Are cops allowed to stop you and question you for no reason at all???

big dogg

In pa a police officer can conduct what is called a mere encounter. a mere encounter is basically a non accusatory conversation between u and the officer. in this encounter you are free to leave at anytime. in your sitaution when the officer told you to stop instead of asking to talk to you this would be called a investigatory detention. the officer must have some kind of resonable suspicion for this detention. ie. you meet the description of a person that has commited a crime iont he aarea

Dan

There's nothing that prevents them from walking up to you and asking you questions. There's also nothing preventing you from walking away. Generally, if you are stopped for or brought in for questioning you might be required to give your information like they requested.

If you feel unfairly treated, you should ask them if you're going to be brought in for questioning or arrested. If they say no, or provide you with a non-answer, you are free to go.

The case that Sherilynne cited is irrelevant because the case is relating to justification for traffic stops. Because you were accosted while you were walking you actually have even more rights than the Whren case describes because you aren't subject to restrictions placed on you via a drivers license.

When you secure a drivers license, you agree to impose whatever restrictions your state requires for licensing on yourself. Your choice is accept those restrictions, or don't drive.

Because you were walking, however its really irrelevant. If something like this ever happens again, just remember, if they ask for your information you have to provide it, but they aren't allowed to keep harassing you if they don't intend to take you in for questioning or arrest you.

traildude25

Yes and no. An officer can stop and talk to you for any reason, just the same as anyone else on the street. If this is the case, you have the right (Fourth Amend.) to walk away or not answer any questions.

However, if the officer has reasonable expectation/suspicion that you have committed, or are about to commit a crime, then they have the right to question you and you can't just walk away (Terry Stop).

zmortis

I have a couple of question for you. Do you know if the officers were looking for someone who committed a crime who may have a similar description as you? Are you certain the officers knew you had not done anything illegal? If you don't know for certain about these answers, then how do you know that you were stopped for no reason at all?

As a general rule officers do not have the right to stop a citizen without some kind of demonstrable concern. That being said they are not obligated to communicate their reasons for stopping you. If they have any reasonable pretext, (for example recent vandalism reports, loitering complaints, shoplifting complaints, etc.) in your community, and you are in vicinity of their patrol, then you are likely to be subject to scrutiny.

Honestly answer this for yourself, if a 70 year old lady were walking down the street, would she likely be intimidated by your presence? If your answer is yes, then your presence may likely give an officer enough reasonable suspicion to question you. If your presence causes little old ladies to smile and say "What a nice young man." Then I would suggest something else is up.

Pfo

This picture would be a lot clearer if you had mentioned what they thought you were lying about. For some reason, people with similar concerns never seem to mention this, and only focus on the behavior of the police.

Frogman

You do not know if the police had a reason to stop you. The Supreme Court held that police may briefly detain a person if they have a reasonable suspicion that the person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime.

sLacKeR

well, i was following a cop the other day... he failed to signal a lane change, was speeding, license plate was covered with snow, failed to signal lane change AGAIN....so whether they are allowed to or NOT they are gonna do it... and with this BS cops that turn on their lights JUST to go through the light if F-ING rediculous

dvcgurl

yes they can

throckin1

its called probable cause or reasonable suspision...and that mean they can pull you over or talk to you anytime they want for any reason they want it has happened to me before and its no big deal ...you may look like someone they are looking for or in an area where you look out of place or walking funny liek your under the influance...anything they want to call it and no your rights have not been violated at all..myself i am a white guy who lived growing up in an all hispanic neighborhood so this used to happen to me all the time...they thought i was out looking for weed or something becouse i was walking around in this hood...lol so i just told them hey i live here and showed my id and it was all over...lol

gomanyes562

It's a tricky thing... technically they do not, but they can always come up with a reason. If they are looking for a suspect and you happen to fit the profile, or if there was a crime and they think you were in the area, then they can.

yeah they can, but you dont have to answer any of thier questions. sounds like you did what you had to do and the cop walked. he was fishing thats all. "i dont believe you" haha so? since when is that against the law. sounds like your a kid bro, and kids are easy to take advantage of, by cops and criminals alike.

caldude1010101

A police officer can always make up a reason to question you. And good luck trying to do anything about it, in a legal sense. The men in blue will always back each other up.

As you stated, stay respectful, answer their questions and if there is nothing for them to be concerned about, they will move on.

Norskeyenta

Oh Yah, When an Officer asks, yells at anyone to stop, you need to Respect that command. If you would have run off, it would mean your actually trying to escape and for what Reason ? Our Police Officers are experts at picking up on attitudes. So be Respectfull, cooperate and they will treat you good. Next time they see you, they will think that this guy is a Respectful, cooperative, person. They get to know you and you will be treated with well deserved Respect.

Mullah Obama

To you it might have seemed that way, to them they had a reason.

rogue chedder

that's happened to me before. there probably not, but that doesn't mean they'll stop doing it

derek g

im afraid so,it happend to me once,wasnt happy about it

TURANDOT

HUM... welcome to the "profiled" club, boy

Joshua G

Yes, to see if you have drivers license, sometimes Cops get pulled over by Cops. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrRdIeK9xoc

italienne

It's gray. If they thought you fit a profile of someone they were looking for they can stop you and question you. Have you seen road blocks?

Sherilynne B

No they are not and in fact it is illegal for them to do so. Here's a page that explains your rights and how to protect them from illegal stops and searches. This one is about street stops but Flex Your Rights has pages explaining other rights including illegal traffic stops and home and personal searches and how to say no to the officer.

makedamnsure_32

yes they are...they have a quota to meet every month...they have to pull over a certain amount of ppl, give out a minimum number of tickets...etc. thats how it is here anyway. and the guy u were dealin with prolly just wanted to bug u cuz he thinks hes cool. dnt even worry about it. some of them jst take the power to their heads u kno?

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