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| Re: How NOT to handle an encounter with police (Re: ROBBED BY A COP— PROPERTY DESTROYED!) (425468) | |||
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Re: How NOT to handle an encounter with police (Re: ROBBED BY A COP— PROPERTY DESTROYED!) |
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Posted by JPC on Fri May 4 15:57:45 2007, in response to Re: How NOT to handle an encounter with police (Re: ROBBED BY A COP— PROPERTY DESTROYED!), posted by LA Blue Line on Fri May 4 11:26:40 2007. What you're saying would imply the police can come up and handcuff anyone right on the street until that person can prove they are not a threat. That is exactly what this nation's laws and constitution are designed to NOT allow to happen.In general, NO, an officer cannot walk up to you out of a clear blue sky and put you in cuffs until you can prove you shouldn't be in them. In some localities (NYC is one) an officer CAN pat down the outside of your clothing (a so-called Terry stop, intended to search for weapons but more often used to find narcotics or other contraband) but cannot force you to remove clothing or reach inside pockets or underneath articles of clothing without probable cause. If you're wearing a heavy coat and it's buttoned up, the officer can pat down the outside of your coat, but cannot compel you to open it, or remove it, and cannot reach inside (which is usually a bad idea anyway due to risk of needle sticks and other sharps out of sight). That being said, courts are generally deferential to an officer's claims about safety, so in iffy cases you're unlikely to win anything, if the officer can come up with a justifiable fear - "I thought he may have had a weapon." Furtive actions (like putting your hands in your pockets or keeping them otherwise out of sight), or aggressive posture or statements can lead to such fear, and increase your risk of being cuffed. |
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