Smart-A$$ to authority

[Connor Lonske]

*snip*

Pretty basic profiling. I thought it was funny the first few times. It's just ridiculous the last few years. As we've gotten some people of color in the area they are looking for white guys less, but whenever they do I always match the fucking description, and if the officer isn't one of the guys who normally patrols my neighborhood, or one of the guys who's stopped me before then I end up getting stopped.

"where you going" "where do you live" "what are you doing out so late" "what are you doing in the neighborhood" typical questions to ask it's just gotten really old at this point.

In NYC, or at least the Bronx, it's the opposite. The cops aren't ever around when you don't or do need them. It's like they only send them out when they get a phone call or are on one of their many coffee breaks.

Man, I don't know which is worse, cops that are around but are profiling douche bags or cops that aren't around at all. Things like this make me hate society as a whole, I can't blame those poor bastards down Wall Street wanting a change, I feel empathetic even.

 

[KnowYourOnion]

Yesterday I come strolling home from a long day of dealing with over 500 kids jacked up on Halloween candy to find my street being blocked off by my local police dept. What happened apparently while attempting to serve a warrant for arrest the man they were looking for decided to hide in the attic, because that worked so well for Anne Frank, and because the police did not know if he was armed or not they decided to play it "safe".

Now the reason I critique is because while blocking off car traffic, presumably to clear the road for doughnut runs, they didn't stop foot traffic. For my safety they wouldn't let me enter my house because the house on the other side of my neighbors duplex is where the suspect was hiding out. I attempted to explain, rather loudly I'll admit, that if the suspect is armed it is most likely a handgun loaded with hollow point rounds and that being the case I would be perfectly safe in my home where there is a whole house between the perps place and my own instead of sitting on the side walk across the street where all there is is a single wall to protect all of us neighbors lined up waiting. After that tirade they made sit down on the side walk across the street from my house and in protest I immediately took to smart-assed comments to vocalize my take on the situation.

I believe the entire police force was on hand for this, well over 40 uniformed cops and an entire swat team of 19 wearing military issue combat armor armed with AR-15s, as well as at least 9 other cops and 3 negotiators in plain cloths, who had put on vests. This stand off had apparently been going on since 3:30 and when I arrived at 4:30 cops were still arriving. So I said the first thing that came to mind.

"There must have been a line at Voodoo Doughnuts. Can you guys give me a bacon maple bar? All my snacks are inside my place."

After awhile I realized I had my iPad with me so I started watching movies, as loudly as it would go. This prompted more than a few upset stairs from the guy standing around doing nothing so I said "I could be inside being quiet" after a while "just tear gas his ass I'm cold", later "if you need a flash bang I've got potassium chloride, aluminum powder, and magnesium flakes in my garage"

I made many more comments during the event, got some laughs from the onlookers. Regardless, when the whole thing was over, (the guy gave up, and came down), the SWAT negotiator came walking out (before the perp) and I said "What they didn't have a jelly filled for you, well make sure to pick up a bacon maple bar for me on your way back."

The negotiator quietly got in his car and turned it around but before leaving made a point of stopping next to me pointing and saying "Thanks for your help today" to which I replied "What help?" he responded "Exactly." To that I said "How about next time we do this at your place and you can wait for nothing to happen on a curb for three hours in the cold. You want help, try a stationary bike, it's probably easier on your fat ass than a treadmill"

Then he left and I was free to enter my home.

This isn't my first run in with the cops, certainly the longest, getting searched usually only takes a few minutes after all (as a white male with a buzzed head I very often "match the description"); but every run in with them I've ever had I've been a disrespectful asshole.

Now I ask you fellow escapists, how do you deal with "authority" figures, namely the police. Do you wait patently and hope for the best, do you gawk and take pictures, or do you inundate them with sarcasm and smart-assery?

I also have to say when I heard Gram mention a guy in his attic in Oregon on Feed Dump I almost thought he was talking about this incident for a second.

Wow sorry to say chap, you were/are an absolute arse!! I mean seriously these guys were doing their job to protect the public from the possibility of being caught in a dangerous situation and there you were being a "smart"-arse.

Really clever of you! You weren't being funny, you we're being an total ass hat. Those people put their lives on the line for you and you repay them by being a dick.

You take pride in the fact that you're a disrespectful asshole? You just scored an infinite amount of douchebag points. Yes there are bad cops but that doesn't give you the right to start mouthing off at the entire Police Force. Seriously, sort yourself out old boy. Those onlookers were probably laughing at you not with you.

EDIT: and you call someone who isn't white "someone of colour"? How odd

EDIT 2: I'm assuming you're American, so your coppers damn well deserve respect! I'm not sure if I'd want to be a copper when half the country is armed to the teeth and more than capable of killing you.

 

[I Have No Idea]

snip

By reading your OP, it seems like you're kind of a jerk. These guys didn't know if the suspect was armed or not, and if you were a cop you wouldn't exactly want to take that sort of chance right? These guys are doing their job, protecting and serving, and the first thing you said was an insult? Seriously, they subdued a potentially dangerous guy, and you're just bad mouthing them? Honestly I've never met such a disrespectful person.

I have a great deal of respect for the folks in blue. They're keeping us safe. I know some of them are total whackoffs, but if your job involves putting your life on the line regularly then you've earned my respect.

EDIT: Plus, what is the point of this thread? Were you expecting sympathy and fist bumps? If you're a jerk in real life, nobody likes you. If you're a jerk on the internet, nobody likes you, and you get a bunch of hateful comments.

 

[Kasawd]

I have to laugh at the quotation marks around the word authority, in the original opening post. Implying that those who wield the law are not proper authority is silly because they most certainly are. Also, judging the situation from your own personal experiences not only harms your ability to properly analyze it but will only make you come off as a douche.

Then again, you were being a massive one.

Unless you're an officer with functioning knowledge of procedure or have past experience attempting to apprehend an armed suspect, it's going to be very difficult to judge what, exactly, constitutes overkill. This situation reminds me of when I was in O'Hare and my flight was delayed for about thirty minutes. Most people bitched and moaned, but, really, there's no use to it. You will still be waiting for that airplane and I guarantee that the personnel remembered those of us who took it in good grace.

You had a long wait and that can be frustrating, but, the reason for the wait was a good one(Much like the delays planes or trains make to ensure safety and success of passangers and landings). You're just speaking from ignorance and, quite honestly, strike me as someone who goes against authority because it makes you rebellious.

I treat authority figures with respect. They've been given their positions through hard work or have proved their worth. No amount of resentment from me or anyone else is going to change that they went through what they needed to before they hit the desk or streets.

Respect your local police force and it will be better in the long run, for you.

 

[ParanoidAndroid]

Well, I try to treat people with respect. How would you like it if someone came up to you while you were trying to do your job and started being a complete dick?

 

[newwiseman]

I have to laugh at the quotation marks around the word authority, in the original opening post. Implying that those who wield the law are not proper authority is silly because they most certainly are. Also, judging the situation from your own personal experiences not only harms your ability to properly analyze it but will only make you come off as a douche.

Then again, you were being a massive one.

Unless you're an officer with functioning knowledge of procedure or have past experience attempting to apprehend an armed suspect, it's going to be very difficult to judge what, exactly, constitutes overkill. This situation reminds me of when I was in O'Hare and my flight was delayed for about thirty minutes. Most people bitched and moaned, but, really, there's no use to it. You will still be waiting for that airplane and I guarantee that the personnel remembered those of us who took it in good grace.

You had a long wait and that can be frustrating, but, the reason for the wait was a good one(Much like the delays planes or trains make to ensure safety and success of passangers and landings). You're just speaking from ignorance and, quite honestly, strike me as someone who goes against authority because it makes you rebellious.

I treat authority figures with respect. They've been given their positions through hard work or have proved their worth. No amount of resentment from me or anyone else is going to change that they went through what they needed to before they hit the desk or streets.

Respect your local police force and it will be better in the long run, for you.

There is usually a reason a flight is delayed, the taxi broke down, weather is bad, disorderly passenger, runway is backed up. This is more akin to the pilot not letting people on the plane because he doesn't want them to hear him taking a shit, but he still takes a webcam with him to the bathroom.

I speak out because when people don't get questioned they do what ever they want, usually to the detriment of those around them. If the situation was dangerous they should had cleared the street.

 

[newwiseman]

I dont buy your story at all. If you were actually mouthing off to a cop especially in a situation like that you would have been taken down and arrested. With that many cops they would not ignore you breaking the law.

No laws broken I can legally sit where they say it's "safe" and ask them if they're going to go get doughnuts to bring me one.

Well, I try to treat people with respect. How would you like it if someone came up to you while you were trying to do your job and started being a complete dick?

When I take their computer to fix something they did to it they usually are. That's kind of what happens when shit doesn't work right.

 

[Kasawd]

I have to laugh at the quotation marks around the word authority, in the original opening post. Implying that those who wield the law are not proper authority is silly because they most certainly are. Also, judging the situation from your own personal experiences not only harms your ability to properly analyze it but will only make you come off as a douche.

Then again, you were being a massive one.

Unless you're an officer with functioning knowledge of procedure or have past experience attempting to apprehend an armed suspect, it's going to be very difficult to judge what, exactly, constitutes overkill. This situation reminds me of when I was in O'Hare and my flight was delayed for about thirty minutes. Most people bitched and moaned, but, really, there's no use to it. You will still be waiting for that airplane and I guarantee that the personnel remembered those of us who took it in good grace.

You had a long wait and that can be frustrating, but, the reason for the wait was a good one(Much like the delays planes or trains make to ensure safety and success of passangers and landings). You're just speaking from ignorance and, quite honestly, strike me as someone who goes against authority because it makes you rebellious.

I treat authority figures with respect. They've been given their positions through hard work or have proved their worth. No amount of resentment from me or anyone else is going to change that they went through what they needed to before they hit the desk or streets.

Respect your local police force and it will be better in the long run, for you.

There is usually a reason a flight is delayed, the taxi broke down, weather is bad, disorderly passenger, runway is backed up. This is more akin to the pilot not letting people on the plane because he doesn't want them to hear him taking a shit, but he still takes a webcam with him to the bathroom.

I speak out because when people don't get questioned they do what ever they want, usually to the detriment of those around them. If the situation was dangerous they should had cleared the street.

The reason they created a perimeter was likely due to a dangerous aspect of the suspect. They were worried about possible scenarios that they'd likely not share with the public. The police in my area join the force to keep people safe and uphold the law, so I've never had anything but good interaction with them.

There's a difference between speaking out and being a loudmouth. There is absolutely no advantage to being the second. In being a loudmouth, one tends to completely defeat any point they may have been able to have.

Respect doesn't necessarily mean being silent.

 

[guitarsniper]

maybe it's because my first being pulled over experience was Coast Guard, not Police, and they have friggin' M240 SAWs on the front of their patrol boats, but i tend to try to cooperate with cops as much as possible. I would have called a friend and gone "hey, there's a police situation in front of my house so i can't go in. wanna go see a movie or something?"

 

[Blunderboy]

You sound like a complete asshole. Your whole stance is invalid on the basis that they were doing their job and you decided to be a gigantic asshat because of it. Per department policy, if they block the street off, they have to block it off for every single person, and the people around you were just following policy. All you did was make their day harder by being a jerk, rowing your douche canoe down your ignorant river. Good work.

To answer your question, I deal with them like they are actual people...because they are. I've only had one rude police officer and I just shrugged it off. Everyone has bad days (in any profession). I've had far more nice officers than rude ones in my encounters.

You, and most other people have summed up my thoughts rather nicely. So cheers.

 

[ParanoidAndroid]

I dont buy your story at all. If you were actually mouthing off to a cop especially in a situation like that you would have been taken down and arrested. With that many cops they would not ignore you breaking the law.

No laws broken I can legally sit where they say it's "safe" and ask them if they're going to go get doughnuts to bring me one.

Well, I try to treat people with respect. How would you like it if someone came up to you while you were trying to do your job and started being a complete dick?

When I take their computer to fix something they did to it they usually are. That's kind of what happens when shit doesn't work right.

Do you enjoy it when people treat you like that? Does it make your job any easier?

 

[MetroidNut]

Based on your comments throughout this thread, you were being an annoying asshole to people for doing what they thought was necessary to protect you.

It's one thing to file a complaint about the situation, or to ask them about their seemingly overprotective orders. It's another to spent three hours trying to annoy them for doing what was, as far as they knew, needed to keep you safe.

I'm respectful to the authorities because I understand that, even if they have stupid orders or false information, they're usually trying to protect people. But who cares? Fuck the po-lice, right?

 

[ace_of_something]

As one of the resident police officer escapists I just want to say:
I'm so very proud of many of you for realizing what a poor reaction OP had to the situation. The best thing you can do is be patient like a grown up and realize there are some things about the situation that you might not be getting.

I've had to deal with suicide standoffs (as one of the faceless cops just "hanging around and doing nothing") I promise you there is a lot more to it than you realize.

 

[ediblemitten]

Wow, you were being an asshole. Whether you were correct or not, those cops were just doing their jobs, and from what I can tell following police procedure. You come off as a bit of a attention craving child.

 

[Lord Mountbatten Reborn]

I do wish I was quite as cool as the OP. Sadly I'm unable to hate people for the shitty jobs they have to do.

 

[newwiseman]

I have to laugh at the quotation marks around the word authority, in the original opening post. Implying that those who wield the law are not proper authority is silly because they most certainly are. Also, judging the situation from your own personal experiences not only harms your ability to properly analyze it but will only make you come off as a douche.

Then again, you were being a massive one.

Unless you're an officer with functioning knowledge of procedure or have past experience attempting to apprehend an armed suspect, it's going to be very difficult to judge what, exactly, constitutes overkill. This situation reminds me of when I was in O'Hare and my flight was delayed for about thirty minutes. Most people bitched and moaned, but, really, there's no use to it. You will still be waiting for that airplane and I guarantee that the personnel remembered those of us who took it in good grace.

You had a long wait and that can be frustrating, but, the reason for the wait was a good one(Much like the delays planes or trains make to ensure safety and success of passangers and landings). You're just speaking from ignorance and, quite honestly, strike me as someone who goes against authority because it makes you rebellious.

I treat authority figures with respect. They've been given their positions through hard work or have proved their worth. No amount of resentment from me or anyone else is going to change that they went through what they needed to before they hit the desk or streets.

Respect your local police force and it will be better in the long run, for you.

There is usually a reason a flight is delayed, the taxi broke down, weather is bad, disorderly passenger, runway is backed up. This is more akin to the pilot not letting people on the plane because he doesn't want them to hear him taking a shit, but he still takes a webcam with him to the bathroom.

I speak out because when people don't get questioned they do what ever they want, usually to the detriment of those around them. If the situation was dangerous they should had cleared the street.

The reason they created a perimeter was likely due to a dangerous aspect of the suspect. They were worried about possible scenarios that they'd likely not share with the public. The police in my area join the force to keep people safe and uphold the law, so I've never had anything but good interaction with them.

There's a difference between speaking out and being a loudmouth. There is absolutely no advantage to being the second. In being a loudmouth, one tends to completely defeat any point they may have been able to have.

Respect doesn't necessarily mean being silent.

If a perimeter was necessary they should had cleared the street. Where they told us it is safe is at least 40 feet closer than my house. My house also has fences and walls, across the street just had a nice view of the action in the upstairs window.

I dont buy your story at all. If you were actually mouthing off to a cop especially in a situation like that you would have been taken down and arrested. With that many cops they would not ignore you breaking the law.

No laws broken I can legally sit where they say it's "safe" and ask them if they're going to go get doughnuts to bring me one.

Well, I try to treat people with respect. How would you like it if someone came up to you while you were trying to do your job and started being a complete dick?

When I take their computer to fix something they did to it they usually are. That's kind of what happens when shit doesn't work right.

Do you enjoy it when people treat you like that? Does it make your job any easier?

Actually Yes, people who can vent usually will admit what they did to screw up their machine, and that really helps with fixing a computer.

 

[CobraX]

Dude your an asshole. The Policemen and Swat Members are just there to do their jobs and everything they did was done in order to try their best to keep YOU, not them, YOU safe. Not to mention you point out you had an Ipad with movies on it so it's not as if you didn't have some entertainment! You acted like a spoiled little kid having a meltdown, not a full grown adult. Then after all of that you come onto the Escapist thinking what exactly? That we'd all be impressed? Grow Up.