Isn't it illegal to drive without your lights on?

[whoismunky]

Read this statement and tell me where there is implied probable cause...

(originally posted by Kick)
On the other hand, if the plate comes out of somewhere a decent distance away, I just like to talk to the person. See where they are coming from and going to. If they are legit, they usually don't mind answering the questions.

To me it sounds a lot like you just like to talk to the person. When you read that quote, you don't have to "throw in" the idea that you are confronting regular, everyday people over operating a motor vehicle "a decent distance away" from their home. Maybe you didn't mean to, but you DEFINITELY said more to imply that than you did that you were pulling someone over for a legitimate reason. (Which it is also arguable whether seeing someone has plates from a "decent distance away" and following them until you can cite a traffic violation is legitimate)
I really understand why people could have a problem with this attitude. You say "If they are legit, they usually don't mind answering the questions." Now I know the word usually could be debated, but you might want to stop and consider that these "legit" citizens may actually mind! There is obviously going to be a predominant demographic on these forums, but I see plenty of people posting first-hand accounts here that certainly do mind. These 'questions' are fishing, I don't think there's any argument to that...so what do you do when you encounter a "legit" citizen who does mind the fishing trip? Honestly I would venture as far as to say that MOST people mind, although they usually don't have the gusto to tell a police officer why they don't feel comfortable giving up their rights. Should these people be detained, disarmed, and accosted for NOT ANSWERING ZE QUESTIONS! If you ask me, we ought to just consult the law of the land...I'm pretty sure they drafted something up regarding this...

Oh yea, United States Bill of Rights - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[jsharmon7]

Actually, it's because you didn't put very many details in your original post, which I quoted, and you left a lot open to interpretation. It has nothing to do with "looking for" anything.

If I said something open-ended like "We need to start fighting back against the Federal Government to get our rights back!" What would I mean by that? That answer will be different for every user. I'll show up in eight pages to explain that I meant we needed to vote.

If you had been a little more articulate in what you said, that whole argument wouldn't have happened.

I wasn't looking for anything. Perhaps you should learn to be a little more clear in your writings and not force others to have to read between the lines in an effort to figure out what you mean.

Here is part of the issue: the same crew of people automatically "interpreted" what he said as him stopping people illegally. Why didn't you assume that he was referring to legal stops? There were two ways to interpret what Kick said: he was making legal stops or he was making illegal stops. Why did some of you interpret it negatively? Why do the ones who interpreted it negatively have a pattern of always assuming the worst about LE? Are you pessimistic in general, or only toward LE?

 

[Destro]

Read this statement and tell me where there is implied probable cause...

since I don't assume the worst in people, and since I don't have a deep hate for anyone with an ounce of authority, I just assumed he had PC for the stop..I didn't expect a full report articulating his PC for the stop on an internet message board. In the LE world it's called Agressive Patrol, if you have a problem with it then take it up with someone else stop stop pissing on beat cops who are doing a job not only the way they are trained, but expected to perform.

For every cop on "agressive patrol" there are 2 more sitting in a dark parking lot on their MDT looking at facebook for 1/2 their 12hr shift (you should be happy because since they are occupied it keeps them from "hasseling" you for OC, or kicking down your door to rob you w/o a warrant)

 

[Praetorian13]

Read this statement and tell me where there is implied probable cause...

(originally posted by Kick)
On the other hand, if the plate comes out of somewhere a decent distance away, I just like to talk to the person. See where they are coming from and going to. If they are legit, they usually don't mind answering the questions.

Wow.....*sniff**sniff*smells like a tail light chaser to me. Is it really Kick's business to stop every person with a different license plate and bother them to know where they are going?? In that case I hope the next time Kick goes on vacation with his family, he gets stopped when he passes through every single town so they can "know where he's going". Stop acting like your badge is the key to every citizens business.

 

[hornadylnl]

Why do the ones who interpreted it negatively have a pattern of always assuming the worst about LE? Are you pessimistic in general, or only toward LE?

Why do LEO's always assume the worst about out of town citizens? Why do LEO's assume those with burnt out light bulbs are drunk, drug dealers, axe murderers, etc.? Are there no assumptions being made on fishing stops? It's a 2 way street here.

Are there no factories where you patrol? There are many hundreds of cars on the road between the hours of midnight to 8 am where I'm at. They're going to or coming from work.

 

[Praetorian13]

Why do LEO's always assume the worst about out of town citizens? Why do LEO's assume those with burnt out light bulbs are drunk, drug dealers, axe murderers, etc.? Are there no assumptions being made on fishing stops? It's a 2 way street here.

Are there no factories where you patrol? There are many hundreds of cars on the road between the hours of midnight to 8 am where I'm at. They're going to or coming from work.

Didn't you hear??....We are all a bunch of savages and gun nuts that have RPG's and fully automatic AK's in our trunks and want nothing more to beak into houses and kill other people.

 

[jsharmon7]

Why do LEO's always assume the worst about out of town citizens? Why do LEO's assume those with burnt out light bulbs are drunk, drug dealers, axe murderers, etc.? Are there no assumptions being made on fishing stops? It's a 2 way street here.

Are there no factories where you patrol? There are many hundreds of cars on the road between the hours of midnight to 8 am where I'm at. They're going to or coming from work.

Where did I say I assumed the worst about out-of-town citizens? Kick may have good reason for being suspicious of them, I don't know. It's irrelevant though because you're twisting the argument. I asked why people automatically assumed that Kick was making illegal stops? Can you hazard a guess as to why they would come to the conclusion that because he didn't clarify his statement that the worst should be assumed? I'm confident that the people on the sidelines reading this thread will see these people for what they are and weigh their credibility accordingly.

 

[Kick]

Wow, I can't believe that this is still going on. No one is making "illegal stops" here. People make correct and incorrect assumptions on the regular basis. I have been accused of illegal activity, called Paul Blart, a taillight chaser, and who knows what else I have skimmed over. Will someone please lock this damn thread and put it out of it's misery.

 

[hornadylnl]

Where did I say I assumed the worst about out-of-town citizens? Kick may have good reason for being suspicious of them, I don't know. It's irrelevant though because you're twisting the argument. I asked why people automatically assumed that Kick was making illegal stops? Can you hazard a guess as to why they would come to the conclusion that because he didn't clarify his statement that the worst should be assumed? I'm confident that the people on the sidelines reading this thread will see these people for what they are and weigh their credibility accordingly.

And the point of my post is that many here decry the attitude toward LE from the posters you are referring to. The percentage of people who view LE in that light isn't any higher than the percentage of LE who view citizens the same way.

 

[Kick]

It has become apparent that this is a pissing match that will never end. I just want it to end in this thread. I am done with it. I wish my name could be to. I know that the pissing match will continue. I just hope that it does so somewhere else on INGO.

 

[spasmo]

I have to agree that I think this thread is WAY past its end of life. This thread got out of hand a few days ago but we really try our best to keep them open now. This one is done though.