just curious, my friends,

[roxy]

How many times have you been stopped by the police--without doing anything to give them a reason to stop you, like speeding, or weaving all over the road, or throwing stuff out the window?

Comments

[bubblesbrnaid]

Twice, maybe? Those weren't really stops, though--they were license/seat belt/drunk driving/etc. checkpoints.

I'm very paranoid about police in general (it's a terror I've had since childhood, I'm not sure why) and getting pulled over in particular, which is part of the reason I drive the speed limit (even when everybody else around me is going 20 over). On at least two occasions, I've nearly wrecked when a cop car turned the lights on behind me just before going after other cars.

The irony, of course, is that I'm white and easily presumed to be part of the political and religious majorities around here (long hair, no makeup, dress like a fundie schoolmarm), plus I'm a native and sound like it, with bonus redneck points for having a NASCAR license plate, so chances are unless I actually killed somebody, nothing would happen beyond a ticket. Maybe not even then.

[write-light.livejournal.com]

Twice but they had reasons - in one case my tags had been scraped off (F You, tag scraper), and in the other I was driving in the left (of 2) lanes on a state highway in a place where that is ONLY for passing (wtf, the road was empty for miles). Does getting a flashlight tap on a steamy window because you're making out in a parking lot at night count? I was stopped once by a private security guard but I am never telling that story. I can identify with the Blast-O'-Panic the above commenter feels upon seeing lights.

[elwarre.livejournal.com]

I've never been pulled over (knock on wood), and I'm terrified of it.

[elwarre.livejournal.com]

as an aside, did you change your journal style, or did livejournal change its style, or both? Everything is all over the place for me recently.

[roxymissrose.livejournal.com]

Got ya! Those were definitely reasonable stops, and anyone gets nervous when there's cop directly behind them. ;D

[roxymissrose.livejournal.com]

The Blast-O'-Panic (love that) is universal, I'll bet.

Did you get treated politely? Even with the flashlight tap? ;D

[roxymissrose.livejournal.com]

It can be scary, especially when they draw on you, which happened because my girlfriend and I were in a car similar to one involved in a robbery. A moment in my life that aged me a bazillion years. :)

[roxymissrose.livejournal.com]

I did change my layout, but I hate how they messed up other parts of LJ.

Stop changing things that work, you bastards!

[elwarre.livejournal.com]

oh my god, that sounds terrifying!! Did that happen recently?

[luvmax1.livejournal.com]

Neverm thank goodness. But I'm pretty much the most law abiding person you'll ever meet. Once, when I was a kid, I thought a cop was going to arrest my dad at MSG, but it turned out it was an old co-worker's of my dad's who was pranking him. (Incidentally, this guy left teaching and became a cop because he thought it would be safer.)

[roxymissrose.livejournal.com]

No, no--that happened when I was young and my heart was strong, lol! If such a thing happened to me recently, I'd be posting this from a hospital bed. :D It was just like you see on cop shows, though!

[fufaraw]

Not me personally, but both my sons, who at the time had long hair when long hair on a guy was suspect. Just on general principles. When things were slow, you know, fuck with the kid and leave the fat rich drunk running the roads.

I do not like LEOs of any stripe--don't trust them near enough to smell, or far enough to shoot. I was raised to go to the police for help--that's the *last* place I turn, now. Entitled insular protect each other's backs and the hell with civilians thugs.

I believe good people go into LE planning to help society, but with the inherent corruption, they either fall to the majority view, or they get out.

I've said too much. Sorry.

[roxymissrose.livejournal.com]

Wow--that's not a funny prank at all!

I'm the most law-abiding person too, but I've been stopped four times, not counting the time we got stopped because my friend was speeding--30 miles in a 25 mile zone. A speedtrap, actually. The other stops were memorable in their own way.

[roxymissrose.livejournal.com]

The reason I asked is because I've been stopped a few times for being Black-just wondering what other folks' experience of the police were.

[nicnac918.livejournal.com]

One time when I was in college I got pulled over by a bike cop because he thought I was riding with my headphones in. But once I pulled over he saw that I only had my headphone in one ear, and then he gave me a coupon for out on-campus food place because I was being a safe biker.

Another time a cop pulled me over and he let me know that my driving was just fine, but my tail lights had gone out. Then he gave me a warning citation thing so that if another cop pulled me over in the next couple of days before I could get them fixed, I wouldn't get a ticket.

[sweptawaybayou.livejournal.com]

I have been pulled over a couple of times - but they were all deserved. Tags out of date, one front light out, etc. I've also gotten speeding tickets and I've never tried to get out of them, heh. I know people that *have* just by crying or being all melodramatic, but on the rare occasions I do speed I know exactly how fast I was going ... so I never lie.

I do have a story for you though, which at the time was fucking hilarious, but in light of everything that's been happening lately - it's kinda horrifying now.

Way back in the day just after I was divorced, I was working in a very small grocery store. I was the asst mgr and worked with (mostly) a bunch of high school kids and the random adults that wanted/needed a second job. We all got to be good friends. One of the kids was a super!handsome and friendly black high school boy. Excellent at football and very personable. Just an all around good kid, right? And one of the adults was a white guy, young but married and with kids. He was (at the time) a Leavenworth cop and worked at our store to make some extra $$.

SO.

One night long ago, I'm taking my kids to swimming lessons at the Community Center. When we get done, I'm basically sleep walking to the car. It was warm and humid in there and I'd worked all day and the kids were all *talk talk talk* and it's dark and I'm just on auto-pilot, right? Out of the dark, this kid from the store runs up behind me and jumps on my back.

SCARED the ever living *crap* out of me. I know I screamed. And flailed.

He thought it was hilarious. And after I recovered, I laughed also. I mean, wtf else are you going to do?

So a couple days later I'm at work and I tell the cop guy about it. Telling him how scared i was! And we both laughed.

Well ... about two weeks later - the teenager and I are working together and he tells me that the cop had pulled him over the night before that. Told him to get the fuck out of his car and frisked him. Pushed him down on the trunk of his car and started to put handcuffs on him and the teen boy was freaking *out*, right? He'd never been in trouble before. And the cop pushes him down and says ...

'That's what you get for scaring Snow.'

Then, of course, he let him go.

BUT OMFG. I think back on that and i'm all ... oh, funny pranks between friends - but nowadays? HOLY FUCK. Probably not so funny. At all.

*hugshugshugshugs*

[roxymissrose.livejournal.com]

That's interesting. I was pulled over once by a state trooper who was nice about a tail light being out. It's been said that if you have to be stopped, your chances are better with a state cop than a local--at least they were back in my day.

[roxymissrose.livejournal.com]

Wow...that's actually a really scary story. Good thing the cop just wanted to be funny.

[fufaraw]

I'm so sorry. The institution of LE has a terrible lot to answer for.

[fireheart13.livejournal.com]

I got pulled over once for tailgating but got a warning. that's it *knock wood*

I live right by the police station now, drive by it back and forth to work, and I'm STILL nervous when a cop is driving behind me.

[roxymissrose.livejournal.com]

Yeah, we get that. I know that most cops are good guys, concerned with doing their job and doing it right, but that small percentage that takes their power and runs with it scares me too.

[luvmax1.livejournal.com]

We were at the Garden for a hockey game, and as we were heading into Grand Central Station, some douchebag sprayed my sister and cousin with mustard. It was one hell of a night.

[roxymissrose.livejournal.com]

Holy crap!! What a horrible night, you poor guys!!

[mollyamory.livejournal.com]

Never. I've been pulled over for a (real) busted tail light, and once I was pulled over for making an illegal turn with a police car directly behind me (I was in downtown Boston, late for an appointment, horribly lost lost in a construction zone and didn't see the "no left turn" sign among all the other fifty thousand construction-related signs; he thought it was hilarious and only gave me a warning). But I've never been pulled over without a reason, and I've FAILED to be pulled over a couple of times when there WAS a pretty good reason.

[tabaqui]

Hrmmmmmmmmm....a couple times. Once, on a trip back from a tattoo convention in Texas, Cat and I were pulled over in Oklahoma. They proceeded to search our truck a about half of the stuff in it, while telling us stories about all the 'hundreds of pounds' of heroin and coke and whatnot was being smuggled up from over the border.

They pointed to the garbage bag full of laundry shoved into a corner of the truck bed and said 'what's that'. I said 'laundry from our trip'. They nodded and moved on. For all they knew, it was *heroin* from our trip. Was not patted down, did not investigate my bag, which had my very illegal butterfly knife in it.

Other time, I crossed the middle line a little to avoid this humongous van that was kinda double parked and minute later or less a cop was pulling me over and telling me it was because i was 'swerving all over' and was I drunk. I said no, and had he seen that van back there, blocking half the lane? Then i got a ticket for not having a light over my license plate, but my car didn't have a socket or wire *for* a light, so I ended up not having to pay the ticket.

Also was not frisked or asked to get out when i got snarky about the van. Have been pulled over a few times for speeding, but...i was speeding. :)