I was just interrogated by cops as a show of power

You know how little by little we are losing what rights we have left.

Well the cure is remarkably simple, just that people don't have the guts to do it.



I was engaging in a typical past time.
There I was, with a burger coupon in my hand, it was a buy one get one
free deal.
Why an argument could even be made that I was supporting local economy.

I was driving and came across a police check line,
a female police officer stops me and asks if I had anything to drink.

I say No

She says can I have a quick look at your driver license, I say sure
and give it to her.

She looks at it, and says, ok park on the side please.

I park and she asks and checks my insurance papers as well, and as she
is giving me license and papers back, she asks, oh by the way, what
country are you originally from ? (I am white fat looking guy with glasses)

Here is what happened after she asked that.

R: I don't want to tell you where originally I am from, I have
passport and I am a citizen

COP: Why don't you want to tell me where you are from, are you ashamed ?

R: No I am not, I don't want to tell you because
I don't HAVE to tell you. And just so you know, I happen to have all the
time in the world, I can debate with you all night, no problem with me.

COP: give me back your license, and I hope you know that driving is a privilege

R: So what......you are threatening to take my driving privilege now
based on what ?

COP: I am not threatening to take your driving privilege. I just don't
understand
your attitude.

R: If you want to find out where I am from originally, I am sure you
have it in a file in a computer, I am making you work at it. You are paid
hourly and it should be no problem.

COP: fine (and starts walking away)

R: take your time

COP: (Comes after 30 minutes) Yes from your file I can see where you
are from originally and I can see why you don't like Cops

R: I like cops just fine, I would respond the same if you asked me
what my favorite color was, OR what I had for breakfast, OR what is
my driving destination. This is about philosophy and rights. That's
what this is about.

COP: i've been doing this job for 15 years, nothing is new to me

R: The more time you spend with me, the less time you are
bothering other law abiding citizens, and they are passing by,
I see this as a win.

COP: There are plenty more cops, you are not winning anything

R: It's been a while, I need to pull constitution to see
what questions do we have to answer to the cops, and what
questions we don't have to answer.

COP: Go, Drive safe (keep looking to see my response)

R: (I turn on the car without saying anything to her and start slowly going)

COP: (seeing how I am not responding with, OK or Thank you, she turns
a nasty bitter face and starts walking,)

Sorry about that (no offense to lady cops meant).

friend told me over the phone just now that I have the right to GO after asking if I am being detained or arrested.

And the moment COP says no

I should be able to go

Interesting thread about our "public servants"....so I only have one question for you OP:

What country ARE you from originally?

Originally posted by AutOmatIc
Interesting thread about our "public servants"....so I only have one question for you OP:

What country ARE you from originally?

Finland if you must know

I hope we are not the next HOT NEW TERRORISTS

reply to post by VitaminQ


Any trouble redeeming your burger voucher?
A little tepid or the fries were the wrong shape. ?
all you did was piss the cop off and she probably took it out on someone else

reply to post by VitaminQ

It is a straight forward question (as long as you dont make a snide remark after she answers)...but none of your business just like some of her questions were drifting into that territory. Maybe she thought that if you were from a certain country that she could defacto profile you. [snip]

Doesnt sound like a "show of power" at all. Maybe she was just curious... Im guessing you have an accent. People who are not familiar with it, are curious about it.

The way youre describing the story, the whole attitude thing seemed unnecessary. She didnt ask you "whats in your trunk", or "show me the contents of your glove box".... You were not threatened with a taser or a pistol; it wasnt a "show of power"... it was just a simple question probably out of curiosity, that you seemingly blew way out of proportion.

Im very critical of police, but there is no reason not to simply be polite in a routine situation.

why didn't you just tell her if it wasn't a big deal? you showed her you have a bad attitude and she treated you accordingly.
as she said, cop's put up with stupid stuff like that all the time, i can't imagine it bothered her one bit.

Originally posted by VitaminQ

Originally posted by AutOmatIc
Interesting thread about our "public servants"....so I only have one question for you OP:

What country ARE you from originally?

Finland if you must know

I hope we are not the next HOT NEW TERRORISTS

Thanks for your reply! I would love to travel to Finland one day, I hear it is beautiful country there! Peace to you!

Originally posted by VitaminQ


(I am white fat looking guy with glasses)

OMG!!!! Im sure she made a normal mistake... arent ALL fat looking guys with glasses fitting a terrorists profile?!

Good lord... yes, ask if youre under arrest, if not, leave. If you have a valid license.. and a passport... what else does she need.. a road side full cavity check and a fecal sample? We have those " safety checks" here.. ridiculous revenue generators.

I think it was sort of an arrogant thing to do. Sure, they get paid hourly ...

Cops have to deal with some real scumbags every day. The best way to deal with police is to be respectful and calm. If you haven't done anything wrong, behaving in such a way 9 times out of 10 will result favorably and you'll be on your way in no time.

I don't really care for police officers, but I don't make it my mission to be a jack wagon to them.

reply to post by 12voltz


Explanation: And they too should stand up for their rights also ... and after a while she will get the message otherwise she is going to have a bad time all the time.

Personal Disclosure: The Cops expect us to stay within the law and so we should and likewise so they should also do. Fair is Fair after all!

I wouldn't call this an interrogation at all. I have been interrogated before (long story) and I can safely say that you were not interrogated by this officer. Around here being a jerk to an officer will more times than not get you a ticket for something totally unrelated to the original stop.

Oh you poor tortured soul...

I think cops get this stuff all the time.

Especially from drunk people (which I know you hadn't been drinking...just saying).

You should have even added, "I pay your salary, you work for me."

reply to post by CaticusMaximus

I think that he was referring to the "show of power" as her ability to stop and detain him for no legitimate reason and for a relatively long time. Even tho she did not overtly show force, as a uniformed officer (and presumably with on site backup) she did represent the "force" of the state. (He was not suspected of a crime therefore no probable cause for a long delay and background check).

At the same time the OP's relative recalcitrance surely prolonged his experience.

reply to post by VitaminQ


Explanation: S&F!

I fully support your actions even if she was mistakenly attracted to you ok!

She failed to maintain a professional attitude because either she was personally inquiring into you and that is disturbing on so many levels ...or if it was her business to know then you were fully within your rights to not answer that question at all.

Personal Disclosure: Lets just keep everyone honest, forthright and outspoken and there should be no more problems ... they do their jobs and stop wasting time and tax payers money by asking pointless questions ... and we remain civil and within the boundaries of the law ok by invoking our rights and the truth often.

It IS that simple ok.

It would surely have to be based on the attitude of the officer at that time.

From the op it sounds to me that she was asking a question without malice. But without being there, no one else can determine the demeanour of the officer.

If it was an accusatory query, then I'd be right up there with the staunch attitude in defiance of having to answer any irrelevant questions. but if it was just to pass time, and be informal.. then to be defiant is where the problem starts.

Depends, but as the result shows, she did nothing to administer a special kind of justice to the op, so I don't see if as a show of power at all. She probably just went home that night counting how many bleepers she had to deal with that day.

Had she got you out of your car, searched you, your car, detained you for 12 hours in a hot tank office and threatened to do it over and over because you're attitude was unwarranted.. that's a show of power.

"Go, drive safe."

My boots!!! Oh My boots!!!