A cop car followed me through 2 counties today.

[RebelOne]

I have a Kerry/Edwards bumper sticker, plus the MoveOne.Org one which reads "Nothing Accomplished" and our DemocraticUnderground.com sticker.

I live in Cherokee County, Georgia. and this was a Cobb County car and he followed me almost all the way home. When I turned off the main highway, he followed me for about a mile before turning off. I obeyed all speed limits so that he would not have a reason to pull me over. Do you think he was trying to intimidate me or maybe he was a Kerry supporter? But I was really nervous with that cop car behind me for almost 15 miles.

[MichiganVote]

1. Trying to give you a ticket

[PROGRESSIVE1]

2. He had no right to follow you out of Cobb County.

He has no power outside of Cobb County.

It was "Officer Zell Miller" harrassing you.

[TryingToWarnYou]

13. Not necessarily true....

Depending on their laws, he may have power similar to that of Sheriff's Deputies (and subsequently all law enforcement) in Texas...if they are Peace Officers, they have statewide power in the event of felonies or breach of the peace (which is a huge umbrella).

[TX-RAT]

18. He is a Peace Officer for the state, not for the county.

His authority is state wide, just like TX.

[Autobot77]

3. A cop followed me about 2 weeks ago.

It wasn't through 2 counties though.Like you, I have a Kerry/Edwards sticker on my bumper. I wondered if he was a repub trying to get any excuse to ticket 'a durned librul' It was probably the same situation with you.

[RebelOne]

5. Yes, that was what I was thinking

so I obeyed all the speed limits so as not to give him any excuse to pull me over.

[Autobot77]

7. Yeah so did I...

Hell I drove a bit slower

[TexasSissy]

4. That's eery.

[Wcross]

6. It was your tin foil hat!

So now we are worried about bumper stickers? You didn't get busted so it was nothing right? Are you implying it is dangerous to have a Kerry/Edwards sticker on your car? I vote for coincidence.

[murielm99]

9. We got stopped in Wisconsin not long ago for one of those

seat belt checks.

The cop laughed at the bumper sticker that says, "Friends Don't Let Friends Vote Republican."

No ticket. We wear our seat belts.

[ILeft]

70. Wisconsin law enforcement officers are fairly tolerant

They frequently come in contact with citizens of Madison and Minneapolis (on the border).

[shance]

72. I think you all however well-intentioned are trying to rationalize this.

are denying the reality.

My question is why are many of you afraid to look at the possibility that he was being harassed?

Two counties - 15 miles - why dont you all that are saying oh no problem actually clock that some time and get a feel for what that distance is.

Its not as though it was 6 blocks, this was out of a jurisdiction.

There's a reason btw, why there are county lines and jurisdictions. Have a guess why?

Do you some of you need to wait and be sure that someone is bodily harmed?

Theres no reason for someone to be followed through 2 counties and not stopped.

[TryingToWarnYou]

79. You have to rationalize...

Me and TX-RAT arent afraid to look at the possibility that he was being harassed. We are simply noting that there is a distinct lack of evidence saying that he was.

The officer could have been going ANYWHERE. Its not illegal for them to leave the county for Christs sake.

I have a police supply/equipment distributor right down the street from me. The parking lot is full of cars from all over this part of Texas because this is one of the few places they can get certain types of equipment at a reasonable cost. Again, he could have been going ANYWHERE.

The poster had 0 interaction with the officer. If this was harassment, he could have pulled him over for some made up reason. He could have called ahead and had a Deputy or other law enforcement pull him over to make it "legal". There are a hundred ways this could have played out if there was some sort of harassment going on. Im not saying he wasnt being harassed, Im simply saying there was no evidence of it in his story other than the cop driving behind him...that means squat.

Everyone seems to have their foil hat on a bit tight with this one. Here are a couple of facts:

1. The cop could have been going anywhere. You dont know his destination, so are we to presume that he was two counties over looking for people to harass? That is simply retarded to even consider. Being two counties over means he was probably doing something official such as serving a warrant, precept, serving papers or on another type of duty. Hell, he could even be going to lunch. I dont know about you, but 15 miles is not a big distance IMO.

2. Yes there are county lines and jurisdictions, but its not to keep the cops fenced in. This is statutorily required for purposes of government boundaries. Most states grant their Peace Officers jurisdiction in cases of felony or breach of the peace (which is a really big umbrella).

[RebelOne]

12. No coincidence

When I turned off the main road onto a smaller road which leads to my house, he was right behind me.

[Doctor Panacea]

51. Cracker cops

Quote: "So now we are worried about bumper stickers? You didn't get busted so it was nothing right? Are you implying it is dangerous to have a Kerry/Edwards sticker on your car? I vote for coincidence."

Uh, I live in the Deep South and know how these people feel. I don't know where you are from, but down here you could definitely be harassed for having a bumper sticker for Kerry. These people believe that Dumbass is an agent of God. Georgia, huh ... Don't go over the speed limit. You could find yourself over that log used in the film "Deliverance."

[Wcross]

53. Rural Tennessee- more Kerry stickers than shrub.

[JSJ]

8. cops are rehearsing for when their big day comes n/t

[Jesus H. Christ]

10. Pull over into a gas station.

Either he takes off or he pulls in with you in which case you get his name and badge number and report him for tailgating you.

[TryingToWarnYou]

11. Couple of things to think about here...

One, he could have been on his way to Cherokee County to pick up a prisoner at their jail for transport back to Cobb county. If they want them, they have to come get them. Jails dont deliver.

Two, if he had wanted to pull you over, he would have. There are hundreds of traffic laws.

[TX-RAT]

19. Exactly.

Could be a coincidence or could be the car looked like the vehicle involved in another crime.

[RebelOne]

23. Nope. I was on Highway 5 in Woodstock.

Then I made a turn onto the road that leads to my house and he was right behind me. That was not the way to the jail.

[TryingToWarnYou]

35. Ok, but is this road ONLY to your house like a private road?

My point is that there are a million and one reasons why the officer could have been going the same direction as you.

[in_cog_ni_to]

14. I will NEVER understand why cops support the chimp.

or the repuke party. What? Do they LIKE being shot at with assault weapons? Do they like not having first responder money and equipment? Is it all about the death penalty that the repukes support? I don't get it.

[dogman]

16. There are a number of them who are bullies or were bullied.

B$$$ is the perfect leader for them.

[bitchkitty]

22. Do all cops support Bunnypants?

I don't think so. Many police officers are not stupid - they hurt in a Bush economy just like everyone else.

[TryingToWarnYou]

34. What?

You do realize that regardless of whether or not an assault weapon is banned, the criminal element will do whatever it wants regardless of the law? This is why they are criminals :-) The bad guy isnt going to say "Dang I wished they hadn't banned my AK-47, I really wanted to use that tonight". Additionally, they could ban all import and manufacture of weapons right now and there is still enough guns in the U.S. to arm millions of people. Most guns on the street are not obtained legally anyway, but through burglaries and unchecked private purchase. The issue should *never* be about gun control, but instead, people control. We have to support tougher punishments on those that use guns in a crime. Texas has a program called "Texas Exile" which is supposed to guarantee that if an offender uses a gun in the commission of a crime that he will do 5 years in prison, day for day. This looks great on paper, but the majority of DA's will not pursue crimes involving firearms to this extent. THAT is where the problem is.

As liberal as I am, I too support the DP. Not every party member can be defined by the black/white line.

[TX-RAT]

40. Not true

I retired from the Sheriffs Department.
Have always been a Democrat.

[Daywalker]

47. .......

Do you even know how much money Bush has given to First Responders. He gave so much one year, its not like he had the ability to out do himself the next year. The assault weapon thing is wrong on so many level. We democrats have to educate ourselves on the issues, spouting off these ignorant remarks make our party as a whole look bad.

[Ms. Clio]

52. Thanks for your concern

"We Democrats" know who is spouting off ignorant remarks.

[Daywalker]

55. you got this from where?

would you like to take a look at facts? I am a volunteer first responder and we have gotten a good amount of grant money. So before you spout off about something you don't even know about try to educate yourself.

[Ms. Clio]

65. Let's look at these facts, sonny

Sayonara, sucker.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

59. Senator Tom Harkin would strongly disagree with you

Maybe you should read up on the many objections voiced by Senator Tom Harkin to the Bush budget and how Bush proposed to slash virtually all necessary spending on First Responders.

http://harkin.senate.gov/news.cfm?id=218106

[Swamp Rat]

83. Welcome to DU Daywalker... and good bye

I didn't realise that you were tombstoned. Rest in peace.

[drdigi420]

15. another reason i try not to go outside I-285

redneck cops

[jukes]

17. sounds like harassment

to me. it IS a tactic, the idea being to cause you to be so nervous they develop probable cause for a stop.

the only excuse, short of "hot pursuit", for crossing the county line is that your tag had been called in & he/she was waiting for a read-out, but given the time frame involved that's unlikely.

you were targeted.

[Spider Jerusalem]

20. Maybe you're paranoid..

possible the cop was off-shift and driving home. A lot of police forces let officers drive their patrol vehicles home. And a lot of cops can't afford to live where they work, in the Atlanta area.

[RebelOne]

24. Nope. I think you would be paranoid, too

if a police car stayed right on your tail for about 6 miles and still followed me when I turned into my street. I think he was trying to intimidate me.

[redstateblues]

81. Just Because You're Paranoid Doesn't Mean They Aren't Out

To get you!!

[deutsey]

21. An FBI agent came to our house

the week before I left for the August 29 march in NYC.

I wasn't home, but my wife was and she automatically assumed the agent was looking for me :evilgrin:. However, he said he was doing a background check on one of our neighbors (who does, in fact, work for the FBI). I think that was probably the real reason for coming to our house, but the timing of the visit did freak me (and my wife) out a bit.

[Zomby Woof]

25. one of the many many reasons

That I am not a big booster of the police. Too many of them are fascist bullies who hide behind their badge and pull crap like this.

I completely agree with your judgment of what happened, RebelOne.

[TX-RAT]

26. pull crap like this?

Crap like what? as far as i can tell, theres no proof the officer did anything.

[Eloriel]

29. There's evidence (first-hand testimony)

that he went completely out of his jurisdiction to follow someone for no reason.

I live in GA -- I'm pretty sure the county cops' jurisdiction ends at their county lines. They can stay involved with a suspect if they call in the next county when the county line is crossed, otherwise, no.

This was intimidation IMO.

[TX-RAT]

30. I'm pretty sure the county cops' jurisdiction ends at their county lines

His jurisdiction can go state wide. His commission is held by the county. His certification is from the state.
Also theres no proof he was following, to intimidate. As i said in an earlier post, the car or vehicle could have matched another vehicle he was looking for. He could have been looking for a friends house. He could have been investigating a unrelated problem. To assume he was following is being a little paranoid.

[TryingToWarnYou]

37. Whoa...

The point TX RAT is making is that being out of his jurisdiction doesnt automatically mean he is doing something wrong. What? Is the guy going to leave his county, go two counties over and start looking for people with Kerry stickers and on the off chance he might find one, follow him for 20 minutes in the hopes that he will somehow violate one of hundreds of traffic laws so that he can pull him over, out of his jurisdiction, and do what? write him a ticket that is invalid? The officer has to justify his right to be where he was at the time he wrote the ticket so that the court understands that it wasnt harassment. This is part of the checks and balances that law enforcement go through.

I can certainly see why he would be paranoid :eyes:

And being "pretty sure" doesnt cut it. It would benefit you greatly to know the laws of your state. Many people dont and the cops know it. This makes it especially easy for them to abuse their authority (intentionally or unintentionally)

Check online for your state laws. Read them from beginning to end and you might even want to consider a course at your local college on the legal aspects of law enforcement. Good stuff.

[Eloriel]

64. For your information

I almost ALWAYS qualify my statements unless I am 100% -- and I DO mean 100% -- sure of what I say. In this case I'm like 98% sure. Sorry that isn't good enough for you. As a rule I don't go about making wild-eyed guesses about stuff on DU (unless I qualify them as such) or anywhere else, partly because I don't like being shown to be wrong when a simple qualification gets me off the hook in a relatively gracious way and prevents me from damaging my credibility, which I take fairly seriously.

It's utterly ridiculous -- not to mention appallingly patronizing -- for you to fault me (and then LECTURE me) for not being 100% (and I DO mean 100%) sure, and having the intellectual honesty to actually admit that.

If you're so damned concerned about it, YOU go look up the fucking statues. In the meantime, I live here and have for the better part of 20 years. I really am "pretty sure" there are jurisdictional boundaries for county law enforcement. Some of the reason I believe this to be true has to do with my experience having LIVED here for nearly 20 years. Again, too fucking bad that's not good enough for you -- as I said, YOU can go read the statues.

And think twice, next time, about lecturing and patronizing your fellow DUers. A lot of them aren't as stupid as you apparently would like to believe.

[TryingToWarnYou]

77. Please...

You have the nerve to get up here and bellyache that someone lectured you on not being sure when you are proclaiming something as illegal or wrong and yet you are too fucking lazy to figure out if you are right or wrong? No, my fellow DU'ers arent nearly as stupid as you seem to think I think they are, but some are dumber than I ever thought possible.

You apparently lack the honesty to say you simply dont know and that you dont care enough to look it up. If thats the case, then why bother replying at all?

You based your opinion on your "pretty sure" statement which is a wobbly place to make any kind of argument. There could be a hundred an one reasons why that officer was where he was...and believe it or not, the vast majority are legal. I do know from my own experience that most states grant their Peace officers authority statewide in certain circumstances such as Felony and Breach of the Peace. While the officer in question was out of his County jurisdiction, this in and of itself is not enough to even speculate that he might be doing something illegal. Its assinine to even suggest it without more proof. Driving behind someone and having that someone be paranoid of that fact doesnt constitute any form of proof of illegal or inappropriate behavior on the part of the officer.

It would be totally different if the officer had stopped him. That would be pretty clearly a form of harassment, however, even then, there are a whole lot of variables to consider. My point is that you dont have the facts. Dont cry about having that pointed out.

[Eloriel]

80. Yep, I have the nerve

to bellyache about being LECTURED at all. My assertion was absolutely no different (and actually, probably better) than those of you who don't even live here, btw, asserting the opposite.

Further, I didn't use the term "illegal." You did. Even if the cop were following him as a form of intimidation, what statute would have been broken? Do you have statutes in your state making intimidation illegal? I'd like to see that, sounds like model legislation to me. Intimidation by cops happens all the damn time. It's one of their favorite tools.

I do know from my own experience that most states grant their Peace officers authority statewide in certain circumstances such as Felony and Breach of the Peace.

Ah, yes, but where, pray tell, was there ANY indication of the possibility of either of those "certain circumstances"? If there HAD been any smidgeon of evidence of it, he would have been pulled over. You are out in left field, buddy. Further, if said "peace officer" had suspected anything remotely like that, he obviously had plenty of time to contact the local jurisdictions.

It would be totally different if the officer had stopped him. That would be pretty clearly a form of harassment,

Would it? A "clear form of harrassment"? How so? I don't see that at all.

You apparently lack the honesty to say you simply dont know and that you dont care enough to look it up. If thats the case, then why bother replying at all?

Again, you guys were shooting off YOUR mouths about what is and isn't okay in MY state without knowing the facts yourselves. My assertion was absolutely no worse than yours. And you have the audacity to bully ME about it?

Amazing. Simply amazing.

And yeah, I am too lazy (aka: BUSY) to "look it up." (And your excuse?) But I called my local county sheriff's department just now and asked. "Do county law enforcement in this state have the authority to follow vehicles into other counties?"

"Yes, if they're breaking the law. But it's customary to notify the county involved."

I explained I was having an online discussion about someone visiting in Cobb County being followed nearly all the way home, two counties over, "and no law was being broken."

"Maybe he was looking for a particular vehicle. Did he pull him over?"

"No."

Nervous laughing. A little stammering.

"Do you think it could have been a form of intimidation, say someone's political bumper stickers?"

More laughing -- in the knowing way someone would laugh if there were some truth to what was being said but you didn't want to admit it verbally.

"Okay, well thanks a lot."

More laughing. "Okay, sweetie, thanks for calling."
-----

No law was being broken, the cop didn't pull him over. Doesn't look all that up and up to me, and it certainly didn't seem to look appropriate to my contact at my sheriff's department either, though there was no way he could admit it outright over the phone. Nor did he offer any other possible scenarios under which the trailing incident would have been appropriate.

AFAIC, we're both partly right. The "peace officers" in Georgia CAN follow vehicles into other counties -- if they're breaking the law, tho they ARE supposed to notify the local jurisdiction. In this case, there was no clear reason to do so, as evidenced by the fact that the cop didn't pull him over.

[Swamp Rat]

85. Hi Eloriel!

:hi:

Happy Saturday!

... I gotta study. :-(

[TryingToWarnYou]

88. Some clarifications....

You wrote: "Further, I didn't use the term "illegal." You did. Even if the cop were following him as a form of intimidation, what statute would have been broken? Do you have statutes in your state making intimidation illegal?"

Absolutely. Every state has protections against officers abusing their authority. Most fall under Official Oppression. Here is the Texas law:

http://www.bakers-legal-pages.com/pc/3903.htm

Sec. 39.03. OFFICIAL OPPRESSION. (a) A public servant acting under color of his office or employment commits an offense if he:
~ ~ (1) intentionally subjects another to mistreatment or to arrest, detention, search, seizure, dispossession, assessment, or lien that he knows is unlawful;
~ ~ (2) intentionally denies or impedes another in the exercise or enjoyment of any right, privilege, power, or immunity, knowing his conduct is unlawful; or
~ ~ (3) intentionally subjects another to sexual harassment.
~ (b) For purposes of this section, a public servant acts under color of his office or employment if he acts or purports to act in an official capacity or takes advantage of such actual or purported capacity.
~ (c) In this section, "sexual harassment" means unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, submission to which is made a term or condition of a person's exercise or enjoyment of any right, privilege, power, or immunity, either explicitly or implicitly.
~ (d) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.

You wrote: "Ah, yes, but where, pray tell, was there ANY indication of the possibility of either of those "certain circumstances"? If there HAD been any smidgeon of evidence of it, he would have been pulled over. You are out in left field, buddy. Further, if said "peace officer" had suspected anything remotely like that, he obviously had plenty of time to contact the local jurisdictions."

Thats my point...if the officer was out to harass him, he could have pulled him over for practically anything. The fact that he did not, tells me that there was no harassment. And if we are going to sit here and debate whether or not it was harassment, then we have to define what that constitutes. Sounds to me as if his mere presence is being considered harassment and that wont fly.

You wrote: "Would it? A "clear form of harrassment"? How so? I don't see that at all."

Unless the poster was committing a felony or breach of the peace, I myself would even consider it harassment. There would be no logical or legal reason to pull this guy over if he was out of his jurisdiction.

You wrote: "Again, you guys were shooting off YOUR mouths about what is and isn't okay in MY state without knowing the facts yourselves. My assertion was absolutely no worse than yours. And you have the audacity to bully ME about it?"

Bully you? LOL! So disagreeing with you is bullying you? Sheesh, you better leave DU then. Someone might disagree with you. Anyway, yes, I disagreed with you because its obvious that you dont have knowledge of basic laws in your state. Official Oppression is a good example. How much do you want to bet Georgia has a very similar law?

As for your conversation with the Sheriff's Office, you are again assigning motive and intent where you dont know if there is any. "laugh if there were some truth to what was being said but you didn't want to admit it verbally." Gimme a break.. there are so many variables and I can tell you right now, no officer is going to sit there and debate the actions of another officer over the phone with someone that calls and inquires about something they dont have all the facts on. Do you honestly expect the officer to know what was going on in your story? It simply isnt done because too much can come of it such as unwarranted complaints, lies etc. "Officer so and so told me that it was illegal for you to do this"

You wrote: "No law was being broken, the cop didn't pull him over. Doesn't look all that up and up to me, and it certainly didn't seem to look appropriate to my contact at my sheriff's department either, though there was no way he could admit it outright over the phone."

Right. No law was being broken. Dont you think this evil cop could have figured something to pull this guy over for or could have called ahead to have someone else do it? You are not thinking rationally. You are also presuming to know what the officer on the phone was thinking, even suggesting HE knows what was happening as if the officer would do it himself. I have told literally hundreds of people over the course of my time to contact our internal affairs section if they have a complaint. This is standard practice.

You wrote: "AFAIC, we're both partly right. The "peace officers" in Georgia CAN follow vehicles into other counties -- if they're breaking the law, tho they ARE supposed to notify the local jurisdiction. In this case, there was no clear reason to do so, as evidenced by the fact that the cop didn't pull him over."

Ok, see if you can follow this train of thought: Nobody here arguing this issue knows why that officer was there. He could have been doing a hundred different things such as serving a warrant, a precept, other papers. He could have been going to have a vehicle serviced. He might have been going to lunch. He may have had to go to court in the other county. My presumption that he wasnt harassing anyone is just as valid, if not more so as evidenced by the total lack of action on his part, as your presumption that he was just looking to pick on some Kerry supporter.

[xultar]

27. I that's why I don't have any stickers on my car here in GA these effin

bubbas will harrass your ass & mess with your ride.

IT is DANGEROUS down here

[ArkDem]

28. I'll bet he is a big MoveOne fan!

[YNGW]

31. You gotta figure....

If you're a cop, and your behind everyone who feels like they have to go the speed limit or you'll nail them, that's got to be frustrating from time to time. It's funny how many times on the freeway I'll see a back-up of cars with a police car right near the front, everyone just poking behind him afraid to pass.

[YNGW]

32. dupe

dupe

[Corgigal]

33. Are you a female?

Was the cop male? He might have thought you looked hot then ran your tag to find out who you were.

Of course that never happens in real life. HA (married to a retired cop)

[shance]

71. Wow. So by saying its a "hot chick" lets him off the hook for harassment?

Are you implying women really "dig that" or something?

Give me a break. That's harassment. I don't care how desperate you are.

:eyes:

[RebelOne]

76. I'm a female and used to be a hot chick.

But now I'm too old even though I am still blonde. Maybe he just likes blondes.

[DemoTex]

36. Cobb County is Bad Bob Barr country, right?

.

[drdigi420]

43. yeah, lotta crazy rednecks out there

[Kipepeo]

38. Trying to intimidate you

I had this happen with a pseudo cop/security guard and I'm convinced it was because of my stickers. He followed me much too closely (if I had braked suddenly he would have hit me) and was obviously trying to get a rise out of me or scare me.

People, even "authority figures," can do stupid shit when they see someone displaying an opinion they don't personally agree with.

[BiggJawn]

39. You couldn't pull off?

Raise the hood and start poking around inside?
If the cop pulls off behind you just say "I dunno, I thought I heard something pinging under here..."
If the cop goes on past, end of problem.

done that.

[yellowcanine]

41. Maybe he lives in your neighborhood and was going home? Some

jurisdictions allow law enforcement officials to take their cruisers home with them even if they live in another county.

[WoodrowFan]

42. he could have pulled you over if he wanted to

I suspect had he wanted to give you a ticket that your real speed would not have mattered. he could have easily claimed you were going faster than you were.

[TX-RAT]

44. "he could have pulled you over if he wanted to"?

How is that?

(I suspect had he wanted to give you a ticket that your real speed would not have mattered. he could have easily claimed you were going faster than you were.
Are you saying the officer would just lie about the whole deal?

[drdigi420]

45. i dont find that hard to believe, redneck cops look for ANY excuse

to pull someone over and check for contraband

[TX-RAT]

46. Really. Ever hear of probable cause?

I was with the Sheriffs Dept. for 21 yrs. I have never seen or heard of anything like that.
I can't just pull you over for shits & giggles. I have to have a legitimate reason. Most stops are recorded and video taped. All stops are called in before the officer even gets out of the patrol car. Doesn't leave much room, for what you claim.

[Nevernose]

54. They could find a traffic violation if the wanted to

At the very least, a traffic violation -- it's hard to drive through three counties and not do SOMETHING that could be construed as illegal. I just got out of the DAs office after the last few years, and I've seen individual cops and departments that didn't give a rat's ass about "legitimate reasons" -- if they didn't have one, they could easily make one up. A common tactic in my locale, for instance, is "improper use of turn signals" and "improper disposal of a cigarette" (that last, btw, isn't even a state law, it's a county ordinance, and virtually the only crime listed as "other" in the database); it's also a great way of stopping meth cooks and kids with guns. They pass up a thousand improper uses of turn signals in a day, and focus on the suspicious people. Gets the bad guys off the streets, gets brownie points for promotion, and saves the average tax-payer a few headaches.

The SCOTUS recently ruled that NOT DOING ANYTHING WRONG AT ALL could be construed as "suspicious behavior" based upon a particular cop's hunch ("As a result of my experience and training, I stermined..."). Most departments, though, don't abuse their power in this way.

That having been said, I am in no way anti-cop. Most of them (and you) do a damn fine job. But between the few bad apples and the paranoids afraid of getting arrested for the stash in their shoe, the police get a bad name.

I also find it fascinating at what a complete shift in paradigm law enforcement has undergone in the last twenty years or so; they really have improved not only their tactics, but there outlook on things as well.

Personally, I suspect that the original poster's tailing cop was on his lunch break or going to his granma's house or something. When my neighborhood underwent a rash of burglaries, all the cops on the block started parking their squad cars in front of their houses whenever off-duty -- we went to a zero crime rate literally overnight.

[TryingToWarnYou]

61. No disrespect intended TX, but you have got to be kidding?

How big of an agency did you work for?

[WoodrowFan]

49. um yes

If he was determined to give the man a ticket he could have lied. No, I don't think most officers would, but I suspect that if he was willing to target a person for a ticket simply because he disliked their bumper sticker then he would have found a reason to do so.


the fact that he didn't give the guy a ticket makes me think that he wasn't hunting for a reason.

[TryingToWarnYou]

60. Lie? Absolutely.

Having retired from the SO yourself, are you expecting me to believe that cops dont lie or make up PC? You and I both know this happens all too frequently. It comes down to the cops word against the offender...who is the court going to believe for the most part?

[Christof]

48. He was trying to intimidate you, is my guess.

He wouldn't have intimidated me. In fact, I would've thrown him a few doughnuts to get him off my ass.

[Pallas180]

50. Hey REB - glad to see you on - Wasn't Cobb county one of the ones

that was under martial law during G-8?

The guy was probably just a dumbass thinking he was still doing G-8 duty.

Probably looked to see if you had any outstanding warrants...after all
you're obviously a dangerous American who expresses freedom of speech
on your bumpers.

Bwaaaa

[BlackVelvetElvis]

56. My ex-sheriff put up a sobriety roadblock outside of a dem fundraiser

Coincidence? It wasn't.
He was a raving maniac. Eventually, he got busted by the state and lost his job. The charges included embezzlement and illegal wiretapping.
He once called for a boycott of all business owners who donated to his opponent in the last election.
Sounds like a bad cop.

[TryingToWarnYou]

63. Based on what?

Ive yet to see anyone come up with a non-legal reason for that officer to be where he was. All you have is speculation and not much more.

Point is, the poster could have been pulled over at any time for virtually any reason but wasn't. That alone tells me that there was no intent to harass. BTW, Im a lot like TX-RAT, hint hint. :-) Not all of us are meanie heads.

[Pallas180]

66. Sorry, cookie. Not all are upright solid citizens wanting to help & serve

your fellow citizens either. hint - hint.

Actually what Reb should have done was drive to her local police station, after having gotten the plate & number of the car following her, and report him - so that the local police could call up his boss
and find out what the hell he was doing.

I can remember (in younger days) having a rather disgusting person wearing a badge pull up next to my car and tell me if I didn't meet him in the park , now, he was going to arrest me. I drove home.

I should have driven to the police station, whose chief was a friend of my father's.

Some of "youse" are certainly bad apples.

[TryingToWarnYou]

74. Just because you had a bad experience

Doesnt mean that all the cops are bad. Additionally, whipping out the comment of "My dad knows the chief" will get you exactly 0 slack on a traffic stop or other encounter...matter of fact, it can make your life hell. Most cops dont like their names used when someone is trying to get out of something. If the cop is in the right, he doesnt give a shit if your dad is President of the US.

[BlackVelvetElvis]

73. What was he doing then?

Getting some fresh air? Taking in the scenery? I doubt it.

[TryingToWarnYou]

75. I dont know...what was he doing?

Driving down the road... yep, gotta be illegal.

Since he was driving down the road, not interacting with the original poster at all even though he could have at any time, please tell me what was illegal.

I swear, the Reynolds Wrap company must have you guys as long time customers.

[stavka]

57. Would be legal in Michigan

If the alleged offense took place in original county jurisdiction...

[DURules7]

58. Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That was worth a new topic. Thanks.





A cop followed you.

[WLKjr]

62. Did you ever wonder?

Here in OH I see and have cops do this all the time. Most of the time they are just traveling on official business or transporting stuff. Nothing to be worried about, unless you are involved in some illegal activities.

don't worry bout it otherwise

[Pallas180]

69. "don't worry bout it otherwise" - ahem

that's what DU is about.

The misuse and abuse of power.

You dont have to be doing something illegal to be angered by abuse of
authority or power.

As a matter of fact you should be concerned about
abuse of authority and power whether it's be the local cop or the
so-called pResident.

[RummyTheDummy]

67. He would have pulled you over if he had wanted to

Regardless of what speed you were traveling. Probable cause has become a joke in this country as it relates to law enforcement. Cops can pull you over essentially on a whim if they want to.

If he was a state trooper, I wouldn't have thought much of it. But the fact he was a country sherriff deputy is more than a little unusual.

[Swamp Rat]

68. I would have called 911 and told them that someone is following me

everywhere I go and described the location (not the car following) to the emergency operator. The cop would have eventually gotten a call (if HQ had GPS) or he would have heard it on his scanner. If the cop ever tried to harass you again, you would have already started the paper trail. We must fight back but carefully.

[TryingToWarnYou]

78. Assumption is the mother of all fuckups....

You are assuming the cop was harassing him in the first place.

You also would have looked like a complete tool for calling that in and wasting the time of the dispatchers and officers. Matter of fact, if you did that and upon the subsequent investigation it was shown that you were basically calling in a false report, you could be held criminally liable.

Youre right..fight back, but be SMART.

[Swamp Rat]

82. Aren't you assuming a bit too?

"Assumption is the mother of all fuckups." - Truism.

Here's one I learned as a child - "A S S U M E, what does this mean? It means assuming makes an ass out of you and me."

The poster said this police officer followed him through two counties. I am assuming that he was giving us an accurate description of his experience. If his story IS accurate, this is highly suspicious behavior for any police officers. Anyway, it is the nature of this paradigm (DU - anonymous communication via Internet) to "assume" in order for conversation to take place.

"You also would have looked like a complete tool for calling that in." - Maybe not. Ever hear of the "Blue Lighters?" They are thieves that drive around pretending to be police officer. We have them here and it's very dangerous to assume that an unmarked car with a blue light is a cop. If you are a police officer, then you know that this is true, and that advising someone NOT to call for help is a bad idea. I'd rather look like a "tool" than a dead human... I am assuming that you are or were a police officer. Don't detectives assume a lot in their line of work? Isn't that the nature of things when evidence is lacking during the investigative phase? Of course it is. It would be hard to solve cases without using the power of imagination and one's instinct.

My suggestion was a rather safe one because : 1) it may not have been a police officer. 2) the police officer may have been harassing him and he would therefore have evidence that the cop followed him out of his jurisdiction (possibly). 3) It cannot be proved that he intentionally called in a false report. I was once threatened with calling in a false report (I didn't, but the officer accused me). I told him to go ahead and arrest me but that I would sue him personally, put a lien on his house, etc. and he'd NEVER see the end of it. He backed off... as do most smart police officers when they encounter someone who knows the law that will not put up with abuse.

"Youre right..fight back, but be SMART" - I assume you are insulting me.

[TryingToWarnYou]

84. Some clarifications...

You said: "The poster said this police officer followed him through two counties. I am assuming that he was giving us an accurate description of his experience. If his story IS accurate, this is highly suspicious behavior for any police officers. Anyway, it is the nature of this paradigm (DU - anonymous communication via Internet) to "assume" in order for conversation to take place."

HOW is it suspicious? We dont know what he was doing..he may not have even been on duty. To ASSUME that its illegal or that the cop was up to something is simply borrowing trouble.

You wrote: ""You also would have looked like a complete tool for calling that in." - Maybe not. Ever hear of the "Blue Lighters?" They are thieves that drive around pretending to be police officer. We have them here and it's very dangerous to assume that an unmarked car with a blue light is a cop."

I was under the impression that this was a marked vehicle. If so, then your blue light scenario is irrelevant.

You wrote: "I am assuming that you are or were a police officer. Don't detectives assume a lot in their line of work? Isn't that the nature of things when evidence is lacking during the investigative phase? Of course it is. It would be hard to solve cases without using the power of imagination and one's instinct."

No, they dont assume anything. What they do is find clues to criminal acts and then support those clues with facts determined through the course of an investigation using methods of deduction, scientific reasoning etc. When you assume, you lose focus of what the real issue might be with regard to a case.

You wrote: "1) it may not have been a police officer."

Unlikely if he was in a marked unit.

"2) the police officer may have been harassing him and he would therefore have evidence that the cop followed him out of his jurisdiction (possibly)."

Anything is possible of course, but to presume that the cop was following him as opposed to driving behind him (two different things) out of his jurisdiction in hopes that he would do something to be stopped for or some other form of harassment is simply silly to entertain for the simple fact that he could have done his harassment inside his own county or called ahead and had a fellow officer stop the original poster. To me, its laughable that this is considered by many here to be harassment when there is no evidence of anything untoward by the officer.
3) It cannot be proved that he intentionally called in a false report. I was once threatened with calling in a false report (I didn't, but the officer accused me). I told him to go ahead and arrest me but that I would sue him personally, put a lien on his house, etc. and he'd NEVER see the end of it. He backed off... as do most smart police officers when they encounter someone who knows the law that will not put up with abuse.

""Youre right..fight back, but be SMART" - I assume you are insulting me."

Not at all. There you go assuming again. :-)

[Swamp Rat]

86. Aren't you still assuming too?

"HOW is it suspicious?" He was following him.

"We dont know what he was doing..he may not have even been on duty." - So, therefore his activity was suspicious.

To ASSUME that its illegal or that the cop was up to something is simply borrowing trouble. - Not a statement based on fact.

"No, they dont assume anything." - BS

"What they do is find clues to criminal acts and then support those clues with facts determined through the course of an investigation using methods of deduction, scientific reasoning etc." - In a perfect world.

"When you assume, you lose focus of what the real issue might be with regard to a case." - Possibly, or you may solve the crime of the century.

"You wrote: '1) it may not have been a police officer.' Unlikely if he was in a marked unit." - Assumption. You see, you are doing it too thoughout this post.

"Anything is possible of course, but to presume that the cop was following him as opposed to driving behind him (two different things) - false dichotemy

"...out of his jurisdiction in hopes that he would do something to be stopped for or some other form of harassment is simply silly to entertain for the simple fact that he could have done his harassment inside his own county or called ahead and had a fellow officer stop the original poster. To me, its laughable that this is considered by many here to be harassment when there is no evidence of anything untoward by the officer." - Assumptions and accusations.

Looks like you and I both assume a lot. :hi:

[THUNDER HANDS]

87. Cobb County, huh?

did the cop look like this...

[Citizen Daryl]

89. My solution to living in a small town (police state) with Kerry stickers:

I donated to the "Policeman's Benevolent Association" and have one of their booster stickers in my rear window, right above my Kerry sticker.

[Swamp Rat]

90. Hey, that's a great idea!

[Snotcicles]

91. Kerry support in Ga.

Thats a good one.