Wild Deuce
Master
- Dec 2, 2009
- 4,946
- 12
I am going to tell this tale from a first person perspective and then ask some questions afterwards. This did NOT happen to me but to someone that I know or might be related to. I am relaying the details as best as I understand them but if you need any clarification, you'll have to wait until I can talk to the person involved:
Questions for INGO Lawyers, Cops, Libertarians, Leftists, Commies, etc. etc. ... What, if anything, would you have done different? I know there are some that would have refused to produce ID or immediately started the meeting with, "Am I being detained?" However, this interaction is taking place last night (four days after the San Bernardino terror attack). The request for ID and pat down ... legit? The original call to police was for a "man with a rifle" which could clearly be dis-proven after a few seconds of following and observing so was the officer ok to continue with a stop, request for ID, and pat down?
I have more questions but I would like see what INGO has to say ... actually, I just want to hear from Kirk, Rambone, and Kutnupe.
I'm out for my twice a week ruck march through the neighborhood. It's a very quiet residential part of town. It's after 1900 so the neighborhood is dark except for the usual stuff (street lights, house lights, Christmas decorations, etc). I'm wearing a pair of military camouflage pants (old style ... think 90's), black boots, and red hoodie. It's pretty foggy and temps are right around 30 so I have my balaclava on my head as well as my headphones and IPod on my chest (using it as a headlight). I have a large USGI military style rucksack with about fifty pounds of clothes/rags stuffed into it. The pack has a reflective strap affixed across the entire back of it (I don't want to get run over). I also have a farmer's walk bar that I alternate carrying in my hands or over my shoulders. By the way, the bar is spray painted white.
So ... I'm huffing it along on the street (sidewalks are a pain due to the low branches, countless bushes, vehicles in the way, and uneven pavement) when a vehicle comes up behind me. I don't turn around but make sure I'm out of the way. There's plenty of room for him to go around. Next thing I hear is the chirp of a siren and a quick flash of the lights from a police cruiser. I stop at the side of the street, take the bar off my shoulders and set it down while I pull off the headphones and pull down the balaclava off my face. The officer turns off his lights but leaves his spotlight on me and gets out.
The first thing he asks me is if I have any weapons on me. I hesitated briefly before I told him no. The only reason I hesitated was I was trying to remember if I had my pocket knife on me or not. He walks up and tells me that they received a call about a man with a rifle walking through the neighborhood. He asks me for my ID (which I produce) and then pats me down. He asked me what I was doing and I explained to him that I was planning on enlisting in the military next spring. I told him that a twice a week ruck march was part of my conditioning training and that I had been doing this regularly for the past several months. (This was my first LEO encounter, btw)
While this is going on, I notice two more police cruisers and an SUV canine unit pull up. The officers all come walking up and start making small talk (they commented that everybody is jumpy and worried about terrorism) while the original officer went to his car to check my ID. One of them picked up the ruck sack and asked me how much it weighed. They joked to each other that they should be out here doing the same type of training. The original officer comes back with my ID and tells me to have a safe evening. At this point, they leave and I continue my ruck.
So ... I'm huffing it along on the street (sidewalks are a pain due to the low branches, countless bushes, vehicles in the way, and uneven pavement) when a vehicle comes up behind me. I don't turn around but make sure I'm out of the way. There's plenty of room for him to go around. Next thing I hear is the chirp of a siren and a quick flash of the lights from a police cruiser. I stop at the side of the street, take the bar off my shoulders and set it down while I pull off the headphones and pull down the balaclava off my face. The officer turns off his lights but leaves his spotlight on me and gets out.
The first thing he asks me is if I have any weapons on me. I hesitated briefly before I told him no. The only reason I hesitated was I was trying to remember if I had my pocket knife on me or not. He walks up and tells me that they received a call about a man with a rifle walking through the neighborhood. He asks me for my ID (which I produce) and then pats me down. He asked me what I was doing and I explained to him that I was planning on enlisting in the military next spring. I told him that a twice a week ruck march was part of my conditioning training and that I had been doing this regularly for the past several months. (This was my first LEO encounter, btw)
While this is going on, I notice two more police cruisers and an SUV canine unit pull up. The officers all come walking up and start making small talk (they commented that everybody is jumpy and worried about terrorism) while the original officer went to his car to check my ID. One of them picked up the ruck sack and asked me how much it weighed. They joked to each other that they should be out here doing the same type of training. The original officer comes back with my ID and tells me to have a safe evening. At this point, they leave and I continue my ruck.
Questions for INGO Lawyers, Cops, Libertarians, Leftists, Commies, etc. etc. ... What, if anything, would you have done different? I know there are some that would have refused to produce ID or immediately started the meeting with, "Am I being detained?" However, this interaction is taking place last night (four days after the San Bernardino terror attack). The request for ID and pat down ... legit? The original call to police was for a "man with a rifle" which could clearly be dis-proven after a few seconds of following and observing so was the officer ok to continue with a stop, request for ID, and pat down?
I have more questions but I would like see what INGO has to say ... actually, I just want to hear from Kirk, Rambone, and Kutnupe.
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