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In reply to the discussion: We must NOT buy into the narrative that a cop's life is worth more than any other [View all]Atman
(31,464 posts)The trouble is that so many of us have had run-ins with "bad" cops. I have resisted posting my own story here on DU, but here goes... I recently (almost three years ago) had a case thrown out of court before the DA even got to present her case. Cops hassled me on private property as I tried to take my dementia-riddled mother to a doctor's appointment. She didn't know the name of her doctor or where she was going, so I took out my iPhone to search for an address based upon the info she was able to give me. She saw the iPhone and freaked out..."What is that thing! Don't do that!" and jumped from the car and ran to a neighbor's house, screaming that I was on "the weed" and trying to kill her. The neighbor called 911.
Now, keep in mind, this was all on private property. I was in my mother's driveway. Car not running, keys not in the ignition. I don't smoke pot, I certainly wasn't drinking.
THREE cop cars pulled up. One guy started searching my car as the other two questioned me. I told him to stop searching my car, he was on private property, and I did not consent to the search of my car. He said "I can do anything I want." My mother, now back on her doorstep, told them to leave. She was sorry, it was all a mistake. But the cop told her "It's not your decision anymore, Ma'am." Remember, we're on private property, and the property owner asked the police to leave.
I turned around and the cop was searching my car AGAIN. I was getting pretty irritated at this point, and once again told him I had not consented to a search of my car, and that we are on private property. He pulled out a gum wrapper from under my seat.
Meanwhile my mother is crying hysterically on the front porch because she's now missing her doctor's appointment.
"We know about you guys selling your heroin" said the cop who illegally searched the car and came up with a gum wrapper. "This is what you guys use to sell your packages." It was surreal. I've never seen heroin, and wouldn't know what it looked like...and I was in a retirement community. Mom is still crying on the doorstep. Keep in mind, I was 53 at the time, we were in a retirement community, I'm driving an old Hyundai Elantra...yet, somehow they take me for a heroin dealer. After repeated pleas to let me take my mother to the doctor, the illegal search guy says "Yeah, I think he's on heroin." At that I lost my temper (bad move) and said "Fuck you!" to him.
That was all they needed. Cuffed me, threw me in the car and took me downtown. I guess I'm lucky I didn't get tazed or shot. But I am a relatively affluent white guy. When they booked me they didn't even know what I was charged with. The cop that arrested me said "Just put it down as a DUI." Despite the fact that I was NOT driving, NOT under the influence, they had no field sobriety or breathalyzer, and I was on private property with a car that didn't even have the keys in the ignition. But the cops "got me" and they knew it. Got their revenge because I disrespected them. Just the charge of a DUI cost me $4000 to defend, and after more than a year, and two continuances after the cops didn't bother to show up in court (don't believe that they'll throw out a case if the cops don't show up), the judge finally got to hear my case. He literally laughed at the DA as she tried to present her opening statement. The judge looked at her with amazement. "So, the defendant wasn't driving, you have no evidence he was under the influence, you performed an illegal search of his property...do you really want to move forward with this case?"
The DA apologized, issued a motion to drop the case before it even began, and I was free to go...after close to two years, a suspended driver's license for refusing the field sobriety test, thousands of dollars in court and attorney's fees, torn relations with family...but the cops got what they wanted. They got their revenge for not playing along with them.
Yes, people have a tendency to shape their opinions based upon their experiences. At my age I've had more than one run-in with police, but never had a problem. This one incident with three dick-head asshole cops changed my entire perspective. I simply don't trust any of them anymore, nor should you. They will lie and make up shit to fill their quotas. They've brought this on themselves.