Can the police contact you and run your name even if you aren't committing a crime?
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Can the police contact you and run your name even if you aren't committing a crime?
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I'm 16 years old, so I don't know that much about the law. Today I was out in another city, and I missed my bus back home, so I had to wait a whole hour for the next one to come.
So, I guess as you'd imagine it was pretty boring...I walked around with my ipod, kicking pebbles on the sidewalks, walking around on the streets aimlessly, doing whatever. I then saw a police officer, and went over and asked him if he knew where there was a gas station since I was getting thirsty and wanted to buy a drink. He gave me directions, and I thanked him and left.
However, I thought it was too far to walk so I just turned and headed back to the bus stop.
The officer followed me, and then asked to see some ID. He was immediately followed by another police cruiser, and I asked what the heck was going on--I didn't do anything wrong. The officer said, "Well, we're going to be frank with you--for the 45 mins, I've been seeing you walking up and down the streets, dawdling under the trees, shuffling around the playground, and now you ask me for directions and then suddenly turn and walk in the opposite way. It's a fair question to ask YOU what's going on!"
After running my information, they said they were just "checking the situation out."
This isn't the first time this has happened...another time, I was just leaning up against a telephone pole being bored, minding my own business, and an officer came up and asked if everything was alright.
Is it because I'm a teenager that if I'm not doing anything specific, I need to be checked out? What's so illegal about doing nothing at all? I think it's rude, and I do feel offended!
Additional Details
Mike: Wow, okay.
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Rick
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The law vary s from state to state, check yours, but if you are always hanging around doing nothing, expect to get talked to from time to time. If your hanging around a school, then it's on the radar of everyone, no drugs zones, no gun zones, and no tolerance zone...so hang somewhere else...
If you want the legality of it...well there is nothing that says a cop can't stop you and talk to you....now if he grabs your bag and searches it...that's another story.
Now if you feel your being harassed by the department, feel free to gown down to the station and talk with one of the sergeants. |
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Mike
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Yes.
It appears to the Police Officer that you may be planning to rob or burglarize a business or a residence.
Your case does illustrate the problems with our public transit system where you can be left out on the streets for a very long time before the next bus comes.
Also the Police Officer may be concerned about your welfare.
Many years ago when I was a graduate student at Case Western Resrve University in Cleveland Ohio I took the buses as my only form of tranportation since I did not have a car back then.
During winter the temperatures were often close to zero degrees.
I had been waiting on a bench at a bus stop for approximately 45 minutes on a winter day with temperatures close to zero degrees.
A Police Officer noticed that I had been there for some time and stopped to check if I was OK.
I thought I was OK other than being very cold.
The Police Officer explained that they had had a number of incidences of people who had been harmed from long exposure to the cold.
The Police Officer took me to a local hospital where the hopital staff determined that I had hypothermia (low body temperature from exposure to the cold) and frostbite on my feet.
The hospital staff put me in the hospital because I had hypothermia and frostbite.
There are a number of reasons why the Police will check on you if you appear to be in one place for a long time, without an apparent reason for being there.
Not all of those reasons are because they think that you may be engaged in criminal behavior.
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dlk
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If your behavior put up some flags to the Officer, yes he can ask you your name, and get information. Perhaps they have been having problems with "gangs" or what not in that area. No it is not illegal. |
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Nan
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copy will hassle you any time they feel like it
there have even been cases where they will break out your taillight |
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a deductible. Can I defend myself? I'm 6'5 and 396lbs 2xfelon
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