Setanta wrote:Typical response from Shirley.
My intention was to respond
in the general, not in the specific. In this case, it sounds like the officer had reason--a tip from a passing motorist--to stop and check things out. My question to you is whether you believe that
the choice of whether a cop has justification for stopping, questioning, or conversing with a citizen should be left solely to the citizen? It appears that in this specific case, the cop had no real reason for concern, but how was he to ascertain that if he can't so much as ask someone's name?
A couple of years ago, my daughter fell and cut her head badly enough that stitches were required. In the emergency room, I noted that we were asked several times to describe the circumstances surrounding the injury, and I recognized what I believed to be the staff's efforts to follow through on their legal obligation to watch for and report incidents of child abuse. I answered their questions patiently and without animosity. Now, I could have allowed myself to become indignant that anyone would suggest I could hurt my child. But I didn't, because I understood that their questions weren't just about me and my child, they were about trying to safeguard children who actually are being abused by their parents. By simply answering their questions and not taking it personally I was allowing them to get on with their job, but more than that, I was helping them do that job. Why would I want to hassle people who are trying to protect children?
Well, I'd like to ask the guy in this case the same question: why would he want to hassle someone who is out there trying to keep him and his child safe? The cop didn't ask him to submit to a cavity search, he asked him his name.
Now it may well turn out that a cop has no absolute legal right to demand my name, but if one asks me, I'm going to give it to him so he can determine that I'm not a threat to anyone and can get back to trying to find and apprehend those people who are. Being a cop is a tough enough job without dickheads trying to make it harder just because they've had a lousy day or don't think the cop is being "nice" enough when he's trying to figure out what's going on in an unknown situation.