I-Like-To-Bike

Heck, I'd call the cops on all those guys wearing spandex; at least some of them probably have impure thoughts. And call the cops on anyone riding an expensive looking bike who wasn't wearing spandex; probably just stole the bike otherwise he'd be dressed like a pervert too. You just never can be too safe , eh?

Roody

I didn't think we were talking about brutality. Of the countless instances of police misuse of authority I have witnessed, only one involved brutality.

I thought we were talking about questioning or, especially, detaining people on the thin pretext that they look suspicious, or violating their right to privacy for no good reason. I think you are muddying the waters by bringing up the issue of brutality.

BTW, I know very well the kind of power it takes to bring down somebody who is "feeling no pain" due to drugs or even mental illness. (Of course, in my line of work we are not even allowed to inflict pain, or to use holds or pins that are likely to injure joints, for example.) I would agree, for example, that you can't take the many videotapes of "police brutality" at face value.

Oh well, this thread seems to be about done anyway. It was interesting talking with you about something besides bikes.

teencraft

As for another can of worms...

This in itself is QUITE skewed when discussing the issue of Police brutality...For majority of people in America are of the 'White' race (however you would like to define it) and of that the VAST majority of avid bicyclists are white. How many of you out there have been stopped purely because the color of your skin contains far too much melatonin for an officer's liking? Or, simply because I have a shaved head Tattoos, dark skin, therefore match the profile of gang bangers, and assumed guilty? If you want to see Police Brutality in the rawest form...Shave your head and get some tattoos. I get harassed/followed/scoped DAILY...So tell me again why it is okay for cops to bother someone because 'if they're not doing anything wrong, it's not a problem'.

Paul L.

I think the difference here is the op inferred that he rode this route regularly and that the person was not there everyday but had started doing this waiting in the car thing enough to get him suspicious. People ride bicycles everyday if people called the police everytime they saw a bicycle they would probably get annoyed. The OP called because the driver was not there enough to be a regular sight but was there enough to get him suspicious. Admittedly it is a fine line but I think it is still within the bounds of what can be expected from an average joe citizen. I base my decisions off of what I percieve the average police officer to be like, guess what? The average police officer is a nice guy I think. Yes, 15 years ago someone witnessed police brutality, well, it's been 15 years, guess what? If Brutality were the rule you would have a story of it once a week at least. You guys seem to percieve police brutality like people percieve bicycling to be dangerous because they have seen a bike accident or heard of a bike death on the radio. People make decisions based on what they percieve as the norm. I think the OP percieves the police to be basically good people on average. In that context I think what he did didn't hurt anyone and could have been really helpful if the situation had been different. Granted, if he did this twice a week or month even then I would have to switch sides on this one I think.

Paul L.

Have you kept a record of this? Carry a tape recorder? If it is happening daily you should start collecting evidence.

Cyclist0383

I'm going to assume the police brutality you refer to above is the Rodney King case, which was video taped. It is the exception, not the rule that police brutality cases are video taped.

I didn't report my police harrasment. Why not? It's my word against the police officers word. I don't think I would have had a chance of winning.

Many people who are harrassed by the police are on the margins of society. They do not beleive in the system as people of better means do. Being on the margins of society does not make one less of a human and certainly does not take away ones rights not to be harrassed.

budster

I had to laugh -- because here, where I live, it's perfectly normal to see people waiting around in their cars somewhere for no obvious purpose, but to see someone riding a bicycle in traffic, as a vehicle, is about as rare and unlikely as a White Christmas in Miami. Even more so a non-spandexed adult in winter. But I do think it would be ridiculous to call the police just because of this highly unusual sight, and I don't necessarily think it was ridiculous of the OP to call. I wasn't there. If I had been, and if the guy had set off my instinctual warning bells, I'd have called. Like you say, it's different from the OP's reporting someone every other week because of deep-rooted paranoia. But generally speaking, I have long avoided, and will continue to avoid, the police.

I'm the guy who saw his roommate get shoved down the stairs in 1989. It's not so much I think police brutality is the rule, any more than drivers' intentionally running bikes off the road is the rule. Or passenger jet crashes. I know these things are rare. But once you experience something like that firsthand, you have a strong, emotional -- primal -- link to it. You not only know it can happen, you know how horrible it is, how much it should be avoided. You will still know in your head that it's rare, but when it comes to primal events, the head doesn't make the decisions. That the human race (and other species) have survived with this primal mechanism intact strongly suggests that that's the way it should be.

maximum01

I remember one time I was waiting outside for a lift close to my friends house. My mate was late picking me up but before he arrived a police car pulled up and I had to get into the back of the car.

Conversation with police man in car went something like this:

Me: "What's the problem? Why have you pulled me up?"
Police: "sorry mate, but an old lady in the flat above called us to report you were acting suspicously, so we had to act"
Me: "But I was waiting for a lift...."
Police: "Yep I can see that now, but we have to act in these situations"
Me: "So does this lady often call the poilice when innocent people are waiting on the street?"
Police: "Oh yes, and between you and me she's a right pain in the arse" *smiles*
Me: *smile* "Ok, I understand"

Moral of this story.....have some resepct and trust for other people in your community. People that cry wolf over nothing not only alienate other people but they also waste the time and money of local police forces.

I-Like-To-Bike

But maybe one day, just maybe, the old lady might report a molester in action; so she's just being a proactive good samaritan; at least that's what I gather some of the Call-the-Police, Just-in-Case Crowd would endorse. No foul, no harm eh?

tajsss

Just so everyone knows. This is the first time I have ever called the cops on anyone. I have called two previous times when I was either involved in or witness to an accident and was the first on the scene. This has been a one time thing and hopefully remains that way. So no, I am not that person who cries wolf every other week. Maybe that will make some of you feel better.

I never expected such a response out of my thread I started. It's been fun.

Squid

Ummm....
melotonin - a hormone derived from serotonin and secreted by the pineal gland that produces changes in the skin color of vertebrates, reptiles, and amphibians and is important in regulating biorhythms
melanin - a dark brown or black pigment that is naturally present to varying degrees in the skin, hair, eyes, fur, or feathers of people and animals as well as in plants

Wulfheir

my brother used to do this. he'd drive to a parking lot near work about 30 mins early. then smoke and listen to the news before driving the last block to work. i guess it served as a buffer between his driving stress and work stress. people probably thought he was a stalker too.

I-Like-To-Bike

Just like calling the cops on a stranger who is minding his own business. You never know what might happen and a barrel of laughs (or self righteousness, self praise) for the anonymous "Good Samaritan" squealer.

Paul L.

I guess it all boils down to everyone has had different experiences with the police and so everyone will react differently to situations that aren't instantly recognizable as black and white.

If you don't report and document brutality then it will just continue to happen. I understand it is hard to do this as usually the person who has been harrassed has no faith in the system anyway, but if noone speaks up or calls the police on it then they will just be reinforced in what they are doing.
We as cyclists on this board are encouraged constantly to make complaints even if the police can't do anything at the moment in the expectation that said driver will likely do it to someone else and then the case against them will be stronger. I think it works the same for police officers too. If people with authority are not called on the carpet when they abuse it then they are merely reinforced in their behavior. If you are not willing to report it and admit it happened "officially" and do something to stop it then you are supporting it even if it is unintentional. This thread has been fun but I think at this point we are all arguing in circles and will never convince one or the other.
My opinion is if a person abuses authority entrusted them by the community whether it be to people on the fringes of society or not (unless you really are breaking a law) they should have that authority removed, make them clean the police station toilets or something like that where they aren't going to hurt anybody.
As to the person mentioning being told to get in the police car by an officer I believe that was wrong on the officers part if everything is as stated by the poster. The officer should have asked the person what they were doing and left it at that unless there was a loitering ordinance on that neighborhood and it was properly signed.