Just a rant I guess.Tonight my friends wanted to show me this

[zomgwtf]

Just a rant I guess.

Tonight my friends wanted to show me this 'crazy ladies' home. I didn't know what they were talking about and wasn't really interested in going with them. I did end up going to a bar with them though and they then drove to this 'crazy ladies' home.

However the car I was with we had to go pick someone up and bring them home, by the time we had met up with the rest of the people they said they had already gone to the ladies house and KNOCKED on her door, etc.. They all wanted to go back so I caved, and went I just wanted to see the home, the way they described it it sounded pretty sketchy and kind of mysterious... almost like something out of the movies.

Anyways when we walked there she was outside with a flashlight so I just walked on by her home on the road, I wasn't intending on bothering her or anything like that I was just seeing the premises... and boy was it ever scary. No lights on, random bushes, and she was hiding in the bushes... so I just walked away. As I walked away the cops came, and everyone ran. I didn't know what to do, I didn't feel like I did anything wrong by walking there but I didn't want to be bothered by the police. I noticed my friend was the only person left standing there alone and I didn't think I could run away from him and leave him there alone. So I didn't run.

The cops come and the cop says that I was running, I told him I was not. He called me a liar saying he saw me run. I told him I did not run but other people had. He called me a liar saying he saw me run. I repeated I did not run.

The old lady came out and informed the officer that me and my friend were not the ones knocking on her door. She gave clear description of those involved in the incident and none of them fit me or my friend. So I figured we were ok to go, nope cop asks for ID. Begins questioning us why we were there etc.. I said I was walking down the road, my friend started to lie but I took NO PART IN IT. I didnt' even GO there WITH him, he was there earlier. I wasn't going to start exposing my friends lies though and I'm definitely not going to incriminate my other friends.

So the cop continues to question why we were there and things and one of our friends cars gets pulled over. He asks if we know them, I said 'I'm not sure who you've pulled over so I don't know.' he said 'Did you guys get a drive here in a Nissan.' I didn't so I told him 'No I did not.' My friend also denied it. The cop then said that he was 'Just going to charge us because he can and all he's doing is his job.' After about 10 minutes of this guy calling me a liar to my face and his intimidation tactics I asked him 'why are you acting like that' he said 'what?' to which I replied
Why are you saying that you are just going to charge me and arrest me when I didn't do anything I've told you the truth about everything you've asked me and I don't think you can just charge me because.
He told me "yes I can" and I replied to him "then I'll fight it", which I admit is attitude but this cop was being way too over the top, I do not feel he was doing his job, which MY taxes pay for. He then GOT OUT OF HIS CAR came INTO MY FACE and started talking right in my face about how this lady was being harassed and I'm conveniently in the area looking for a 'party' and all this stuff. I told him that I hadn't said any of that, which was also true because my friend had been the one telling all the lies. An undercover cop that had showed up asked what we were doing walking there and I didn't respond but the other officer said 'just going on a romantic stroll' and I laughed about it but didn't answer. He then said to me that he was going to charge me with Criminal Harassment and that he was going to charge me with obstruction of justice if the people in the Nissan had said that they knew me. He said I would get it 'in the mail' or something to that effect.

He let me and my friend go and we had to walk around for 30 minutes because we were absolutely lost. After we found our friends we left the area and we finally got into contact with the car that had been pulled over. They told us that they said the cop had asked if they knew me and my friend. They said YES and that they had DROPPED US OFF TO SEE THE HOUSE. Now WHAT THE **** do I do. That was complete bogus I was not dropped off by these people. I came AFTER the fact (they had knocked) and I just WALKED by to see what was up there.

I understand that even me just walking there was immature but I was still curious, I mean the place looked like a haunted home and the bushes looked like people could lunge out at you at any given moment. I didn't lie once to the officer, but he didn't believe anything I said to him. The lady specifically said I wasn't involved. And criminal harassment means STALKING which means that you have to repeatedly commit an offense, this was the FIRST time I've ever been in that part of my city and I had never even heard of this 'crazy lady' until today, a few hours ago.

I'm some what pissed off now because I have a feeling since those people in the car had said they dropped me off that I will be getting charged CRIMINALLY... I don't even know what to do now I feel so sick to my stomach I can't even sleep.

FML.

 

[Norman.Galois]

How old are you?

If this is Canada, they will let you off so don't worry.

Note: Yes, I love Canada for that reason. I don't mind letting go of a few bad apples to save the good ones. Yes it's a risk I'm willing to take.

 

[TubbaBlubba]

Ouch. I hope you get out of it.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Some cops are like that. Usually the younger or newer ones. My old supervisor was an ex cop from Compton PD (he had lots of interesting stories!) and when I first started working with him he told me that's how it goes. Cops start out and want to do good and be nice to people but then they get lied to and walked all over one too many times and decide that they are going to be jerks to everyone because, in their eyes, any person they talk to is likely lying to them. He decided to tell me this because he saw me being nice to some of the students and not following strict protocol. He said it was alright to do, it was up to me, but if something went wrong I could get in trouble and he didn't want me to be like one of those cops (we weren't cops by the way, just "public safety"). Sure enough he was right and they had lied to me. The number of people that screwed with me and lied to me at that job got annoying, and I've gone a bit overboard on people I knew were messing with me a few times, but I never turned into one of those guys.

Another thing is that when you have some particular on going issue you might wind up getting a bit overzealous in trying to deal with it, especially when it pertains to some old lady or some such. Once I went off on some poor guy for making a bunch of noise at 2am because I knew that his neighbour was pregnant and expecting any time so had trouble sleeping. So if you were wondering why I would say it was probably a combination of these two things. The guy has probably dealt with too many stupid kids doing stupid things and lying to him to believe that you're not one of them too and he has probably been dealing with a bunch of jerks messing with this old lady.

As for what you can do if you get a summons to the courthouse I am not sure. Here in that sort of situation it is usually the cops word against yours and the judge will usually side with the cop. You'll probably want to try to get a copy of the police report to see exactly what it says. You may want your friend there to back you up though if he lied to the cop he may just be a liability. You might also go ask the lady if she would be kind enough to write a statement to the court to the effect that you were not the one of the people knocking on her door and that she had specifically told the officer this.

 

[brushman]

Well you got in an unlucky situation.

You might also go ask the lady if she would be kind enough to write a statement to the court to the effect that you were not the one of the people knocking on her door and that she had specifically told the officer this.

I think this is your best bet.

Anyways, good luck. Hopefully you get out of this situation with no criminal record. Your friends, on the other hand...

 

[Phrak]

The cop was sure you knew more than you were telling. And you did know. He was using intmidation tactics (threats n' stuff) to get you to spill something he could use to discover what you-all were up to.

Yeah, I know you told the truth and all that. That was your game. You got away with it because he couldn't find the right question.

 

[Phrak]

You might also go ask the lady if she would be kind enough to write a statement to the court to the effect that you were not the one of the people knocking on her door and that she had specifically told the officer this.

That would be an awfully nice thing to do during the day when the sun is out. This woman was so terrified she was hidding in her own bushes. One should go alone, stand far back from the door, do a lot of explaining in nice tones, even if the door stays shut.

 

[BobG]

How many guys were there? At least two car loads? And how many people ran away when the police showed up? And your breath probably smelled like alcohol?

Seriously, if the roles were switched, would you believe you?

Geez, you guys should quit harrassing old ladies after a night at the bar! This may have been your first time and your role might have been just a bit part, but the whole lot of you are idiots. If they couldn't find a reason to haul the lot of you off to jail, then I'd sure hope the police would at least make sure as many of you as possible experienced the same discomfort that lady felt.

I like it when my tax dollars help police harrass drunk idiots!

 

[Chi Meson]

How many guys were there? At least two car loads? And how many people ran away when the police showed up? And your breath probably smelled like alcohol?

Seriously, if the roles were switched, would you believe you?

Geez, you guys should quit harrassing old ladies after a night at the bar! This may have been your first time and your role might have been just a bit part, but the whole lot of you are idiots. If they couldn't find a reason to haul the lot of you off to jail, then I'd sure hope the police would at least make sure as many of you as possible experienced the same discomfort that lady felt.

I like it when my tax dollars help police harrass drunk idiots!

What BobG said...

I'll take it for granted that everything you said was true, but... Did you really think that a bunch of guys were going to leave a bar and then go to a "spooky old lady's house," just to look at it?

If so, just stay with that story.

Your "friends" were bothering an old woman for nothing more than being different. When confronted with the consequences, they ran. Perhaps they are taking it for granted that you will take the hit and not "rat" them out; in other words they would see nothing wrong in you getting blamed for their actions.

Maybe it was just one of those guys, or two, that pulled the others along, but I really wouldn't suggest hanging with them anymore.

 

[zomgwtf]

How many guys were there? At least two car loads? And how many people ran away when the police showed up? And your breath probably smelled like alcohol?

Seriously, if the roles were switched, would you believe you?

Geez, you guys should quit harrassing old ladies after a night at the bar! This may have been your first time and your role might have been just a bit part, but the whole lot of you are idiots. If they couldn't find a reason to haul the lot of you off to jail, then I'd sure hope the police would at least make sure as many of you as possible experienced the same discomfort that lady felt.

I like it when my tax dollars help police harrass drunk idiots!

Yeah I agree, I'm an idiot to go with them. No my breath didn't smell like alcohol. I had one 'Tom Collins' like 2 hours prior. I wasn't drunk or anything of the sort lol. If the roles were switched I probably wouldn't have been using such intimidation tactics, when he had gotten out of the car I honestly thought he was going to tackle me to the ground. And there were 3 of them all that surrounded me. The other cops that talked to me though seemed cool with everything and just wanted to know what happened, not this guy he seemed likely to pin everything on me. And I think it was just because he said I ran and I said I didn't (which I didn't).

She's not really an 'old lady' she's around 40-50 years old. She wasn't hiding in the bushes because she was scared, she was hiding in the bushes in order to see everything and record things. Clearly this lady had it happen to her before (my friends told me later that they had gone there the previous night too... like really guys lol?) she even got a recording of the car and the people knocking on the door. She was able to give verrrry detailed descriptions of the guys I was with... can I honestly take the fall for crimes I didn't commit?

I mean criminal harassment? I've never met the woman before and to be honest I didn't even know which house was hers (there were two creepy dark ones) until AFTER everything and the guy that was with me pointed to it. Obstruction of justice? I know that I don't have to answer the cops when they question me except for identification purposes... which is exactly what I had done. I didn't want to say anything that was incriminating for my friends so I just didn't say anything to those questions, my friend however answered them with complete ********. Do the cop cars record voices around the police in these situations? Can the cop still press charges even though he let us go? He said something about receiving it in the mail... is that how it works? You get a criminal charge through the mail system? Ughhh.

Trust me the guys that decided this would be an awesome idea I'm never chilling with again unless it's inside. It's funny because those guys werent' really my friends, just people they knew and after we were talking to the police they wanted to just leave us there in the middle of no where. ****ing dicks.

 

[zomgwtf]

I'll take it for granted that everything you said was true, but... Did you really think that a bunch of guys were going to leave a bar and then go to a "spooky old lady's house," just to look at it?

To be honest I just wanted to see the house, I didn't know what their plans were. I had gotten to the house after they had knocked and stuff though.

Your "friends" were bothering an old woman for nothing more than being different. When confronted with the consequences, they ran. Perhaps they are taking it for granted that you will take the hit and not "rat" them out; in other words they would see nothing wrong in you getting blamed for their actions.

Yeah I can tell that they don't mind me taking the hit.

Maybe it was just one of those guys, or two, that pulled the others along, but I really wouldn't suggest hanging with them anymore.

Need not say no more. Not only did the say to go to her house they were the ones that
a)knocked
b)suggested we went a second time to see the house again (when the people driving with me got there)
c)ran away first
d)wanted to leave me and my friend in the middle of no where to walk back home for 4 hours.

 

[zomgwtf]

Some cops are like that. Usually the younger or newer ones. My old supervisor was an ex cop from Compton PD (he had lots of interesting stories!) and when I first started working with him he told me that's how it goes. Cops start out and want to do good and be nice to people but then they get lied to and walked all over one too many times and decide that they are going to be jerks to everyone because, in their eyes, any person they talk to is likely lying to them. He decided to tell me this because he saw me being nice to some of the students and not following strict protocol. He said it was alright to do, it was up to me, but if something went wrong I could get in trouble and he didn't want me to be like one of those cops (we weren't cops by the way, just "public safety"). Sure enough he was right and they had lied to me. The number of people that screwed with me and lied to me at that job got annoying, and I've gone a bit overboard on people I knew were messing with me a few times, but I never turned into one of those guys.

Another thing is that when you have some particular on going issue you might wind up getting a bit overzealous in trying to deal with it, especially when it pertains to some old lady or some such. Once I went off on some poor guy for making a bunch of noise at 2am because I knew that his neighbour was pregnant and expecting any time so had trouble sleeping. So if you were wondering why I would say it was probably a combination of these two things. The guy has probably dealt with too many stupid kids doing stupid things and lying to him to believe that you're not one of them too and he has probably been dealing with a bunch of jerks messing with this old lady.

As for what you can do if you get a summons to the courthouse I am not sure. Here in that sort of situation it is usually the cops word against yours and the judge will usually side with the cop. You'll probably want to try to get a copy of the police report to see exactly what it says. You may want your friend there to back you up though if he lied to the cop he may just be a liability. You might also go ask the lady if she would be kind enough to write a statement to the court to the effect that you were not the one of the people knocking on her door and that she had specifically told the officer this.

Thanks Ape.

 

[waht]

Another thing I'd suggest, although it's probably really trivial, since the event is still fresh in your head write down all the details on paper, including the exact times and things you did prior to heading to the old ladies house, and note all the colors of cars, and anyone you came in contact with. You don't have to use all this information in court, but it will serve as your reference instead of having to try and remember something from two weeks ago when you are in court.

 

[rewebster]

my advise: don't go 'with' the guys when they ask you to join in the fun of jumping off a bridge


edit: Rule of dumb Thumbs---if it sounds like a stupid thing to do, it probably is.


---Most of what you got caught up in is 'guilt by association'. Being a part of the group that was harassing the woman, makes you sort of an accessory.

Wouldn't it sound like you're part of the harassment IF you were basically right there when a 'group' of kids all about the same age was there at this woman's house at the same time? The cop would be thinking 'why and what other reason was he here, if he wasn't part of it?'

This is why the police keep a record of 'known associates' in their files---

You may think you're innocent to some degree, but if things got a 'little' more out of hand, and let's say one of the 'guys' conched the lady on the head, you may would be in trouble--and this is part of the reason why the cops stopped YOU---because you were there, and they have YOU--not the others.

does the lady (or the cops) know, FOR SURE if you're there just to harass her, or to rob her, or to kill her even?

 

[zomgwtf]

edit: Rule of dumb Thumbs---if it sounds like a stupid thing to do, it probably is.

Lol agreed. Curiousity definitely killed the cat. I'm not sure how it works though, I think in order for me to have charges against me they have to issue a warrant. So I assume they'd come to my home to inform me or something?

 

[leroyjenkens]

That's the thing about cops; they're sure about everything. If they say they saw something, then that's what happened. They couldn't be mistaken. If they reconstruct an event, then that's what happened. Doesn't matter that they weren't there to see it.
The way they treat people needs to be illegal.

 

[rewebster]

That's the thing about cops; they're sure about everything. If they say they saw something, then that's what happened. They couldn't be mistaken. If they reconstruct an event, then that's what happened. Doesn't matter that they weren't there to see it.
The way they treat people needs to be illegal.

you sound sure about that

 

[zomgwtf]

That's the thing about cops; they're sure about everything. If they say they saw something, then that's what happened. They couldn't be mistaken. If they reconstruct an event, then that's what happened. Doesn't matter that they weren't there to see it.
The way they treat people needs to be illegal.

To be honest I put a lot of faith in the policing abilities of the police. I've had run ins with the police before over non-sense and they were cool about it completely. Understood the situation, listened to me all that jazz.

This cop however didn't want any of it.

 

[cronxeh]

Well you were stalking the old lady by definition, so it is harassment. People told the police the dropped you off there, so there is your means and opportunity. You talking to a cop - any statement you make - is always a bad idea. If he has even just 1 person, no matter whether that person is right or wrong, who believes you were dropped off there or in the vicinity, and you tell the cop something different, then you are lying and hence obstructing justice. Although seeing how you are a small time phish they will probably downgrade it to a misdemeanor.

Don't drop the soap homie

 

[rewebster]

To be honest I put a lot of faith in the policing abilities of the police. I've had run ins with the police before over non-sense and they were cool about it completely. Understood the situation, listened to me all that jazz.

This cop however didn't want any of it.

well, he may have just gotten a case where the woman/person was robbed or killed--or maybe something else set him off--

-the attitudes of individual cops, like everything else, fall on a bell shaped curve...

 

[Jack21222]

You've contacted a lawyer, right? Right?

 

[rewebster]

You've contacted a lawyer, right? Right?

I think he would have gotten a ticket that night if he was going to get one...

The easiest way for him to find out is to call that local police dept. and ask.

 

[zomgwtf]

well, he may have just gotten a case where the woman/person was robbed or killed--or maybe something else set him off--

-the attitudes of individual cops, like everything else, fall on a bell shaped curve...

kinda flies in the face of 'innocent until proven guilty' doesn't it?

Lol, negative on contacting the lawyer.

 

[zomgwtf]

I think he would have gotten a ticket that night if he was going to get one...

The easiest way for him to find out is to call that local police dept. and ask.

I can contact the police dept and ask them?

 

[rewebster]

kinda flies in the face of 'innocent until proven guilty' doesn't it?

Lol, negative on contacting the lawyer.

not really---he may have been thinking 'who knows WHAT you did?' ; but, in the mean time, he's got your number (if anything does show up later that something did happen)


"can contact the police dept and ask them? "

well, why not? if nothing is on record, then nothing was filed, and you can quit worrying about it.

think of it this way, --if you came back to your car, and there was part of a parking ticket under your wiper blade, you'd want to find out if you got a ticket so you could pay it, right?

If you call, the person you talk to doesn't care one way or the other ---he/she would just tell you if a report/ticket/etc. was/will be issued.

 

[leroyjenkens]

Well you were stalking the old lady by definition, so it is harassment. People told the police the dropped you off there, so there is your means and opportunity. You talking to a cop - any statement you make - is always a bad idea. If he has even just 1 person, no matter whether that person is right or wrong, who believes you were dropped off there or in the vicinity, and you tell the cop something different, then you are lying and hence obstructing justice. Although seeing how you are a small time phish they will probably downgrade it to a misdemeanor.

You're allowed to be dropped off anywhere on public property. That's no crime.

 

[rewebster]

You're allowed to be dropped off anywhere on public property. That's no crime.

well, a crime was committed in the vacinity---and he's a suspect...

 

[cronxeh]

Ok you guys are going to make him nervous. If you did not get the misdemeanor ticket right there on the spot, the chances are the officer will file an internal police report and it will be reviewed by a detective who may or may not proceed with filing this with the district attorney. They are probably not even going to bother pursuing this any further seeing how there was no damage done to the old lady's house, she wasnt hospitalized with panic attack, and she probably did not bother filing a police report. If she did complain or appeared distraught to the police on scene, you would've probably been issued a summons, but otherwise you are still in the system on the internal incident report.

You did however talk to the cop, so he could've still given you a ticket for obstruction which is a misdemeanour - since your statement contradicted those guys in the Nissan who said they dropped you off. He chose not to apparently, but for future reference, be respectful to police officers, don't give any statements.

Oh and smell of alcohol and pranks like that are a sure way of getting another charge of disorderly conduct thrown at you. Look at how this all could've gone differently. If your buddies rang a door bell and old lady called police, she was outside scared in the bushes, everyone ran away and the police caught you and your friend. Now you have a mob of people who harassed an old lady and gave her a scare, and you two have the names of all those people. You are going to either be given a summons or arrested depending on how you talk to the officer, if at all, what evidence he can gather against you based on the damage done to the house or the old lady's statement and any possible distress you may have caused her by your actions or inactions.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

That would be an awfully nice thing to do during the day when the sun is out. This woman was so terrified she was hidding in her own bushes. One should go alone, stand far back from the door, do a lot of explaining in nice tones, even if the door stays shut.

I was thinking about this too. If you talk to her you will likely need to be nice and apologize for your "friends" if you ask for her to help you. If they are not really "friends" then its not so much a worry about throwing them under the bus as anything you say to her could possibly wind up being brought up in court, this of course all depends on just how far the cops and DA are willing to go. I would assume that you are unlikely to actually hear anything more on the matter but you never know.

Thanks Ape.

No prob. I think that cops are a bit misunderstood. It does not necessarily make them untouchable but few of us deal with even a fraction of what they deal with on a daily basis and it may be hard to understand why someone might be such an ***hole. An understanding can go a long way in figuring out how to deal with some people. Of course sometimes people are just ***holes.

Lol agreed. Curiousity definitely killed the cat. I'm not sure how it works though, I think in order for me to have charges against me they have to issue a warrant. So I assume they'd come to my home to inform me or something?

You do not necessarily need to be arrested at the time of the incident. Lesser offenses are typically taken care of that way. Considering some of the responses here I remembered some things from my "powers of arrest" training; here in the states a misdemeanor must be observed by the arresting party. I am unsure if the same holds in Canada but that means that if the cops did not "observe" you committing a misdemeanor and the lady does not press charges against you then there is nothing they can do. If this holds true there then the best they could possibly do, from my understanding, is the "obstruction" charge. In this case they would have to show hard evidence (or as close to it as possible) that you were preventing them from fulfilling their duties since their interview with you is the only thing that they actually "observed" and I highly doubt that anything that happened raised above the level of a misdemeanor.

The more I think on it the more I figure that the cop was really just trying to intimidate you into spilling information.
I think Cyrus refers to this often...
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4097602514885833865
Its a really interesting talk. It likely does not fully apply to you in Canada but common law does tie our legal systems together somewhat and in most other western countries your protections will be at least as strong. His advise is mostly applicable to felony charges though. In most cases you should cooperate with the police to a reasonable degree.

 

[cronxeh]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4097602514885833865 .

Thats exactly the video and everyone should see it. Nobody should ever give any statement to police.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Thats exactly the video and everyone should see it. Nobody should ever give any statement to police.

In many cases that will likely just get you in more trouble than it is worth. If there is no felony (or serious) charge involved then you ought to cooperate to some reasonable degree otherwise you may just find yourself with more charges against you that you will not be capable of defending yourself against. In most cases the police and DA are more interested in real crimes than minor petty issues of technicality.

 

[cronxeh]

In many cases that will likely just get you in more trouble than it is worth. If there is no felony (or serious) charge involved then you ought to cooperate to some reasonable degree otherwise you may just find yourself with more charges against you that you will not be capable of defending yourself against. In most cases the police and DA are more interested in real crimes than minor petty issues of technicality.

Its not worth it under any circumstances. Present your ID, state you have no statement to make and ask if you are detained or free to leave.

 

[zomgwtf]

In many cases that will likely just get you in more trouble than it is worth. If there is no felony (or serious) charge involved then you ought to cooperate to some reasonable degree otherwise you may just find yourself with more charges against you that you will not be capable of defending yourself against. In most cases the police and DA are more interested in real crimes than minor petty issues of technicality.

This was what I was intending on doing but my friend wouldn't shut up. He just kept saying things, the cop was repeatedly asking 'us' questions and I just looked at him and my buddy would answer. I didn't know what to do because if I told him to stop talking to him the cop would probably have gone off on me a lot sooner. I guess I shouldn't have said I wasn't running but he accused me of running away from him and I was more worried about clearing my name in that sense. After he took our IDs and started talking about how he was just going to charge us for whatever because he can that's when I questioned him, I didn't say anything particularly about what happened though. I just asked him why he's being like that informed him everything I said was truthful and reminded him that the lady said it was not us that she called the police on.

@cronxeh, Yes, we did know some of the people who were involved but I don't think I'm required by law to give up their names when a cop is just questioning me off the street do I?

I don't think that any sort of criminal harassment charges could be filed against me as I didn't do anything of the sort and the lady confirmed that. For stalking charges to apply you have to do it repeatedly and you have to know that she doesn't want it. Now obviously bothering her at her home at that time of night (it was around 11) would be 'unwanted' but I wasn't involved with that at all. I went there one time and walked on the road out front of her house to see it, which I admit was entirely stupid and I knew that while I was doing it, but I don't think there's anything criminal about it? I wasn't with them when they went and knocked on the door so I was associated with that, I hadn't even known they were going to do that.

Obstruction of justice, I think that's the only thing he could apply to me. But I don't see how it would apply to ME because I didn't say much other than giving him my ID and address, informing him I wasn't running and that there were other people running, the little 'argument' over him power tripping on us. Just wondering... if I had pushed him away from me would I have been charged lol? I honestly felt like they were going to start beating me after they surrounded me, wouldn't I have been able to defend myself from such aggression? lol just hypothetically.

 

[turbo]

Now obviously bothering her at her home at that time of night (it was around 11) would be 'unwanted' but I wasn't involved with that at all.

Let's see...you went out drinking with a group of morons who thought it might be fun to harass a peculiar old lady. How do 12-year-olds manage to get served liquor? And who drove them around? They don't sound old enough to have drivers' licenses.

 

[leroyjenkens]

I honestly felt like they were going to start beating me after they surrounded me, wouldn't I have been able to defend myself from such aggression? lol just hypothetically.

No. You have to just let a cop beat you up until he's tired.
If you fight back, they will just beat you harder and maybe shoot you.

 

[zomgwtf]

As well isn't using intimidation tactics against the law? I mean he can't make threats with the intent to coerce information out of me and my friend can he? My friend was saying afterwards that he just wanted the cops to leave him alone that's why he lied lol.

So are we liable for the lies he may have stated to the officer when the officer was coercing information out of him?

 

[rewebster]

As well isn't using intimidation tactics against the law? I mean he can't make threats with the intent to coerce information out of me and my friend can he? My friend was saying afterwards that he just wanted the cops to leave him alone that's why he lied lol.

So are we liable for the lies he may have stated to the officer when the officer was coercing information out of him?

you're barking up the wrong tree...


you have to try looking at it from the woman's and the cop's point of view

 

[cronxeh]

As well isn't using intimidation tactics against the law? I mean he can't make threats with the intent to coerce information out of me and my friend can he? My friend was saying afterwards that he just wanted the cops to leave him alone that's why he lied lol.

So are we liable for the lies he may have stated to the officer when the officer was coercing information out of him?

It wasnt coercion by definition. He did not say he was going to shoot you or hurt you physically, and police are allowed to lie during interviews. Just because you are being interviewed or interrogated on the street does not make not an interview. There is no difference between talking to you on the street or downtown at the police station. You are talking to the officer who is on duty, he is mentally recording this conversation and he can use any snippet of it to F you over. Do NOT talk to police.

This all could've gone awfully wrong for you and I hope you understand that. If you pushed the cop back because you thought you are a tough guy, you better be prepared to either be a fugitive on the run or go to jail and face charges. There is a fine line between a thug who needs attitude adjustment and a citizen who is being disrespectful to the police.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

As well isn't using intimidation tactics against the law? I mean he can't make threats with the intent to coerce information out of me and my friend can he? My friend was saying afterwards that he just wanted the cops to leave him alone that's why he lied lol.

So are we liable for the lies he may have stated to the officer when the officer was coercing information out of him?

It depends on your country's laws. In the US there is a fine line. Different states may have differing policies. To get to a federal court of appeals takes something fairly significant. US courts are a bit conservative, and therefore loose, in their interpretations. A very strict and official supreme court position would be that the content of a coerced interview is not admissible only if it significantly effects the outcome of a trial. If they determine that the trial would have proceeded the same despite the coercion it does not matter. But this is a very conservative interpretation of US constitutional law. State constitutions may offer more protection and none of it necessarily applies to Canada. Since we are talking about a misdemeanor it is likely a moot point since the DA is not likely to push hard on a misdemeanor charge.

 

[leroyjenkens]

Do NOT talk to police.

You don't do that when a belligerent cop is talking directly to you. Where do you think he'd be right now if he followed your advice?

 

[DaveC426913]

Consider the following plan, which is really more about not breing able to change the past and instead decide who you want to be moving forward:

- chalk up the incident with the police to lessons learned 1] your "friends" will throw you under a bus, 2] maybe you're mostly innocent, or maybe you could try harder to stay away from trouble in the future. sometimes if you're not part fo the solution, you;re part of the problem.
- bring a bouquet of flowers to the woman. Apologize for being part of something that scared her. Tell her your friends were fools and, well, so were you.

 

[DaveC426913]

You don't do that when a belligerent cop is talking directly to you. Where do you think he'd be right now if he followed your advice?

I agree with leroy*. zomgwtf did the right thing. He told the truth and stuck to it. The cop tried to shake him and get him to crack, but z stuck with it, calmly. If the cop really had any intention of charging him, he would have tossed him in the back of his cruiser.



*

 

[cronxeh]

I agree with leroy*. zomgwtf did the right thing. He told the truth and stuck to it. The cop tried to shake him and get him to crack, but z stuck with it, calmly. If the cop really had any intention of charging him, he would have tossed him in the back of his cruiser.



*

Hey how is that traffic court thing coming along?

You don't do that when a belligerent cop is talking directly to you. Where do you think he'd be right now if he followed your advice?

And so? Let the cop hit him. He will sue the police department and get a bad apple off the streets. You can't be intimidated and break down like a sheep just because someone is there who is bigger and more mean than you are.

Weakness of character begins by running away from your mistakes, or in this case waddling away slowly.

 

[Pattonias]

Why are a bunch of adults in this situation anyway? Isn't this one of those elementary school after-school tv show plots? Now the cop will talk to your parents and then you'll be in REAL trouble. Next you will apologize to the women who turns out to be a famous broadway dancer. You'll become friends, clean her yard, eat a cookie, and then the credits will role with a freeze frame of you, the cop, the old lady, and your parents laughing.

 

[cronxeh]

Why are a bunch of adults in this situation anyway? Isn't this one of those elementary school after-school tv show plots? Now the cop will talk to your parents and then you'll be in REAL trouble. Next you will apologize to the women who turns out to be a famous broadway dancer. You'll become friends, clean her yard, eat a cookie, and then the credits will role with a freeze frame of you, the cop, the old lady, and your parents laughing.

 

[leroyjenkens]

And so? Let the cop hit him. He will sue the police department and get a bad apple off the streets.

Why would the cop hit him? I'm talking about the cop taking him downtown for whatever reason he wants. Cops are "supposed" to act a certain way and "supposed" to do certain things in certain situations, but there's a lot of leeway.

It's easy to say you'll sue this person and this will happen as a result. More likely, the cop takes him downtown and never hears from him again. Meanwhile zomg is having his time wasted and his money wasted trying to "fight it" and then ends up cutting his losses and forgetting about the whole thing because it's fruitless.

You can't be intimidated and break down like a sheep just because someone is there who is bigger and more mean than you are.

If he was only bigger and meaner, then it wouldn't be a problem. Big mean people don't scare me, but a cop who's allowed to handle a situation according to what mood he's in does.

Weakness of character begins by running away from your mistakes, or in this case waddling away slowly.

And you and your pride can sit in a jail cell. It's not a weakness of character to talk to a cop when he asks you a question. You don't have to cower in fear and beg for forgiveness, but it's smarter to realize you may not actually have all the rights you think you do.

 

[Moonbear]

She's not really an 'old lady' she's around 40-50 years old. She wasn't hiding in the bushes because she was scared, she was hiding in the bushes in order to see everything and record things. Clearly this lady had it happen to her before (my friends told me later that they had gone there the previous night too... like really guys lol?) she even got a recording of the car and the people knocking on the door. She was able to give verrrry detailed descriptions of the guys I was with... can I honestly take the fall for crimes I didn't commit?

This should be your saving grace. If she recorded the people involved (audio or video?) and gave the cops description of each person, you shouldn't be in that description or those recordings if you weren't there at the time.

You did the right thing to stick to the truth, even if the cop didn't seem to believe you. If for some reason charges really are brought against you, it's a lot easier to keep being consistent about the truth than trying to remember made-up stories.

Chances are that the cop was trying to intimidate you because he highly suspected you were involved, but couldn't prove it, so was instead trying to scare you into staying away.

Your better bet is to simply stop hanging around that group of people. They're up to no good and you don't want to be with them the next time they get caught doing something stupid.

I mean, seriously, if a group of rowdy guys showed up knocking on my door two nights in a row up to nothing good, I'd be calling the cops on them too.

 

[rewebster]

This should be your saving grace. If she recorded the people involved (audio or video?) and gave the cops description of each person, you shouldn't be in that description or those recordings if you weren't there at the time.

You did the right thing to stick to the truth, even if the cop didn't seem to believe you. If for some reason charges really are brought against you, it's a lot easier to keep being consistent about the truth than trying to remember made-up stories.

Chances are that the cop was trying to intimidate you because he highly suspected you were involved, but couldn't prove it, so was instead trying to scare you into staying away.

Your better bet is to simply stop hanging around that group of people. They're up to no good and you don't want to be with them the next time they get caught doing something stupid.

I mean, seriously, if a group of rowdy guys showed up knocking on my door two nights in a row up to nothing good, I'd be calling the cops on them too.

I've got a four iron by one door and an aluminum bat by another

 

[lisab]

I've got a four iron by one door and an aluminum bat by another

In the US that sort of behavior can get your @ss filled with buckshot.

 

[rewebster]

In the US that sort of behavior can get your @ss filled with buckshot.

in other words, don't knock on lisab's door after ten pm...