Cops send me away

[jimzz977]

Well got up early this morning and when to my favorite place which is the field they had the warp tour. Got there around 0630 hrs and no one was around , after about hour I noticed people arriving and saw them fly remote control planes I stayed away from them , I continued to hunt and noticed some the guys pointing in my direction and got a strong 95 on my detector and as I was digging it up two cops approached me and told me that metal detecting was not allowed and I had to leave, I advised them I had call in to police dept and they stated that detecting was allowed . Cops stated they checkd they were told no detecting on campus. So cover the plug I was digging with the strong 95 reading and left. But still had some good finds.

 

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[vpnavy]

Bummer jimzz. I do commend you for simply moving on and not making a fuss with the police officer's. No one wins in those type of confrontations.

 

[pong12211]

Always good to have that piece of paper saying your allowed to be there.. Kudos on keeping your cool.. Next time get written permission so the can't bother you.. Good luck.

 

[dirtscratcher]

When people start arriving I leave just to avoid situations like this.

 

[happycamper08]

Yeah that's right turn tail and booggie, only way to go.

 

[firemac]

funny thing is at some parks around here the remote control planes are not allowed,

 

[jtomlinson]

That sucks !!!! But the finds you got look great

 

[bzbadger]

Id go into the local police department, find a supervisor and ask if its ok and say I called and was told its ok. If supervisor says its ok I would go back and if approached again say well supervisor Ben Dover said I can detect here and maybe you should take that up with your boss. Cops are like everyone else, they dont know everything but cops act like they do more. How do I know,came from cop family, was officer myself but just wasnt an asshat about it. I report cops for their actions and they make sure to act appropriately around ppl who wont take their know it all nonsense. Just be better prepared than they are is all.

Also just for fun if it was the RC plane pilots that narced on you, go back out there with a few toys of your own like an RC remote or two way radio etc and turn them on to see if it interupts their signals. those planes are expensive I wonder how much butt pucker you can inflict upon the wannabe pilots.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Interesting story. Thanx for posting. Ok, here you "had permission". But your "permission" was promptly revoked, the very minute anyone else doesn't like it. Hmmmm, "good thing you had permission", eh ?

Pong1211 advises that the solution would have been to have gotten the permission "in writing". But if you ask a desk-bound bureaucrat "please put that in writing", that seems like the FASTEST way to get a "yes" turned to a "no" I mean, put yourself in their shoes" someone comes in asking "can I do such & such odd activity". They might say "sure, knock yourself silly". But when you say "put that in writing", what are they going to mentally subconsciously do? Start wondering what is legally dangerous, risky, evil, etc.. And guess what the "safe" answer is going to be ?

 

[Mekong Mike]

You were caught by a Drone ? This may be the first documented case of a person caught MDing by drone.

You should send your story to Alex Jones.

 

[Nickleanddime]

You should just to be a d report the Rc flyers to the FAA. Lol they run the bans on the Rc planes. Here in my town they can only fly in one area, and homeland security is currently working to get it shut down. It's because they fly near a water treatment plant.
But MDing knock yourself out, no one says a word to you even if your doing the tree lawns. But the college is a major no no here. It's because the spend thousands everyday to upkeep the property.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

jimzz977, more things I noticed implicit in your story:

a) From 6:30am to 7:30am (the first hour), you had no problems. Right? You detected to your heart's content, and no one cared, right? It was only after some of those radio control airplane people arrived, that any "problems" started. I know you said you kept your distance from them (that was logical), but the point still remains: Sometimes our best times to hunt spots, is low-to-no traffic. Like that first hour you were hunting.

b) you say "some guys were pointing in your direction" (to the cops?) is when the problem started. Sounds to me like it was the radio control people who called the cops. Then put yourself in the cop's shoes: They get a call from someone, and have to show up. Now they have to "please mr. or mrs. griper" . They have to make their trip all the way there have some merit. So they boot you. In other words, if that SAME cop had been just happen-chance driving by that park, perhaps he personally wouldn't have cared less! It's only upon getting a call, and have to come out, and mentally go through some silly exercise of whether or not "something is allowed" or not. Again, this sounds like point (a) above, that the best times are out-of-site-is-out-of-mind. I do not equate the booting by a cop, if I know the reason he is there is because some dog-walker or kite-flyer called, to automatically mean: "therefore, detecting is not allowed". Because a lot of times (unless the cop cites some actual real & specific "no detecting" rule), they are simply appeasing a griper. So you let that park "take a break", and merely go back a few weeks later. Oh sure, be sure to avoid that one dog-walker or kite-flyer from then on.

Because there's no escaping the connotations that our hobby has. That you "might hurt the grass" (even though YOU know you won't, yet anyone can level the accusation if they're in a bad mood).

So I've gotten to where I work parks, when I can, at the most vacant-of-times. Even at night for pete's sake. Not necessarily because "it's not allowed" or that there's any rules, but simply ........ well ........ you gotta treat this hobby like nose-picking: not illegal .... but .... we all sort of use a little discretion in our timing.

 

[LM]

You say "campus".
College campus?

They may be public institutions, but the grounds are not public. Its probably not something that's been codified as a specific rule however campus police most definitely have the authority to ask anyone to leave who isn't specifically permitted to be there, metal detector or not. Quarreling over some perceived 'right' to metal detect a college campus is an incredibly stupid choice of battles.

Now, if you're in a public park or other wholly public place, there usually will be a rule or regulation dictating it.
If there is no such rule, that means its legal (because thats how laws work. They are restrictive, not permissive so we don't pass laws giving people 'permission' to do stuff)

At that point, if you're metal detecting an area where you're allowed and a cop decides to run you off on the basis of an imaginary law, you have some decisions to make. This scenario happened a few times in Florida where for a while, cops in certain South Florida departments believed that a firearm had to be 'three steps' away in order to be legal in a vehicle. A couple were actually arrested people for violating the 'three steps' rule. Sadly, no such rule existed and those people won civil settlements.

You can let the cop arrest you on whatever trump-up charge he imagines (probably trespassing, perhaps disturbing the peace, resisting without violence, they have an array of pathetic 'whatever' offenses to charge people with) then sue them and win. Or, you can take the peaceful and easy route, go to the police department and educate his superiors on the matter; that there is no law and he had no cause to run you off... and if it happens again, well, you'll have no choice but to take the matter to the courts, where they will lose.

Beware of the advice you receive here on Treasurenet.
It ranges from the comically incorrect to the dangerous, to the appallingly unethical.
If there is a law, you must abide by it.
If there is no law and you're on public property, you may commence.
If someone 'imagines' a rule to run you off, you decide how to handle it.

 

[Ronzie]

At least they didn't shoot you.

 

[cudamark]

You can let the cop arrest you on whatever trump-up charge he imagines (probably trespassing, perhaps disturbing the peace, resisting without violence, they have an array of pathetic 'whatever' offenses to charge people with) then sue them and win. Or, you can take the peaceful and easy route, go to the police department and educate his superiors on the matter; that there is no law and he had no cause to run you off... and if it happens again, well, you'll have no choice but to take the matter to the courts, where they will lose.

Not necessarily. You're trying to buck the system and the courts are part of it. Also, this may be a case where you can win the battle and lose the war as they can change the ordinance by fiat and make it illegal to metal detect where it wasn't illegal before. It's best to let things settle and detect in a more discrete manor.

 

[Normsel]

I was chased away by a park Supt because the jerk before me never filled his holes. The guy apologised and I was doing it the right way but the local city council banned all detecting in parks because of one jerk.

Another place i went I was told there was no detecting and the park ranger said go ahead I would make a lesser mess than the people digging worms in the grass. He told me at one time it had been thought there was buried treasure in the park and it was banned then but since they have documented proof the treasure everyone sought had been found in unclaimed safety deposit boxes.

 

[lookindown]

I was chased away by a park Supt because the jerk before me never filled his holes. The guy apologised and I was doing it the right way but the local city council banned all detecting in parks because of one jerk.

Another place i went I was told there was no detecting and the park ranger said go ahead I would make a lesser mess than the people digging worms in the grass. He told me at one time it had been thought there was buried treasure in the park and it was banned then but since they have documented proof the treasure everyone sought had been found in unclaimed safety deposit boxes.

Yeah, one guy leaving holes and they say NO detecting. When they catch a guy with too many fish, they don't say NO fishing, they punish that one guy. The hobby of detecting is not treated fairly. We are a small group, so they just say NO and get away with it.

 

[lookindown]

Well got up early this morning and when to my favorite place which is the field they had the warp tour. Got there around 0630 hrs and no one was around , after about hour I noticed people arriving and saw them fly remote control planes I stayed away from them , I continued to hunt and noticed some the guys pointing in my direction and got a strong 95 on my detector and as I was digging it up two cops approached me and told me that metal detecting was not allowed and I had to leave, I advised them I had call in to police dept and they stated that detecting was allowed . Cops stated they checkd they were told no detecting on campus. So cover the plug I was digging with the strong 95 reading and left. But still had some good finds.

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Since you cant detect there now no matter what, I would look into it because you have nothing to lose. Find out why they are allowed to fly their DANGEROUS planes and you cant detect. Good luck.

 

[bzbadger]

Somehow, someway and now we az a group need to come together, seek representation and stop this metal detecting bashing that's going on. We are citizens too, we pay taxes, we abide by the laws but yet we as a group are being pushed around and pushed out of areas we are paying for, where we live and we do not damage the areas any worse than the jackasses out here who litter, who throw their filthy used condoms on the ground for kids to pick up, who throw used needles down, break bottles and leave glass to cut children or the *****y ppl walking their mutts that drop turds everywhere. Why are we allowing ourselves to be singled out, picked on and oppressed? I for one don't, I stand up and make them back down and have told cops who have nothing better to do to go find better to do, I know the law because I made sure to educate myself so overzealous cops won't have a leg to stand on when they come charging up.
people we need to find a way to fight back against those who think they're better than us and wish us gone just so they can go around doing what they want...wow I just described a certain person and his political party. We should stand up and together.

Get your facts first, then distort them as you please-Mark Twain

 

[mreese1849]

You just need to move to the south. The cops don't really care around here lol I had a sheriff pull up as I was leaving a city park and said he was just making sure I wasn't using a pick axe haha. Then asked some of the police who to talk to about hunting on city property and they sent me to the city manager and he said knock yourself out and if anyone says anything just say I said its ok.