out cases by making a simple traffic stop for an unremarkable traffic violation and asking simple questions. Happens all the time.
I stopped a vehicle once with four passengers around midnight or so in a neighborhood with relatively little traffic. All the occupants were visibly nervous and all sputtered and looked at each other when asking a few simple questions that the OP is saying makes me "lazy and unethical". These questions were only spurred by the driver and passenger's non verbal communication.
An investigation showed that they all recently burglarized a house by kicking in the back door when the owner was not home. It was a great feeling finding a laptop under the driver seat and seeing a nametape written on it. A search of our internal records gave me the owner's phone number. I called him and arranged for him to go back home and meet with another officer so they could take a report for his home being burglarized when he wasn't even aware of it yet.
That's the truth straight from the horses mouth. I'm not an ******* while speaking with people and certainly don't trample on human rights as some would like to suggest. That goes for the majority of cops that I work currently and have worked with in the past.
I've been on YouTube several times as the subject of someone's "resist!!/I know my rights" video documentary of their police encounter and typically just offer the advice that they're holding their camera phone vertically and no one likes a vertical video. The vertical camera phone video has been a disturbing trend over the years. A common response is the crowd/their friends/bystanders laugh at the absurdity of the person behind the camera and they sheepishly put their phone down when they realize I'm not buying what they're trying to sell.
I'm not here covering for the *******s that I've worked with in the past and will likely continue to work with in the future. There are processes in place to uncover/expose and deal with those cops. Typically involves the public contacting the department and filing a complaint or internal complaints from other officers.
And believe me, cops love to complain on other cops. Most large agencies publish a yearly report that provides the stats to back it up. Most internal complaints are sustained at a higher rate than outside complaints simply because the public makes a higher number of frivolous complaints that are exonerated via body cam/dash camera.
Lord knows I've got a microscope shoved so far up my ass at work that damn near every minute of the day is captured on audio/video from car and body camera. And I don't have a single problem with that. Just makes it a pain in the ass to deactivate everything when I'm trying to use the restroom. A minor inconvenience to deal with to protect myself from frivolous allegations.
And as a result of everyone having a body camera, supervisors these days spend more time in the office doing random video audits in an attempt to uncover bad behavior vs actually supervising their troops.
I know the above went on a huge tangent but it all ties together and I suppose you can say I've been "triggered" and felt like typing out a candid response.
I normally avoid pro/anti police threads because it generally develops into crap slinging from the "bootlickers" and the "RESIST!" crowd, just as this thread has spiraled into...