Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with cop

Is leaning trespassing?

youthenrage — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 23:29:26 -0800

Am I trespassing if I am standing on a public sidewalk, leaning against a wall that directly abuts the sidewalk? Me and a friend were just stopped by a police officer who accused us of trespassing. He made us show him our ID, ran our information and threatened to arrest us for trespassing. Our crime? Stopping on a public sidewalk and leaning against a wall that directly abuts the sidewalk for about 15 minutes.

Quick Summary - Me and a friend were walking around, we stopped on the sidewalk and wait around for some friends. We both stood on the sidewalk and leaned up against the wall. We were not obstructing anybody else on the sidewalk, it is wide enough for people to walk by unhindered by us. After about 15 minutes we decided not to wait any longer and left. A police officer stopped us about 100 ft. away and asked to see our IDs. I asked him if we were being detained, and if so, what we were being detained for. He said that we were being detained, for trespassing. I asked where we were trespassing and he said we were sitting on "his wall". I said that we weren't on the wall, but standing on the sidewalk. He said that this was still trespassing, and demanded our IDs. We provided them, he ran our information and when it came up that we didn't have any warrants, he let us go warning that we could be arrested for trespassing if we came back.

To be totally clear, this is DEFINITELY a public sidewalk, and a public street. There are no "No Trespassing" or "Private Property" signs anywhere in the immediate area. The wall starts immediately where the sidewalk stops (it's not like sidewalk, strip of grass, wall - just sidewalk, wall). The street/sidewalk runs through a public university and the officer worked for that university - not the city.

I think this cop was being ridiculous, the wall physically prevented us from trespassing, the definition of trespassing says that you must enter the property and it's pretty clear that we didn't enter it.

Can anybody confirm or deny whether leaning on or touching a wall/building is trespassing? The only source I could find was this "Sitting against a building is not trespassing
This is one we hear about a lot. People leaning up against a building are told they are trespassing and are asked to move along. Nothing could be further from the truth; it is a physiological impossibility to be "on" or "in" a building that one is leaning against, even if there is some commingling of subatomic particles. " which I got from The Street Spirit. This happened in Richmond, VA.

What are my rights when being pulled over by the police for no reason?

hcastro — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 10:13:57 -0800

What are my rights when being pulled over by the police for no reason? On two separate occasions, over the past 2 months, I've been pulled over by local police for no apparent reason. Both times they've asked for my license and registration, returned them to me after about 5-10 minutes, and let me go without any ticket/warning. This past week my mother was pulled over in the same manner (different car). She mentioned it to our neighbor, and he reported a similar incident.

We live in an area of Philadelphia, PA that isn't too good, but that shouldn't be an excuse. They should at least have a reason to pull me over before doing so. I haven't asked any of the officers to explain themselves, because I fear the Dave Chappelle scenario (cop sprinkles crack on you). Can anyone shed some light on what type of rights I have/what I can do about this? Should I write a letter to the mayor? Police commissioner?

Thanks for your help.

-- Just to clear up some potential racial profiling responses:

-My mother and I are Hispanic, but don't necessarily look it.
-My neighbor is African-American.

Can a cop legally do anything if he sees my girlfriend and I moving from the back seat to the front seat?

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 17:59:27 -0800

So my girlfriend and I were hanging out in her back seat. Nothing with sex was happening, but then once we finished kissing she moved from the back seat to the front seat. As she is moving a cop notices her and comes over and looks at us. She rolls down her window and the cop makes a comment about her moving. He then asks for her license. She gives it to him. He glares at me (I'm still in the back) and asks her if its the correct name and address. She says yes. The cop gives her a lecture about how perception is important and then goes off. Can he legally do anything?

I am thinking about becoming a police officer, do I have a chance?

Bjkokenos — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 15:56:30 -0800

Do I actually have a chance of becoming a police officer?? A police officer has always been something that I could see myself doing. I have always enjoyed helping people and I am a great problem solver. I do not have a college degree at all. I have taken a few classes but nothing related to criminal justice. I am 26 years old. I recently got married and we just had our first child. I have been a Realtor for the last few years but the income here in the Detroit area is sporadic at best. I am considering a career change to something more steady and becoming a police officer is high on my list. I did have a few tickets around my late teens but nothing serious. I am (relatively) physically fit. Due to the fact that my income has been unsteady, lets say my credit is "less than ideal". I am not sure if that matters but I believe it might. I have a family to support and I have been pretty much working 2 jobs so I wouldn't to be able to go back to school to get a criminal justice degree. Is there any chance at all of my becoming a cop? Before you go there, I realize that police don't make a huge amount of money.

Can you join the force if you have a record?

fugitivefromchaingang — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 13:42:51 -0800

Does having a minor arrest record automatically disqualify one from joining the police force? If, say, I have been arrested and fined once for being drunk and disorderly, is this sufficient for the police to reject me as a candidate, if I wanted to become a cop? I imagine this might vary on a state by state basis; let's say the state is Connecticut. If you don't know about CT, but do know about another place, please tell me what you do know, anyway. If this all seems terribly hypothetical to you, that's because I'm writing a story, not actually thinking of becoming a cop.

Thanks.

Show off.

nakedcodemonkey — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 23:07:36 -0800

A motorcycle cop turned on the flashing lights and started weaving back and forth between cars on the highway. The passes kept getting wider, gradually prompting everyone to clear out of all 4 lanes and hang back about 1/4 mile behind him. Then he continued these sweeping 'S' maneuvers across the lanes for miles. By the time I had to exit, prevailing speed had dropped from 75 to 40. What was he doing, and why?

What are the lyrics to this wacky song?

johngoren — Wed, 10 May 2006 20:37:55 -0800

Can anyone make out the complete lyrics to "Goodbye, My Friend" (sample here), the catchy but hard-to-decipher theme song from the 1974 Italian movie "Street Law," starring Franco Nero?