Years of Persuasion

[seejase]

Apparently you have to find an attorney who is not afraid to sue the government and even then there may be state laws which will not allow damages. No wonder the folks in the courthouse could care less - They are totally not accountable for their actions.

[talkativeshut]

So, rewind back to when I'm 17. I'm driving home from work one Sunday afternoon and I pass by a house that has a handful of police cars in the yard. Not sure what's going on there, but I continue on to my house and as I'm pulling into my driveway several miles away I see a police car coming from the opposite direction. He pulls into my driveway behind me and cuts his blue lights on. Apparently someone about an hour earlier had shot at the previously mentioned house from a moving vehicle. My crime was that I happened to be driving by an hour later. I had met this officer before and he had recognized my car and met me at my house to ask me where I was coming from. I told him work and he asked if I had any weapons in the car. I told him I did not and he asked if he could search my car. Now, today I would have done things a lot differently but I didn't have anything to hide so I consented. During this time my Dad came out also. The officer searched my car and didn't find anything and left. The incident wasn't really that big of deal and the officer was actually pretty nice about the whole thing, but it always bothered me that he just happened to see me driving down the road an hour later and he felt like he had probable cause to search my car? Why would he even be suspicious of someone just driving by later? Obviously this was a huge fishing expedition that could have gone badly for any number of reasons. It was also an embarrassment for me because this was in the middle of the afternoon and who knows what my neighbors were thinking.

What was disturbing was what if you have an actual weapon in your car? Even if you were a few years older and you have the right license, they could still push you to be a criminal even though you were just driving by.

[Kaicielia BlueDragon]

Sounds like my relationship with police.  Never been arrested.  Heck, never even had a speeding ticket.  But they always seem to find a way to make contact with me.

In the 3 years that I have owned my 2006 Town and Country, I have been pulled over only once.  Prior to that, when I drove an old 90's-something red rust bucket, I'd get pulled over every few months.  Usually for some bullshit equipment violation - exhaust hanging a little too low, front license plate not attached correctly, etc - but it never failed, they found an excuse to pull me over and seldom failed to ask to search my vehicle.  I imagine, driving the rust bucket, they believed they had someone who was too poor to 1) chance pissing off a cop and 2) fight any charge in court.

Now, because I am such a "good girl," I tend to throw them off guard when I refuse a search.  They cite the safety of the police officers, the safety of the neighborhood, etc.  Luckily I still have not had to endure a search.  But their presence - when I hear/read the stories and see them take the stupidest actions and they continue to amass more power and immunity, as the numbers of friends and family who's lives have been irreparably damaged due to "the system's" thirst for power - it is beginning to eat at me.

As time goes on I dislike them more and more.  When the time comes that I am arrested/charged with a crime, I don't know how I will react.  I hope, at least, it holds out until the kids are out of the house.  They won't like the monster they've created, and I fear I may not either.

[Diogenes The Cynic]

Sounds like my relationship with police.  Never been arrested.  Heck, never even had a speeding ticket.  But they always seem to find a way to make contact with me.

In the 3 years that I have owned my 2006 Town and Country, I have been pulled over only once.  Prior to that, when I drove an old 90's-something red rust bucket, I'd get pulled over every few months.  Usually for some bullshit equipment violation - exhaust hanging a little too low, front license plate not attached correctly, etc - but it never failed, they found an excuse to pull me over and seldom failed to ask to search my vehicle.  I imagine, driving the rust bucket, they believed they had someone who was too poor to 1) chance pissing off a cop and 2) fight any charge in court.

Now, because I am such a "good girl," I tend to throw them off guard when I refuse a search.  They cite the safety of the police officers, the safety of the neighborhood, etc.  Luckily I still have not had to endure a search.  But their presence - when I hear/read the stories and see them take the stupidest actions and they continue to amass more power and immunity, as the numbers of friends and family who's lives have been irreparably damaged due to "the system's" thirst for power - it is beginning to eat at me.

As time goes on I dislike them more and more.  When the time comes that I am arrested/charged with a crime, I don't know how I will react.  I hope, at least, it holds out until the kids are out of the house.  They won't like the monster they've created, and I fear I may not either.

When, not if?

Fuck our country is crumbling.

[seejase]

I talked to a handful of attorneys who were eager to hear my story...until they found out I wasn't beaten, lost my job, or suffered a major monetary loss. Then they were sympathetic, but sorry - can't help you.
I agree that the next time I end up in court, I'm worried that my actions/attitude are going to make my situation worse because I've gone from having little or no respect for law enforcement to a total disrespect.