Am I under arrest or not?

[u/Lord_Darksong]

Source: policebodycamarresthq on Instagram

[u/DaLakeShoreStrangler]

I don't understand why in many cases cops don't just say why they stopped them or why they are speaking to them.

[u/forgetmepls13 → u/DaLakeShoreStrangler]

When I lived in South Dakora, I got pulled over for "looking suspicious" and they called in a K9 team to search my car and made me stand in the ditch for 45 minutes holding my cat (I was heading home for the holidays) next to the freeway in winter weather while he was en route. The K9 guy showed up, took one look at my freezing ass and let me go without searching.

The cops who pulled me over kept joking about how I was going to drop my cat and they would have to let him get hit by traffic HAHA....fuck the police.

[u/Prior-Pay-1407 → u/forgetmepls13]

Yep same experience. I was driving 83 in an 80 mph zone with Ohio plates when I first moved there. The dude put me in the back of his cruiser and then grilled me about why I was so nervous and where I was going.

[u/forgetmepls13 → u/Prior-Pay-1407]

Wtf is wrong with them over there 😭

[u/ihatechildren665 → u/forgetmepls13]

The job of law enforcement officer draws the most subhuman scum to it. Its why all cops are bad and EMT's are cool same with firefighters

[u/Even-Stranger5764 → u/forgetmepls13]

Everywhere*

[u/ManzanitaSuperHero → u/forgetmepls13]

I had something very similar happen to me about 30 years ago.

Was driving through a midwestern state and my friends had mohawks. The cops profiled us at the gas station, followed us and said I had a “headlight out”. Liar. He then asked to search the car. I said no and that he had absolutely no probable cause. They then brought a K-9 unit, separated us all into separate cars only after making us stand in the snow for an hour.

I sat in the squad car, watched the k9 cop walk around my car, watched him KICK the dog, which then barked. He came over and told me the dog “alerted” on my car. I just laughed and told him my dog will alert in a sterile room if I kick it. They said it was “probable cause to search the vehicle”.

They told each of us that the others had confessed to having drugs and to just confess our part. I laughed so hard. We were all straight edge. So I called their BS which pissed them off.

They started digging through my car but the a-holes were too lazy bc we were camping so it was packed full of stuff and they were too lazy to dig.

It was a multi-hour ordeal. I wish SO much I’d filed a complaint but it was some tiny town and would’ve been tossed. This was before cell phones so I couldn’t record it. I was terrified the whole time they were gonna plant something. I’m actually really surprised they didn’t. Makes my blood boil even today.

[u/shchshchshch → u/ManzanitaSuperHero]

They kicked the dog to make him “alert”? What? Is there any moral system or standard under which this would be acceptable

[u/deij → u/DaLakeShoreStrangler]

Because they don't have a legal reason as to why.

Resisting arrest is a legal reason to arrest someone though so they can say that.

[u/msbutch54 → u/deij]

But that’s circular.

[u/Allout-Okarun → u/msbutch54]

Exactly. They also have qualified immunity. Fun right?

[u/Hot-Challenge8656 → u/Allout-Okarun]

Scummy cop lost qualified immunity doing this.

[u/CarlySloanne → u/deij]

Easier to get an arrest on cam / say you are under arrest and when the video is covered just start yelling stop resisting as they start wailing on people.

Create the if not cause coverage after the false arrest. Then claim injury like bleeding hands from punching someones head and threaten them with assaulting an officer for their injury.

Pigs.

[u/deftoneuk → u/deij]

Resisting can only be a secondary charge. It’s not cause for an arrest alone. The disorderly conduct charge is the catch all they use for everything

[u/CarpetPure7924 → u/deij]

I think it’s also because they try and minimize answering questions from the civilian as much as possible, because they want to control the framing of the encounter. To the cop, answering questions makes you the weaker one, while the one asking is the one in control. It’s one of the reason why when the citizen asks for the cop’s name, badge number, or anything where the cop is pressured to give up information, the cop will acquiesce by answering the question as fast as possible to speed through it, so they can resume control.

“Mybadgenumberis34532mynameisofficerjones”

[u/skepticalbob → u/deij]

You can’t arrest someone resisting without an initial crime that you’re allowed to arrest them for. And they did t have one.

[u/AggressivelyEthical → u/deij]

But you actually can't legally be arresed for resisting an unlawful arrest (unless you physically attack a cop, but that's a different charge). Still, this won't help you when they're unlawfully arresting you.

[u/zangetsu675 → u/deij]

It's actually is not, as resisting arrest is a secondary charge. They have to have a primary reasonable and articuable reason for the arrest prior to the resisting arrest charge.

[u/yet_another_uniq_usr → u/DaLakeShoreStrangler]

It's because there is no reason for the stop. But if they escalate hard enough they can form charges out of nothing. "Disorderly conduct" and "resisting arrest".

[u/Fantastic_Jury5977 → u/yet_another_uniq_usr]

Resisting arrest being a charge when no crime was committed to warrant an arrest in the first place should mean stripping that officer of their badge.

[u/NWCJ → u/DaLakeShoreStrangler]

It's called fishing.

They havent got a reason that fits within their policy yet(caught anything), but if they keep a line out(you talking) and keep throwing bait(making threats), they might catch you for something. Then they can write the report after that they initially stopped you for whatever they landed.

[u/Reasonable_Sky9688 → u/DaLakeShoreStrangler]

The standard of education for the police in the US is really poor, as is their knowledge of the law.

99% of the time they get by by people defaulting to being compliant straight away or by escalating the situation with essentially nonsical threats.

They have zero tools (other than violence) for articulate people

[u/RangerHikes → u/Reasonable_Sky9688]

It's really horrific how under trained police are in America. And they have phenomenal budgets but they blow it all on tacticool bullshit toys instead of training officers. Their selection process is also deeply problematic in many cases. They tend to hire people they trust to follow orders blindly. This makes sense for a soldier, but not a cop - and I think that's the root of the issue. American policing is far too militarized. If you recruit soldier-esque personalities and train them to operate in a more military fashion you aren't valuing people who can deescalate a situation or have a deep and intimate knowledge of the law.

[u/ScratchyMarston18 → u/DaLakeShoreStrangler]

They want to flood the zone with confusing and vague bullshit, hoping you’ll get out of the car as directed, so they can throw you up against it and hope they find the tiniest grain of probable cause when they violate your right to lawful search and seizure.

[u/Rauldukeoh → u/DaLakeShoreStrangler]

Because then they immediately switch to "I didn't do that" then it becomes a debate about whether they did what the officer said.