6 completely legal ways the cops can screw you

[V-Man339]

Like, seriously.

The list includes
6. Steal your stuff
5. Guess Your Car's Speed and Ticket You For It
4. Arrest You For Drinking in a Bar (In my home state, at least [****ing unsurprising though])
3. Arrest You For Filming Them
2. Book You For Carrying Condoms
1. Steal Your Identity

And people wonder why people hate cops? Shit like this being allowed to happen any day of the week.

 

[jerkasaur]

Book you for carrying condoms? Seriously?

 

[V-Man339]

Yeah, apparently it's a measure to cut down on prostitution... that ends up in more unprotected sex with prostitutes in comparison to the previous occurrence of (semi)protected sex with them.

 

[ramsfan]

They can't legally steal your identity or book you for just carrying condoms. If your carrying condoms and with a minor you may have a problem. They can arrest you anywhere if you are acting disorderly.

For filming it depends what you are filming them with. The fact of the matter is over 100 cops are going to be killed this year as it is. You are playing with fire if you are going to film a cop. He or she does not know what your intentions are.

Some cops are extremly power hungry. However not all are. I hope you realize the shit cops have to deal with. Whenever you need help guess who you call first. Everytime you hear about a shooting or an accident where people have died guess who shows up to the scene first? Every cop has seen more death then any of us ever will.

I'm not saying every cop is great but its a rough job sometimes. There divorce rates are 80% and have a 4x higher suicide rate than the average person.

What kind of town do you live in that has prostitution? Sounds more like a city.

 

[V-Man339]

They can't legally steal your identity or book you for just carrying condoms. If your carrying condoms and with a minor you may have a problem. They can arrest you anywhere if you are acting disorderly.

For filming it depends what you are filming them with. The fact of the matter is over 100 cops are going to be killed this year as it is. You are playing with fire if you are going to film a cop. He or she does not know what your intentions are.

Some cops are extremly power hungry. However not all are. I hope you realize the shit cops have to deal with. Whenever you need help guess who you call first. Everytime you hear about a shooting or an accident where people have died guess who shows up to the scene first? Every cop has seen more death then any of us ever will.

I'm not saying every cop is great but its a rough job sometimes. There divorce rates are 80% and have a 4x higher suicide rate than the average person.

What kind of town do you live in that has prostitution? Sounds more like a city.

I understand what they're going through, but the fact that this happens doesn't piss me off so much as the fact that this sort of thing can be legally done.

I understand it's not the cops so much as the lawmakers that should get the blame, but who exactly is the one taking advantage of these laws? I realize they don't know what your intentions are, but aren't videotapes on of the few things keeping people in power such as this in check?
Surely you remember Patrick Pogan, cyclist abuser.
I don't disagree with you at all that these people are in danger and giving up a lot for us, but the fact that the law provides people such as Patrick Pogan with protection for this kind of action is nothing short of despicable. People who want power more often than not find it (see; politics), and as a result I'm not too happy with this kind of potential for abuse in the least.

 

[Shift]

Cops are usually bastards, from my experience anyway. Its a corrupt force that go on about equality when they are all racists sods, gross negligence is a part of their way of working it seems. When my brother was killed by a driver goes at least 50 in a 40 when he skidded over to the other side of the road in wet weather, the cops lied about breathalising her and she got off without a single charge. The cops response was 'boys will be boys' when handing back the possessions that belonged to the car, my mum rightly replied with 'go **** yourself'.

 

[ramsfan]

I understand what they're going through, but the fact that this happens doesn't piss me off so much as the fact that this sort of thing can be legally done.

I understand it's not the cops so much as the lawmakers that should get the blame, but who exactly is the one taking advantage of these laws? I realize they don't know what your intentions are, but aren't videotapes on of the few things keeping people in power such as this in check?
Surely you remember Patrick Pogan, cyclist abuser.
I don't disagree with you at all that these people are in danger and giving up a lot for us, but the fact that the law provides people such as Patrick Pogan with protection for this kind of action is nothing short of despicable. People who want power more often than not find it (see; politics), and as a result I'm not too happy with this kind of potential for abuse in the least.

Sorry about accusing you of saying something you didn't.

Think of it this way. There are always employees of companies who are jerks and ones who try to take advantage of the system. They cheat, lie or steal just to make a buck.

A police officer is essentially an employee. However, everyone sees police officers as someone who should be setting an example. When a police officer is a jerk or takes advantage of the system it is very different then when a fellow employee does.

Police officers have a much greater responsibility then an employee who makes 40k a year. When a police officer abuses the system it affects a person, usually, much more than if a fellow employee or an employee at a store abuses their system.

The point is that police officers are people too. They will be jerks and abuse the system just as other people do at their jobs. But not all cops are jerks and abusers. Just like how not everyone at work is lying to get ahead or stealing.

 

[V-Man339]

Sorry about accusing you of saying something you didn't.

Think of it this way. There are always employees of companies who are jerks and ones who try to take advantage of the system. They cheat, lie or steal just to make a buck.

A police officer is essentially an employee. However, everyone sees police officers as someone who should be setting an example. When a police officer is a jerk or takes advantage of the system it is very different then when a fellow employee does.

Police officers have a much greater responsibility then an employee who makes 40k a year. When a police officer abuses the system it affects a person, usually, much more than if a fellow employee or an employee at a store abuses their system.

The point is that police officers are people too. They will be jerks and abuse the system just as other people do at their jobs. But not all cops are jerks and abusers. Just like how not everyone at work is lying to get ahead or stealing.

This is why it's twice as important to make sure laws like this don't legalize cops screwing people over! When you have lives ruined by professional and intentional negligence or abuse of power and make it so that it is entirely legal to perform as such, let alone rely on it for budget issues (see; the first entry in the list), there should be more checks and balances, not to mention half the laws having a good look at.
Yes, it's essentially another system being taken advantage of jerks, but just as lives are exponentially more affected by screw-overs in comparison, so too should the laws be more restrictive on the worse of the cops, let alone have adjustments made to be less glaringly obvious in their potential for complete and total abuse.
I'm not saying there's a way to get rid of the jerks in the system, but I certainly have to say that with laws like this in place its just giving them more power to abuse, let alone attracting more power hungry assholes onto the force.

 

[ramsfan]

Question, What laws are you talking about that are in place that allow cops to be above the law? If you look at any law book police officers have the same laws to abide by as citizens do.

 

[V-Man339]

Question, What laws are you talking about that are in place that allow cops to be above the law? If you look at any law book police officers have the same laws to abide by as citizens do.

I'm talking about the laws on citizens that are just asking for abuse, such as "2 condoms per citizen" and "you can't drink in Texas, apparently", along with the "You can't videotape cops" laws essentially providing an easy wall to use against potential evidence, not to mention the rather explicit nature of civil asset forfeiture pretty much allowing the cops leverage to take the most valuable of stuff with the flimsiest excuse right from under people's noses.
It's not that they have bad reasons behind them so much as when it comes down to it all they seem to accomplish is making the cops more corrupt.
See; doesn't have an effect on prostitution so much as cops being given the ability to arrest any woman two condoms, cops busting bars they don't like, and overall dickishness being much more applicable by cops, respectively.

 

[CptStern]

"Arrest You For Drinking in a Bar"


this makes no sense. why are there bars if you cant legally be there? there's obviously more to this

 

[V-Man339]

"Arrest You For Drinking in a Bar"


this makes no sense. why are there bars if you cant legally be there? there's obviously more to this

It's Texas, we don't use logic here. It disrupts the legal process, apparently.

 

[ramsfan]

Theres no laws that specifically state that you can't drink in Texas or you cant videotape cops. Each fall into different categories for getting arrested. If you are arrested for drinking in a bar you were probably acting disorderly. You just plain shouldn't be filming a cop.

I agree. The bar sounds fishy. If you were arrested then the entire bar was arrested for drinking. I doubt that happened.

 

[CptStern]

If you are arrested for drinking in a bar you were probably acting disorderly

...then you'd get arrested for public intoxication not being at a bar

 

[V-Man339]

Theres no laws that specifically state that you can't drink in Texas or you cant videotape cops. Each fall into different categories for getting arrested. If you are arrested for drinking in a bar you were probably acting disorderly. You just plain shouldn't be filming a cop.

I agree. The bar sounds fishy. If you were arrested then the entire bar was arrested for drinking. I doubt that happened.

Did you read the article? That's almost exactly what happened!

Picture yourself on a typical Wednesday morning, hunched over a shot of whiskey ready to commit mass murder on your brain cells, the smug little bastards. After taking one sip, a bunch of cops burst in and tackle you to the ground. In your state of shock and confusion you apologize for drinking and beg them not to tell your parents. It takes several minutes before you realize that you are 26, live alone and that you were just arrested for tasting alcohol in a bar.

That's the scenario in states with very broad Public Intoxication laws, like Texas. In 2006, Texas scored the highest number of drunk-driving fatalities in the country and, after determining that this was the rare problem that could not be blamed on immigrants or homosexuals, state officials decided to do something about it.

Namely, they dusted off an old 1993 law and gang-interpreted it atop a pinball machine until it somehow became legal to arrest people for so much as being near a bottle of booze, anywhere. Including in a bar.

We're not exaggerating for the sake of comedy here. Not only have they decided a bar is part of the "public" that "public intoxication" forbids, but they don't even require a breathalyzer test to determine if a suspect really is drunk. They can make arrests based on nothing more than their hunches.

In June 2009, Fort Worth officers used the new public intoxications regulations to arrest a bunch of folks at local bars that, by the way, happened to be the area gay and Hispanic bars. Naturally, according to witness testimonies, none of the arrestees were actually drunk, though they were dangerously brownish/homosexual.

Damn, you mean the police are abusing a law that basically allows them to arrest anyone they please as long as there is some alcohol in their vicinity? In the South?

This law shouldn't have been issued for essentially having been made for its inherent potential to be abused.
This kind of law should not exist, it is that simple.

 

[Mogi67]

Theres no laws that specifically state that you can't drink in Texas or you cant videotape cops. Each fall into different categories for getting arrested. If you are arrested for drinking in a bar you were probably acting disorderly. You just plain shouldn't be filming a cop.

I agree. The bar sounds fishy. If you were arrested then the entire bar was arrested for drinking. I doubt that happened.

Why should cops not be filmed?

 

[V-Man339]

Why should cops not be filmed?

Because then we have shitty reality television.

 

[Tyguy]

You can't film cops in some states because they might be camera shy or have just abused their power and don't want any evidence of that fact. There's no "logical" reason to make filming cops illegal...but we can't have all these crooked cops being put on youtube, that might make the police look bad.

 

[CptStern]

in canada it's perfectly legal to film a cop. however if at any time the cop can take it away from you IF he has a reasonable motive for confiscating it; it might have filmed evidence ..including cops acting bad because that would be used in any proceedings that come up against them

 

[V-Man339]

in canada it's perfectly legal to film a cop. however if at any time the cop can take it away from you IF he has a reasonable motive for confiscating it; it might have filmed evidence ..including cops acting bad because that would be used in any proceedings that come up against them

Once again, we see the underlying implication: America sucks. Sadly, in these regards I have to say that I agree with you.

 

[Laivasse]

The arrest for 'public intoxication' in a bar isn't particularly far fetched, given an abusive enough law enforcer. In Ireland, for example, a piece of 2003 legislation states that it's illegal to sell alcohol to a 'drunken person', even though thousands of barmen in the country are, of course, doing that even as I type. Never underestimate the shittiness of what some law makers are prepared to pass into law.

 

[CptStern]

a piece of 2003 legislation states that it's illegal to sell alcohol to a 'drunken person', even though thousands of barmen in the country are, of course, doing that even as I type.

sounds like it's a similiar law to a canadian one. basically it says that it is illegal to serve to someone who is intoxicated. however unless the person is going to press charges (very unlikely) or that person is charged drinking and driving then it's understoond that for the most part cops wont/dont arrest drunken patrons or the bartenders that serve them. however if they get into an accident the bar staff is liable ...if they can prove the wait staff knew the patron was drunk

 

[Laivasse]

In the Irish statute, 'drunken person' is supposed to mean anyone who might be at risk of hurting themselves or others due to being drunk. Sounds like Canadian legislators have taken this one logical step further, which is to realise that this describes every drunken person, since any drunken person becomes a risk simply by getting behind the wheel of a car. I just think that whole logic train is batshit.

 

[xcellerate]

The legal reason behind not filming police has to do with existing wiretapping laws.

The guesstimating your speed thing has ALWAYS pissed me off for like 100 reasons. The ONLY ticket I've ever gotten was through these means. A motorcycle cop and I pass each other going opposite directions cresting a blind hill (which means we couldn't see each other until we reached the crest of the hill).

The speed he guesstimated happened to be the SLOWEST speed I could be going to still receive the MAXIMUM fine, and the speed he guesstimated is a mechanical impossibility for my car...I can't go 55mph in 2nd gear, which he said I was, and I absolutely without a doubt know that I was in 2nd gear. I think if he can estimate my speed, I can estimate my fine.

 

[Raziaar]

So even though I pretty much never speed... I can get a ticket for speeding, because some douche cop guesstimates I was going 5-10 mph faster than I actually was? Great.

 

[Dynasty]

Cant they arrest/hold you for 24 hours with no reason?

 

[ramsfan]

Cant they arrest/hold you for 24 hours with no reason?

No and yes at the same time. No they can't just walk up and arrest you without a reason, but they can come up with a reason such as loitering.

Man whats with all the cop bashing. I would like to see you guys be cops because I'm sure you would do such a better job.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXem0mACyAU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF-BtESLEsU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvP6IGYL2UI

If you can't watch them don't go dissing cops. I get not all of them a are great. Neither are all the people you work with. It's a job. There is bad employees in all companies.

EDIT
The cop in the second video was what you would call "a jerk." If he was smart he may have lived. Walking straight up to a window like that in that kind of situation and just spraying mas is not the correct method to use. But even the jerks put their lives on the line.

I have been pulled over 6 times. Twice let go with a warning and the other times written less than what I was going. You show them respect, you'll get it back.

 

[flamingdts]

Right, that's the problem with most cops.

They become so power hungry with their authority that they believe they have the rights to demand respect from anyone. Like what we have seen in so many videos, complaints and articles. Police Brutality could occur from something as simple as "he didn't look at me right".

Police are trained to be calm and conceiving. They are not supposed to demand respect for themselves, they are supposed to demand respect for the law. Not everyone is going to give them the attitude they want, but as long as those people are not transgressors, they have to deal with it. Afterall, it's all part of their job.

Cops are not the law nor are they above the law.

 

[Naph]

Cops are not the law nor are they above the law.

 

[ramsfan]

Afterall, it's all part of their job.

Good point there.

Unfortunately some cops do tend to abuse there power or take things over the edge. Other times cops think they are invincible and can do anything.

Cops do lose their jobs though for doing the wrong thing, just like you or I would if we did the wrong thing at work. Sometimes when they do the wrong thing they lose their life, such as the second video. Not all cops act like there penis is biggest though.

Cops are people just like you or I. They make bad judgments, we make bad judgments. I can't think of the number of times I wish I had better judgment in a situation. Cops are put into these positions more often than we are. It would be perfect if all cops were good cops.

Police are trained to be calm and conceiving. .

They are trained to handle situations, but most of all they are trained to think about themselves first. By that I mean protecting themselves and not trusting anyone. Which is why I feel cops should not be filmed. The number one thing they teach you in the academy is not to trust anyone ever. If you have ever gone out to each with a police officer off duty at a restaurant they HAVE to be facing the door. If you are filming a cop you are endangering yourself.

 

[flamingdts]

Cops are trained to have better judgment than the average person. They are trained to handle situations logically and consistently. That is why the society should be able to hold the authority accountable for their actions, and filming them is the most discrete yet objective method of displaying the behavior of police officers. If simply filming a police officer is endangering yourself, then that is a very big issue.

They are trained to handle situations, but most of all they are trained to think about themselves first. By that I mean protecting themselves and not trusting anyone.

Something is very wrong with the academy if they are trained to think about themselves first and to value themselves over society. Of course, I don't expect them to save others over themselves, but to be trained to do so is....wrong.

 

[ramsfan]

Something is very wrong with the academy if they are trained to think about themselves first and to value themselves over society. Of course, I don't expect them to save others over themselves, but to be trained to do so is....wrong.

Bah maybe I'm not explaining myself very well. Yes there job is to save others and if someone is endanger it is their job to do it and they will. However if that person is not endanger and they are entering either a normal or hostile environment they are trained to be ready to use their weapon.

Look at what happened to the Tampa Bay Police officers that were shot. They thought they were just arresting some guy with a bad check to Biggy. What the officers did was both walk up to the driver side of the car. What they should have done is have one officer walk up to the driver side and one up to the passenger side. If they would have followed this procedure at least one of them would still be alive. By doing this not only would it have prevented both from getting shot by the other police officer could have spotted the gun being pulled out.

These police officers were not on high alert. Since they were not it unfortunately cost them their lives. Police officers are trained to always be on high alert. It is part of the reason why police officers have such a high divorce rate.

When they are constantly on high alert all day, when they come home they crash. When they crash they don't want to do anything because they are exhausted. Their wives then get frustrated at their husbands because they don't do anything, they shutdown. The wives don't wanna talk about the husbands work because they don't' wanna know about their job because it will make them more worried. This in turn causes communication problems, the wife thinks he is shutting down because of her and that he doesn't care about her. In reality he is shutting down because of the job.

So what I should have said earlier was they train them to be on high alert. That means don't trust anyone and be ready for anything.

 

[Remus]

Which begs the question, why would anyone WANT to be a police officer?

 

[flamingdts]

Bah maybe I'm not explaining myself very well. Yes there job is to save others and if someone is endanger it is their job to do it and they will. However if that person is not endanger and they are entering either a normal or hostile environment they are trained to be ready to use their weapon.

But this is the problem and complaint that society have against law enforcers. They are too trigger happy, they are too "ready" and prepared to use brutal force. Of course, taking the necessary precautions is understandable, but we have seen time and time again police officers taking down an unarmed civilian for no apparent reason. Heck, we have seen how police officers often abuse the use of tazers.

The ability to film police officers ensures the society is safe (ironically) and given justice. I could name several instances where the police officers would lie about their excessive or unnecessary use of force on civilians, but since they were filmed, the higher ups could hold these officers accountable.

 

[ramsfan]

Which begs the question, why would anyone WANT to be a police officer?

The jerk cops probably want the power.

The real cops may feel their job has more meaning behind it. Instead of sitting behind a desk everyday your out there helping people and protecting the law.

Divorce rates are 80% for police officers and suicide rates are four times higher than for normal citizens. Police officers are aware of these statistics when the join the force but tell themselves "it wont happen to me." A police officer spouse and family must be constantly communicating and working with them. Being cop can make your life more difficult, but if you take the necessary steps it can be rewarding. Until you want your damn pension

 

[ramsfan]

But this is the problem and complaint that society have against law enforcers. They are too trigger happy, they are too "ready" and prepared to use brutal force. Of course, taking the necessary precautions is understandable, but we have seen time and time again police officers taking down an unarmed civilian for no apparent reason. Heck, we have seen how police officers often abuse the use of tazers.

This is true, police officers have been caught making bad choices and I cannot argue that. Police officers have to deal with a lot of death. Weather it is showing up at the scene of a brutal accident, or killing someone, or having a fellow officer die. These can trigger there alert level even higher and sometimes make them act unreasonably. I feel when cops do unnecessary things it is not okay, but also feel they need help.

 

[Dynasty]

I only really feel one way about police, and that's that they are never around when you need them, but always around when you dont.

Why do you have to play 20 questions when you call to say someone is breaking in as you speak? Someone (drunk) climbed over our fence once and was stumbling around our garden one night, we called the police and they were getting us to ID him over the phone. What clothes was he wearing, what height, skin colour, now thats all fine and dandy if the police show up so they know what/who to look for, but someone better be coming to the scene as we're talking over the phone. Here's my name, my address. Why do you need to know my mother's cat's maiden name? I know theres alot of prank calls out there, but your number gets black-listed in a kind of 'cry wolf' way.

And for god sake, WHY roll up to someone's house if they call an emergency with your lights flashing and sirens blaring??? Stealth much? Anyone in the house is going to hear you coming a frigging mile away and will be half way to China before the cop knocks on the door.

 

[RakuraiTenjin]

Cops are trained to have better judgment than the average person.

How exactly is this a trained trait? You can't train something like that. And if you have experience with police they are trained to observe, and yes they're very good at observing and noting details of situations. Judgement is FREQUENTLY in question, however. LOL

 

[flamingdts]

How exactly is this a trained trait? You can't train something like that. And if you have experience with police they are trained to observe, and yes they're very good at observing and noting details of situations. Judgement is FREQUENTLY in question, however. LOL

Um...

How about the fact that in the police academy they teach you how to react to different situations? That itself is teaching you to have better judgment. Of course you could be trained to have better judgment. Why do you think being tazered is part of their training? They have to experience what it feels like to be tazered in order to know what exactly they are inflicting amongst an individual. This grants them the ability to judge whether the use of a tazer is warranted in different situations.

Of course, the problem is most cops have poor judgment. Their poor training being a huge reason to that. I think the number of fat cops you see around should indicate the quality of most police officers nowadays.

 

[RakuraiTenjin]

Um...

How about the fact that in the police academy they teach you how to react to different situations? That itself is teaching you to have better judgment. Of course you could be trained to have better judgment. Why do you think being tazered is part of their training? They have to experience what it feels like to be tazered in order to know what exactly they are inflicting amongst an individual. This grants them the ability to judge whether the use of a tazer is warranted in different situations.

Of course, the problem is most cops have poor judgment. Their poor training being a huge reason to that. I think the number of fat cops you see around should indicate the quality of most police officers nowadays.

Good judgement is something that you either have or you don't. "Common sense." It's not really something you can measure. But you can clearly see it in people. I know a lot of "smart" people that are ignorant morons in that department. Being tazered doesn't give you better judgement on whether to use it or not. If your main question of whether to use a tazer or not was that you think it didn't hurt, you should not have been allowed to progress that far in police academy in the first place.