As former LE myself, an armed Ranger like you encountered is a fully licensed and regulated peace officer and their jobs aren't just issuing tickets, they investigate and solve crimes, up to and including murder. Same with game Wardens in most states. Though i know you knew that, i thought i'd just speak up.
Support the blue, but don't put them on a pedestal, just doing a job we choose to do.
I’ve got to throw my two cents in here even though I’ll probably regret it. Let me begin by saying that I have great respect for all our first responders and LEOs. Having worked closely with every level of LE for over 30 years, I’ve personally witnessed the entire spectrum of police interactions with “civilians”.
My point is that there is a huge difference between barking “Hey, you!” at someone while scowling and preparing to unholster one’s sidearm and neutral “Excuse me” or “Hey, buddy” said in a passive voice. Any LEO should have situational awareness and when interacting with a rusty old curmudgeon like myself who is swinging a metal detector, there is no need to immediately go on the offense. I’ve been in many situations, including domestic violence calls where everyone involved was under control until another responder (usually some youngster) came in late and ratcheted things up by needlessly being a jerk.
By the same token, there have been many times where the LEOs had darn well been ready to use deadly force. I guess judging the situation comes with experience.
Just a quick thought about game wardens in particular... they are usually alone, far from any backup and are dealing with hunters who are armed. They are vastly unappreciated. Many sportsmen see them only as a nuisance. Other police agencies look down on them and the court system doesn’t take them seriously (I’m speaking in generalities here). My experience with park rangers is that many are college aged kids doing a summer job and suffer from what we used to call “big hat syndrome”.
Having said all this, asking a LEO whether they are going to shoot you is absolutely inappropriate. The citizen can ratchet up any situation just as easily as an overzealous LEO. Maybe an initial apologetic attitude would have avoided a court appearance, who knows? Rarely, if ever, will arguing with any officer make the situation better for you.
For instance, on the prosecutor’s copy of motor vehicle citations, officers would sometimes write: “operator’s attitude - “ if it said anything like “rude” “threatening” or “argumentative” the defendant could expect to receive like treatment from the prosecutor. And if it ever reported a quote of the accused to the officer of “I’ll see you in court!”, holy cow, that was a mistake. If the attitude was apologetic and respectful, that went in the favor of the accused.
As so many TN members have repeatedly said over the years... Don’t go where you don’t have permission. If you’re on public land, it’s your obligation to learn the rules.
HH
dts
