Scuba, the cop wasn't necessarily out-of-line (there was a law, it turns out, against, gasp "holes" and/or gasp, metal tools). Nor was the minister necessarily out of line (I agree that asking "what law am I breaking?" is not "out of line").
Hence it's possible that NEITHER SIDE was out of line or combative. A ticket can be given pleasantly with a smile on both sides. I've gotten speeding tickets EVEN THOUGH I WAS QUITE NICE when receiving it. So the mere fact of a "ticket" does not mean the recipient was "combative".
I can envision that this "repeated requests" (to fill in the hole) was no different than the recipients "repeated requests" to have his question of "what law am I breaking" un-answered.
Could the minister have been combative ? CERTAINLY . Could the cop have seemed arbitrary and capricious (for a sand castle for pete's sake?) CERTAINLY. Could neither of them been combative ? CERTAINLY.
Absolutely agree Tom. My point is just about armchair lawyers. People that form opinions and call names because of what they read or hear and have no idea of the facts. There was a law, it was broken by the LETTER OF IT. NOT by what it was written for. Happens all the time. Priest refused to comply, ticket given.
Cops have
DISCRETION. They see a speeder and pull them over. Guy is rushing his sick child to hospital. Cop can help, cop can be prick and slowly give ticket and chastise him or cop can give police escort. Plenty of different avenues of ways to enforce the LAW.
Just because there is a BROAD law that says something is illegal, doesn't mean a cop has to enforce it in the context the situation is in. We learn that over and over. Was the cop out of line in this situation? Sounds like it, BUT I wasn't there. So I will not judge cop or priest.
Anyway. I was reading this thread and came across this post:
Tom, where does it say he didn't?
Only an idiot asks a Cop to cite the law instead of doing as their told. You take it up with the JUDGE, who actually has the POWER to let you slide, or take your money. RESPECT the police, and they USUALLY cut you slack! I would LOVE to see the police reports on this!
And it struck a nerve. Just because a person asks a cop to prove there is a law, does not mean he is an idiot. There are lots of ways to talk to a police officer. Polite and willing to learn all the way to I am above your laws, you can't touch me. Have I done what cops have told me? No. BUT I have been polite and tried to educate some who have absolutely NO IDEA what they are talking about. Some are very friendly and want to learn. Others are bullies with badges. HOWEVER, nobody is an idiot for asking questions or sticking up for themselves in the right way.
Terry wants everyone to
RESPECT the police. Sure, if they respect me. If they don't earn my respect they won't get it back. Badge and gun make absolutely NO difference to me. If they do to you, that is fine. I will not judge what others do in the situations they are in. People want to turn tail and run when confronted, go for it.
And Terry would
LOVE to see the police report? Why?? It will be a one sided make the cop look good report PERIOD. I know of absolutely no police officer that would write up a report that would make them look like they had no discretion or do anything even remotely against policy.
The news STINKS. They do their best to make someone look like a fool. Do you remember when I took a WW1 bomb to the police department here.
All-clear from bomb squad after WWI bomb was found by diver & taken to Port Huron police department - WXYZ.com
I told the news the truth. They knew I found one and had already had it examined. So did the cops. They knew I was just wanting paperwork to squash any fears and the state police bomb squad didn't give it to me the first time. They didn't believe me. So the cops had the fire department close off the streets. Cops and fire trucks and helicopters all over the place.
Does the news tell the truth?? NO. they tried to make me look like an IDIOT for driving WW1 bombs around the city. It worked. My older brother decided I was an idiot. Probably a lot of people did. However, I am not stupid or that careless. BUT they refused to publish my side of the story because if they did, it wouldn't have been news.
Anyway. Like any law. DISCRETION is needed by officers to decide if a person warrants a ticket or not. But nobody is an idiot for politely arguing their case.
