How do you interact with cops when they start fucking with you?

[Jimmy Beans]

I'm just wondering how other people deal with this. I've been stopped and harassed by cops a number of times before, both alone and with other people. I know some people like to really go against the grain and I respect that, but me personally.. I'm in the "path of least resistance" camp. Sure, I don't get any punk rock points for that, but I also don't find myself in a jail cell or paying a citation all that often either. I think I'm closing in on a 30 year streak of staying out of jail and I've never been cited for anything other than stupid traffic stuff.

I was once driving with a friend and we were pulled over for a busted windshield. It was my truck and I was driving. We had a felony amount of cannabis in our backpacks. It was dumb of me to drive with a broken windshield and that much herb but that's beside the point. When we were pulled over they had us sit on the side of the road as they ran our names for warrants. They were treating it as a basic traffic stop, I remained cool calm and collected. It was looking like at the very worst, I'd be given a fix it ticket which I could then simply replace my windshield, take it in for inspection and not have to pay anything. My friend starts popping off talkin mad shit to the officers so then they start taking offense to this and I don't remember the exact circumstances but I know they found weed and then things started to feel a lot more serious.

I remained calm and respectful and talked my way out of that shit, despite my friend mouthing off all agro at them. We were able to drive off unmolested, and that to me is a W. I just don't understand why people do that. Like yeah I fucking get it, I hate cops too. But there's more than one way to skin a cat. In that situation, I felt like the fucking cat and my friend is over there yelling "Hey you fucking pigs, aren't you gonna skin this cat!??!!". I mean, if you wanna talk shit to cops be my guest, but don't do that shit when you could be putting the person you're with and their driving record/criminal record in jeopardy. I feel like go ahead and pick your own battles, but don't pick mine for me. But even when I'm solo, maybe I'm a bitch idk but I just don't see the risk/reward paying off too well by talking shit to them. How do you deal with cops?

 

[Bibs]

I do whatever keeps my body out of a cage, and whatever keeps bullets out of my body. If that means playing the yes sir no sir game fine I'll play, I've seen too many people throw their lives away for pride and all it did was make the road a little more empty each year and give me another downer story to tell. There are ways to resist authority other than getting into unwinnable arguments where the worst case scenario is being killed.

 

[MetalBryan]

Yes sir no sir thank you sir. I blow sunshine up their ass and lick their boots until they go away. I try to be ambiguous in an overly helpful way. Maybe it's not the best strategy from a legal standpoint, but I'm not willing to go to war with cops so there's no point in escalating things.

All politics aside, they are still just doing a job and I'm sure they feel the boredom and frustration like any blue collar worker. So I placate the insecure 13 by stroking egos while giving an opportunity to the rest who would rather be playing solitaire in their squad cars to let me go about my day with a warning.

If they decide to escalate - am I being detained? am I under arrest? am I free to leave? If I can't leave then I'd shut my mouth until the lawyer arrives... but caveat I'm a white guy and one of our special powers is talking to cops.

 

[numberonenumberreader]

I’d like to reiterate. YES SIR NO SIR.

Never admit to knowingly doing anything wrong and don’t let them smell fear, anxiety or anger. I go with an aloofness about it all.

Save shit talking for when you know you’re going to jail 🤪

 

[bote]

Only time I ever really tore a strip of a cop was when I was already handcuffed and lying face down in birdshit and I knew they had absolutely nothing on me. There were also officers there from a couple different policing agencies so I figured they were less likely to beat on me. It was still actually really stupid of me, I had nothing to gain by mouthing off and juat put myself at risk. When I hear people talking shit to cops in a way that puts them neeslessly at risk, it makes me think they either lack real world experience, have poor emotional control, or aren't very serious about their lives.

Protest situation is different, but even then it's important to keep your actions from being counterproductive.

 

[Jimmy Beans]

Only time I ever really tore a strip of a cop was when I was already handcuffed and lying face down in birdshit and I knew they had absolutely nothing on me. There were also officers there from a couple different policing agencies so I figured they were less likely to beat on me. It was still actually really stupid of me, I had nothing to gain by mouthing off and juat put myself at risk. When I hear people talking shit to cops in a way that puts them neeslessly at risk, it makes me think they either lack real world experience, have poor emotional control, or aren't very serious about their lives.

Protest situation is different, but even then it's important to keep your actions from being counterproductive.

Really good point about protest situations being different. That's just it, I think there's a time and place to pick your battles. I'm super for pushing back against the system. I just don't think you make any ground doing that on a small personal level and you're likely going to make shit a lot worse for yourself and that's literally the only outcome you're going to achieve by telling a cop that's got you stopped that they're a bitch and they ain't gonna do shit.

 

[timeeeee]

I'm with you on this. ACAB all the way, but the real problem is "the system" not the individual cops. In the moment they are just humans, with guns. I do my best to not admit to anything, but otherwise I'm as up-front about things as posssible. "oh yeah, i've been out hitchhiking for months. Mostly people have been really nice" "I am carrying a knife in my right pocket, you can take it out and hold onto it while we talk if you want" etc. I don't think of it as being a bitch, just showing them that I'm harmless.

That's worked out pretty much great for me. For context, I am white and not a big guy. I don't think it hurts anyone if I take advantage of those things to de-escalate situations with law enforcement. In fact, when I've been stopped with other people and especially with people who are not white, I think it's the responsible thing to do. What your friend did was an asshole move for sure 😅

I'd be interested to hear dissenting opinions on this!

 

[Jimmy Beans]

I'm with you on this. ACAB all the way, but the real problem is "the system" not the individual cops. In the moment they are just humans, with guns. I do my best to not admit to anything, but otherwise I'm as up-front about things as posssible. "oh yeah, i've been out hitchhiking for months. Mostly people have been really nice" "I am carrying a knife in my right pocket, you can take it out and hold onto it while we talk if you want" etc. I don't think of it as being a bitch, just showing them that I'm harmless.

That's worked out pretty much great for me. For context, I am white and not a big guy. I don't think it hurts anyone if I take advantage of those things to de-escalate situations with law enforcement. In fact, when I've been stopped with other people and especially with people who are not white, I think it's the responsible thing to do. What your friend did was an asshole move for sure 😅

I'd be interested to hear dissenting opinions on this!

That's pretty close to my get-down as well. I'm honest for the most part in what I'm doing. Like I wouldn't hide the fact that I'm hitchhiking or anything. I too announce right out the gate where my knife is and offer them the chance to remove it if they feel threatened. When I get pulled over driving, I remove the keys and place them on the dash before they get to the window. I usually put one hand over the door slightly out the window and the other on the steering wheel so they can see them both clearly at all times.

I think if you bring their alarm levels down without them having to discover you have a knife or ask you to remove keys it really goes a long way. They're used to dealing with assholes so when you're cool, and you haven't done anything wrong they're generally cool in return. Sometimes not, but they usually are. I've been absolutely fucking loaded on LSD and really fucking high on opium in an abandon house skating on the concrete floors when the police walked in on us. We were showing them how to do shove-its and ollies and they were trying them on our boards by the end of that ordeal.

Call me a bootlicker but I'd rather watch a cop trying to be cool fall off my board and bust his ass on concrete than stare at the back of his fat head through a cage on my way to jail because I told him to go fuck himself which escalated shit and he already had me dead to rights on some criminal charges. Funny thing about that friend of mine. That wasn't the only time he and I dealt with cops. We were walking into a walmart with my friends dog and they had a cop in the entry and he started being a dick asking for paperwork or some kind of proof the dog was a service animal.

Now that cop was definitely a fucking prick but still, you're never gonna get your way talkin shit. Friend started popping off telling him he was stupid, didn't know shit and wasn't gonna do shit. That was getting us nowhere, friend just handed me the leash and I sat with his dog outside. The cop came up and talked to me and I deescalated the whole thing. I had this guy in the palm of my hand. He wasn't tripping anymore, he was being really fucking cool. Then friend comes out of the store and immediately starts talkin mad shit to him again.

I'm like fuck, let's just get the fuck out of here so I start B lining towards my car with friends dog and we catch up to friend. Cop is coming up behind us on foot and now he's pissed. Says he's gonna give my friend a citation. Friend is like the fuck you are, for what? He says unregistered dog or some shit. Friend is like fuck you, you ain't givin me shit and starts to get in the car. I still have the leash and dog with me. The cop turns to me and says "well, you got the dog I guess I'm giving you the ticket then!

This was the only time I popped off at a cop because that was complete bullshit. I was still calm though, I just said no, that's definitely not going to happen. It's not even my dog. He said well it's on a leash, you got the leash. Looks like your dog to me. I said "really man? As cool as I've been this whole time to you? That's how you're gonna do me?" and he said "you know what, you're right." then he directed the next words to my friend and said "I'm gonna let you guys slide but only because of this guy being cool. You should learn how to talk to police officers" and he walked off as my friend clapped back at him "yeah and you need to learn how to not be a bitch".

I just got in the car and sped off before this fucker talked his way into us both going to jail lol.

I too am very interested in hearing dissenting views on this subject. Where's all the shit talkers at?

 

[Coywolf]

I do whatever keeps my body out of a cage, and whatever keeps bullets out of my body. If that means playing the yes sir no sir game fine I'll play, I've seen too many people throw their lives away for pride and all it did was make the road a little more empty each year and give me another downer story to tell. There are ways to resist authority other than getting into unwinnable arguments where the worst case scenario is being killed.

This is exactly how I feel. I have 3 rules that I make very clear when vetting road Dawgs:

1. No cops
2. No Violence
3. No Drama

I used to work very closely with LEO's in my previous career. I know how they operate, been through alot of training with them, and know alot of the lingo. Also know alot about their "rules of engagement" if you will.

When I run into cops on the road, and I have people with me, they hear how I talk to them and usually say something to the effect of "Ya, ima let you do all the talking next time."

If people start acting like dumbasses around cops while I'm there, I usually either leave (if I can) or directly tell them to STFO. As @Bibs said, i will act in any way to keep my ass out of the system.

As always, fuck cops. The absolute power and corruption (not to mention the brainwashing and low intellect) is astounding.

Edit: I am also a white male. This fact is incredibly important, obviously, in how I'm treated by police.

 

[Coywolf]

Where's all the shit talkers at?

Not trying to be a dick here, but most of them have probably been banned, cause cops aren't the only people they like talking shit to, haha

 

[stacysadistic]

Well first off, is to avoid them in the first place which is fairly obvious, but we've all been young and dumb and not used our best judgement. A good rule I heard was don't break more than one law at a time. Like if you're carrying a large amount of illegal drugs, then don't drive high, dont even have expired tags on your vehicle.

When I was younger, I got hauled into the police station for questioning and I thought I was smarter than them, and could talk myself out of the situation. Not a good idea, lawyers don't even talk to police by themselves and for good reason. So I try to use my 5th amendment right to say as little as possible. I think you're only technically allowed to tell them very few things, like telling them your name and giving them your ID. If you follow that idea super strictly though, they're gonna get pissed and do everything they can to fuck with you. So I generally try to answer most of the basic questions, sometimes even admit to minor infractions to show them good faith, "ya I wasn't really paying attention to my spedomoter back there. Sorry about that."

I also try to see things from their perspective. Police officers are in fact, very lazy. They hate doing paper work. If its not a big score for them, they'd usually not want to go through the hassle of bringing you back to the station or even writing you up for a bunch of separate tickets. Old cops can especially be nice, young guys fresh on the force are more by the book, and feel like they have something to prove. Believe it or not, I think they might actually feel bad for being a jerk to someone who is being super nice, respectful and forthcoming. They have huge egos, so being a dick is a power trip for sure, but letting the nice people go also goes to their head as a power trip too. Makes them feel in control, like they're influencing public opinion. Anything you can do to humanize yourself or connect with them helps. So giving them a sob story about why ur hitchhiking or chatting them up about sports or local events can work. I dont try to seem overly nice, like Im just trying to kiss their ass, but I have the attitude like "oh hey im just a normal person who's not freaked out cuz I have nothing to hide, and I realize you're just doing your job." Even if I hate them and think ACAB, we gotta play the part.

Of course you have to look at other factors like racism, sexism and homophobia. If you look clean cut and seem like you're following society's playbook of going to school, getting a nice job, getting married and having 2.5 kids while volunteering for the PTA, they'll be nicer than if you look like a "hoodlum." Your criminal record plays a big factor too. How they act before and after they run your ID can be wildly different depending on what they find. You can be clearly in the wrong on easily arrestable offenses but get off scot free if you havent been in trouble in the past ten years. If they see you've got 7 traffic tickets in the last year, they might be extra harsh.

 

[Coywolf]

Update: I got rolled on by CA Park Rangers not a few hours after making my post on this thread. Talked them out of giving me a "no alcohol in the park" and camping citation.

Coincidence, eh?

 

[Beegod Santana]

With cops I always try to be respectful, answer basic questions and show my ID if I got one. If they ask a question I don't wanna answer I just go silent and stare at them, they tend to get the picture pretty quickly with that.

In my younger days I had lots of aggressive interactions with them and it never helped me none. At the end of the day, they have the upper hand in the interaction. If they are violating the shit outta your rights, the best thing you can do is keep quite and use there own incompetence against them when you go to court. Screaming "I Know My Rights And You're Violating Them!!" only gives them a chance to cover their tracks.

 

[sevedemanos]

Like I would working in a kitchen talking to a mentally retarded customer. There's just no other way

 

[Marticus]

I also try to see things from their perspective. Police officers are in fact, very lazy. They hate doing paper work. If its not a big score for them, they'd usually not want to go through the hassle of bringing you back to the station or even writing you up for a bunch of separate tickets.

This is a good point about paperwork. A friend's husband was a cop in Dayton said someone has to be extremely shitfaced to get cited for drunk driving there because the cops have to fill out so much paperwork they'd rather not bother.

 

[Marticus]

A couple months ago I heard someone yelling "help!" across the alley. I ran over and saw someone going into a neighbor's back door with a big stick. Just then sirens were screaming down the street and I felt relieved that cops were there and it wasn't a problem I had to deal with. I stupidly went toward them to tell them what I saw when they burst out of several squad cars with guns drawn Hollywood-style. The lead cop told the rookie to cuff me and the rest went inside the house. I protested that I was just a neighbor who heard someone yelling for help, I wasn't their guy. He cuffed me anyway. I've learned the best way to deal is to not resist, at least not in the heat of the moment when cops' adrenaline is flowing. The main thing going through my mind at the moment was feeling lucky I wasn't Black.

Luckily the neighbors came out on their front porch along with the guy who called for help and told them I wasn't the problem, they should let me go. When the cop uncuffed me he didn't exactly apologize, but he did explain that when they get an emergency call they don't know anything about what's going on or who's who when they show up at the scene. It was a strange experience - first feeling relieved that cops showed up to deal with somebody breaking into a neighbors house with a big stick, then getting briefly arrested by them while knowing that I'd be ok because I'm just a white guy who lives nearby.

 

[daveycrockett]

If you're not doing anything wrong shouldn't be a problem. For years I'd just try to project positive, always have a destination and stray from negativity determination 1st.

 

[Tony G]

I'm just wondering how other people deal with this. I've been stopped and harassed by cops a number of times before, both alone and with other people. I know some people like to really go against the grain and I respect that, but me personally.. I'm in the "path of least resistance" camp. Sure, I don't get any punk rock points for that, but I also don't find myself in a jail cell or paying a citation all that often either. I think I'm closing in on a 30 year streak of staying out of jail and I've never been cited for anything other than stupid traffic stuff.

I was once driving with a friend and we were pulled over for a busted windshield. It was my truck and I was driving. We had a felony amount of cannabis in our backpacks. It was dumb of me to drive with a broken windshield and that much herb but that's beside the point. When we were pulled over they had us sit on the side of the road as they ran our names for warrants. They were treating it as a basic traffic stop, I remained cool calm and collected. It was looking like at the very worst, I'd be given a fix it ticket which I could then simply replace my windshield, take it in for inspection and not have to pay anything. My friend starts popping off talkin mad shit to the officers so then they start taking offense to this and I don't remember the exact circumstances but I know they found weed and then things started to feel a lot more serious.

I remained calm and respectful and talked my way out of that shit, despite my friend mouthing off all agro at them. We were able to drive off unmolested, and that to me is a W. I just don't understand why people do that. Like yeah I fucking get it, I hate cops too. But there's more than one way to skin a cat. In that situation, I felt like the fucking cat and my friend is over there yelling "Hey you fucking pigs, aren't you gonna skin this cat!??!!". I mean, if you wanna talk shit to cops be my guest, but don't do that shit when you could be putting the person you're with and their driving record/criminal record in jeopardy. I feel like go ahead and pick your own battles, but don't pick mine for me. But even when I'm solo, maybe I'm a bitch idk but I just don't see the risk/reward paying off too well by talking shit to them. How do you deal with cops?

First off all never EVER answer there questions of they're asking they're fishing...secondly ask if your detained or your free to go if so leave asap if not ask why your being detained if it's bogus which is probably will be stay calm and refer to number one thirdly... Always refuse a search or a test of any kind... fourthly look up the laws where you are so if mileage by pigs you know where you stand.... keep your head on a swivel people....

 

[dubh]

in my numerous encounters with police, who I deal with as though I were doing a chat bot with a customer service agent, respectfullness and yes/no sirs work well. imagine talking to a security bot and how you could get out of the situation easiest while talking to a robot with a gun and a badge. I have been on and off the road for 30years plus, I have no felonies, and all my misdemeanors for tresspassing have been taken off my record, i have a very clean wrap sheet for a road dawg. Lately, the police have been around me alot more, but hard to tell if they are just cracking down on the homeless now that it is spring or if it's more sinister.

 

[Joey Garbanzo]

I had an encounter with a police officer yesterday that left me completely surprised. In all honesty I wasn't expecting anything but I certainly was not expecting what ended up happening.

For context, I'm visually impaired and was just given my first mobility cane. Yesterday was my first day with it so I was out "test driving" it so to speak.

The cops where picking up a homebum, not arresting him but he was told he couldn't be where he was. He was sprawled out and in the doorway of an open restaurant. The cops were being nice to him, they ended up giving him a ride and let him get in the back with his stuff and a coffee. Which was shocking enough considering the way it usually goes.

As I was walking up, white-caning my way down the sidewalk, the guy being picked up starts talking to me. He asked me if I was completely blind. I said no I'm partially sighted, I have vision loss but I still have some vision as well. Then he asked if was Jamaican, because of the dreads I guess. Made me laugh anyway.
He wished me a good day as he was going towards the cop to get in the cruiser.

I started walking away and the cop says "Have a good day sir!" I was completely floored, wasn't expecting anything at all, let alone that. I said thanks and kept going.

Damn cops called me Sir, with ratty dreads, patch-pants and a pitbull. 🤣

Better reaction then this poor guy with a mobility cane had...☹️