Why do people have to make problems?

[Ronin13]

So found this vid:


after looking at the case of Mark Fiorino in Philadelphia (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011...est=latestnews). This guy records the conversation with Maine PD and continues to argue, peacefully but still making problems and generally not cooperating, with LEOs. His responses sound almost robotic as if he was going off of what someone told him to say. Granted, his argument against is that they had no right, but you can save yourself a lot of trouble if you just cooperate a bit and be polite and courteous.

[DeusExMachina]

Because they are bored with their lives.

"Am I free to go then?"

I agree with him, but you don't have to go looking to be a dick to police.

Also, police can ask you for your name and address but you don't have to provide ID unless you're being arrested...so he could've gotten in trouble (or maybe he did, I couldn't listen anymore) for refusing to tell them his name.

[Ronin13]

Because they are bored with their lives.

"Am I free to go then?"

I agree with him, but you don't have to go looking to be a dick to police.

Indeed. It just seems to me like he wanted to go out and record this and make it a point to be some difficult and abrasive person to an officer just doing his job. Okay we get it, you don't want to surrender your ID. I've had a buddy pulled over for speeding and the cop asked if he would surrender his weapon during the duration of the traffic stop (which law says they can here in CO) and my buddy responded "Careful sir, it's locked and loaded." Best response ever when the cop press checked it, "Doesn't do much good if it's not."

[DeusExMachina]

That would make me really nervous. How did he surrender it to the officer?

[cstone]

Just a couple thoughts; Some Open Carry advocates are practicing Civil Obedience. They are looking for ways to make a point and informing others who may be interested in their cause. They themselves are often well educated on specific laws, where most cops are required to have a broader knowledge of laws. This often ends up showing that some cops don't know the specific laws regarding Open Carry.

IMO the two officers in this recording handled the stop about as well as they could. They could have just stopped questioning the guy as soon as he made it obvious what he was doing. He was out trolling for audio of cops so that he could post it on the internet. On a personal note, when people invoke their right to remain silent, the rest of the contact should be fairly quiet. This audio was a good example of how often people continue to talk after they insist that they want to remain silent.

If it is legal in a particular jurisdiction to Open Carry, and a person is so inclined, by all means do so. Be well informed of your rights and have a plan of action when contacted by other citizens or the po-po. You have no control over how other people will react, so you should be prepared for many different scenarios and be nimble enough in your thinking to deal with the many more scenarios you didn't think of ahead of time.

I prefer to not announce what I have (or don't have) on my person. Consider it like not pulling out a big wad of cash late at night while walking down any city street. It may be legal but not what I personally consider a wise course of action.

Just my $.02

[ghettodub]

The guy was being a bit of a dick to the cop. That's my only thought on the matter. That's almost like an intellectual showing off how smart they are by being smug. Just show him your ID and shut up. Let the cop get on his way and deal with real criminals, and not an annoying twat like this guy. Just my .02. Not really worth fighting a cop on this.

[Ronin13]

cstone, good points, and I've heard so many cases where people say they're going to exercise their right to remain silent, then what do they do? Dig themselves a hole by talking. Even if they haven't been Mirandized the officer can still report what took place in their little talk. And yes, just because it's legal doesn't always make it smart. Open carry is in fact a good crime deterrent, and most LEOs I know acknowledge the fact that criminals don't open carry, but don't be an a** about it and try to expose some LEO because he isn't a walking Law dictionary. I don't like how this guy went around recording any conversations he had with police just to try and say he was experiencing his rights being slightly violated.

[cstone]

Constitutional Rights are like virginity; they are intact or not. I don't believe either can be slightly violated. Of course there are courts and doctors who make those types of determinations upon further examination

[Ronin13]

Constitutional Rights are like virginity; they are intact or not. I don't believe either can be slightly violated. Of course there are courts and doctors who make those types of determinations upon further examination

True... okay rephrase- Some policeman infringing on his rights.
I had a retired cop tell me something along similar lines: "Police officer is a lot like gynecologist, the job sounds awesome, but then you get it and you really aren't getting the hot action you originally thought."

[Ranger]

A guy with a cause, his cause is to post a YouTube video about how much of a gun advocate he is. While his points are valid, this was all an unnecessary encounter. It's time to get defensive if and when the LEO might push the issue beyond a reasonable measure and asking for ID isn't it.