Advice on Dealing with Police

[jrmazzeo]

I was recently hunting a public park when I was approached by a policeman who said that a neighbor had complained. I showed him that I was digging my plugs and filling them back up carefully. He agreed and told me it was OK to keep on hunting. An hour later he showed up and said he had checked the towns bylaws and metal detecting was forbidden in public parks. I left without arguing. Checking the town bylaws revealed no such law exists, which I confirmed with the parks commissioner. My question is, next time I hunt a park in the town, how should I deal with the police if they ask me to leave again?

 

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[traverdog]

Tell them what you found out that it is perfectly legal. Don't argue however.

 

[RustyGold]

Show the proof on paper and give him the Commissioner's phone number. Police do not handle argument well even if right is on your side. You did the best thing!

 

[ezman604]

Can only advise on what I did to cover myself. I contacted the mayor for permission. He spoke with the city attorney and gave me permission to MD all city property. Anything worth $2000 or more had to be reported and we would split the proceeds. Anything less than $2000 was mine to keep. I carry this letter with me and is in my detector bag as proof.
And as a side note, I also contacted the chief of police and not only informed him of my city property permission so he could advise his patrol, but I also volunteered my services in case it was ever needed in retrieving evidence. He was VERY appreciative and informed me that I could contact him directly if there was ever an issue with me being harassed while detecting on city property.
I carry that letter also.

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

For sure don't argue..but maybe check the laws yourself and be on the defense if approached again. Me personally, I just play stupid ..lol but again anytime a cop has come up to me, they always just tell me to be careful because I'm in a high crime area. I've even been at abandoned houses and they just tell me to watch out..I guess I'm lucky the bums are higher priority then me diggin holes

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Do what traverdog says, but take it a step further: Give it a month or so "break" at that particular park. And then Detect there when he (and miss-lookie-lou who originally griped) are not present. If that means detecting at night, so be it.

As far as ezman604's advice: That could backfire. You could net yourself a "no", where no law/rule really exists, that says such a thing. And at places where it was never an issue (before you asked).

 

[bzbadger]

Now that you have that very important bit of information, make a copy of it, have it validated by a government official and carry it with you just in case there is a next time. Better to be armed with knowledge because it seems to me that officer received another complaint from that anal retentive busy body and he saw the easiest way to end it was to lie to your face saying he checked the laws and made you, a tax payer who has rights, leave. I say screw that noise and politely stand up for yourself but be armed with knowledge so you can shut down liars and anal complainers

 

[SkinNFluff]

Next time politely ask for the code number of the law. Also have them write the code down on one of their cards so you have a record of what officer gave you this information. Anytime here in Indiana If asked to leave a business or residence by the owner, manager, ect. you need to leave right then no questions asked. If you refuse the you will be arrested for trespassing. Now I do not know if the same would be true for parks or for your state so you would also need to look into that. Did you ask the officer what the complaint was about?

 

[Trapper John]

Rule #1. NEVER show disrespect to anyone whose job description allows them to carry a weapon and use lethal force in their line of work.
Rule #2. See rule #1.

Before wasting time, gas money, and your own breath, why not call the office of whatever park or jurisdiction you are interested in hunting. Get the full name and phone number of the person you speak to. Explain exactly what you intend to do and why. Do not give them a hard time if you don't hear what you want to hear; they are just doing what they have to in order to keep their jobs in a rickety economy. After you speak with them by all means escalate to the next higher source if you are not satisfied. Keep your cool because I never heard of anyone changing their mind after being cussed out.

I haven't done this yet but for the cost of 100 business cards it may well be worth it to hand a personalized card to anyone questioning your activities. I doubt that many terrorists, serial killers, or pervs go to that trouble. And always remember the first two rules.

 

[ezman604]

Now that you have that very important bit of information, make a copy of it, have it validated by a government official and carry it with you just in case there is a next time. Better to be armed with knowledge because it seems to me that officer received another complaint from that anal retentive busy body and he saw the easiest way to end it was to lie to your face saying he checked the laws and made you, a tax payer who has rights, leave. I say screw that noise and politely stand up for yourself but be armed with knowledge so you can shut down liars and anal complainers

My evidence is printed email with both the mayor's and the chief's names, email addresses and dates. That's all I need for proof.

 

[patiodadio]

I was recently hunting a public park when I was approached by a policeman who said that a neighbor had complained. I showed him that I was digging my plugs and filling them back up carefully. He agreed and told me it was OK to keep on hunting. An hour later he showed up and said he had checked the towns bylaws and metal detecting was forbidden in public parks. I left without arguing. Checking the town bylaws revealed no such law exists, which I confirmed with the parks commissioner. My question is, next time I hunt a park in the town, how should I deal with the police if they ask me to leave again?

Same thing happened to me a few years ago. I left without any argument .....

 

[Tom_in_CA]

An example of what I'm talking about:

There's a city park in my state, that I like to hit whenever travelling through that part of the state. Gives up barbers, etc.... And it's been hunted since the late 1970s, at least. One day however, my friend and I got the boot from a lady cop. We were getting ready to leave anyhow, so we just gave lip-service and moved on.

A few months later, I began conversing with another md'r in that city, who had PM'd me via a forum, when he'd seen that I was only ~2 hrs. from him. As we discussed all the various place to detect in our part of the state, I recalled the booting from his city's park. So I related the incident to him, and asked him if he knew anything about this, or had ever had a problem there. He was shocked. Because he'd detected there frequently, as had his mentor's before him.

So he looked up at city hall, where his wife had "connections" (an uncle is a council-man or something). And sure enough, nothing that specifically said "no detecting". So this new friend was going to march down to city hall, and "seek clarification". But I convinced him that that wouldn't be a good idea. Because it might just end up getting passed desk to desk, and before long, someone might in fact MAKE IT OFFICIAL.

So instead, he decided that a) he wasn't going to let the news of my booting stop him , and b) that he would be prepared to cite chapter and verse if anyone came and tried to boot him.

Thus over the next few months, whenever he went detecting there, you can bet he was keeping one leary eye behind him, wondering if the same fate would befall him. But despite how many times he detected there, no one ever said so much as "boo" to him. So eventually, he just forgot the issue, as did I.

And a year or so later, when I found myself travelling through that part of the state, I stopped to detect there. Naturally, with a leary eye to my sides and rear. But nothing ever happened. No one ever griped again. That was ~15 yrs. ago, and I've been back dozens of times w/o issue.

Probably what happened is that someone called it in. Like perhaps a mom & kid in the park who thought we might be about to leave holes? Or whatever. So the cop, upon being called, even though they PERSONALLY would not have noticed or cared, yet are now tasked with having to justify their being called out. Ie.: to "satisfy miss lookie-lou". Thus to me, such incidents do not constitute a new "rule" or "law" (that needs to be "fought", etc...). Sometimes you just have to treat such incidents as flukes. Especially in your case, since you know have chapter and verse, and names to drop, etc...

Naturally you'll want to give it a little break, so that his short-term memory of it, is not like an "in-your-face" type defiance.

 

[jrmazzeo]

Thanks to everyone for responding so quickly. I am going to give the site a rest until spring (ground will be frozen soon) and will also ask for a permission letter from someone in the parks office or higher.

FYI, in about 2 hours at this site I pulled out 1 Barber and 2 Mercury dimes and 2 Indian Heads. It was just after heavy rains and all the finds were deep. You can imagine how frustrated I was to be kicked out

 

[bzbadger]

I don't know how you can hold off till spring. If I was pulling finds out like that I would pick the good days and be out there bit armed with the knowledge of how there is no law barring you from land that's within your right to be there. So sad that we as a group are doing nothing wrong but digging up history, causing no problems, having fun at nobody's expense,pay taxes for land we are on and sometimes help recover lost items for people yet jackasses all over the country stage "die ins" and riot etc causing huge issues of all kinds and somehow we are the ones who have a cop telling us we cant be some place.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

.... will also ask for a permission letter from someone in the parks office or higher...

Wait, ... in your opening statement, you said you'd already confirmed this lack-of-specific prohibition, "with the park commissioner". Right ? So then what's to get a "permission letter" for ? Sounds like "permission" to me already ! And even though it's possible to get someone to acknowledge as such (ie.: say "yes"), just be prepared that sometimes people change their tune, when asked to put something in writing. Because the only thing THAT does, is conjur up some sort of risk, or liability, or legalities, etc..., to put a paper in front of someone to sign.

So if it were me, armed with the info you have, I'd just give it the agreed upon "rest" (so the current encounter is forgotten), and ...... just go back. And if you know which direction that "neighbor" was (who called in @ that initial complaint), then just keep a wider berth of their particular vantage/view point. Heck, there's even some parks like that, that if it means detecting after dusk, then so be it So peaceful. So serene.

 

[pat-tekker-cat]

I so feel for you guys that have these, "getting kicked out of places", type problems!

And then the catch 22, let it rests, get permission, arousing unwanted attention, being related to the Police Chief(can usually help, LOL).
It's like a crap-shoot..... You never know (unless you KNOW the person), what type of reception you may get, whether you look like the guy he caught his wife with the night before, or if the person is decent, nice, accommodating, or even has authority or power to........ And then too, the world is also full of narcissistic jerks.......

It hasn't happened to me yet. I feel real lucky, being a girl, ppl tend to just ignore, let it slide, find novelty, idk.....
And too, depending on my mood, I may come back at someone sweet roses and fluff, or like a pit-bull chihuahua, and chew an ankle off!

(One undercover officer got my wrath at the boat ramp, when he sidled up to me, trying to see if we had over limit or under size lobster, after test running the boat, after a 4 day "sit in the repair yard on the first 4 days of lobster season". HEY! He was under-cover! I told him get the f away from me, fussing about $1800 boat repair, no lobster, broke boat, cussing!, I didn't know who he was! LOL!)
If he'd a been in uniform, I would have been more respectful. I don't need clowns messing with me, when I'm working! LOL! He left me alone and went over and told the husband, who he was, and wished him A LOT of luck!

 

[cudamark]

Thanks to everyone for responding so quickly. I am going to give the site a rest until spring (ground will be frozen soon) and will also ask for a permission letter from someone in the parks office or higher.
So what are you going to do when they tell you NO? I mean, what benefit are they getting by saying YES? Saying no is easier and safer than saying yes. Better to leave it alone than have it etched in stone.

 

[bzbadger]

Cozy up to AL Sharpton, he will help you with the cops..look at the great job he's doing now. Would be so funny to have a cop come harass you about detecting and then you say ok I've had enough, pull out your cell and say I'm calling mu good friend Al Sharpton and lets see what he says about you wanting me to leave.

 

[Jeremy S]

Remember, the squeaky wheel gets greased. If there are no written rules I would not say a word to anyone and return to the park during a low traffic time. I agree with Tom on this, start barking up the chain of command at the city and somebody is going to shut you up.

Here is my story: I used to detect at the local fairgrounds in my city. The grounds have been around for over a hundred years. Never had a problem detecting there, the property maintenance guy was a bit crabby but he left me alone and had no problem with me detecting. He previously had issues where some clown killed a bunch of grass and was a sloppy digger, which required a visit from the police to make the big-mouthed moron with the detector leave. He saw my clean digging style and respect for the property so all was cool.

A lady and her husband who my parents know decided they were going to search for treasure in the ol' fairgrounds. They must have been doing something wrong because the crabby maintenance guy asked them to leave. So they called the fairgrounds board office and griped their way all of the way up to the president of the board. Needless to say it is now a posted rule that detecting has been prohibited on that property.

So those two people making a bunch of noise for being "unjustly" booted from the property got a new rule made so that nobody can go hunt there.

 

[ivan salis]

get letter from the parks man stating that there is no "problem" or law barring you from metal detecting in the local parks --then carry it upon your person ... when barney fife shows up show him said "letter" --end of problem...but if he says "go" then "go" and then go talk to the cops boss with said letter in hand and talk about being "harassed". .with out good reason.