middle finger a crime

[jorbiddon]

hey all. im a 20 year old male. a mixture of black and puerto rican. i was coming from college and i got off the bus. when i started walking across the street a jeep came flying up to me. then hit its brakes. i have the light. i though he was going to hit me. so after i cross that street i have to cross again to the other side. now he has the light and so do it. but he is making a right turn while im walking across the street. he doesnt wait for me to move out of the way no. he gets as close as possible to me without hitting me. so i gave him the finger and crossed the street. then he makes a u-turn and stops by me and pulls out his badge and tells me put my hands on the gate. and his partner gets out. they find nothing on me and he goes back to his car. his partner said sorry. i just want to know if they can do that. they were not in uniform and they were driving a brown jeep. any input is great. thanks
jay

[Mitzi]

Well, I believe in Florida, and off duty cop is still a cop, 24 hours a days. I would have looked at the badge a little closer tho, to see if they were really cops.

[retired]

Jorbiddon,
What is the significance of telling us on the board you are a mixture Black and Puerto Rican?? What does that have to do with the incident?

Retired

[jorbiddon]

racism is still out there. and that could have had something to do about it. i just dont know why they searched me in front of everyone. it really gets to you. they dont know how it feels to have something like that happen. yea i try to look at it from their point of veiw but can they try from my veiw also. well i dont know if they were real cops or not. i do know that i could see the holster in the guys jacket. cop or not i just listenned to what they said.

[retired]

Jorbiddon,

I wonder what made me think you were going to inject racism into this incident?? How foolish of me not to recognize these cops had to be racists, since they had no other reason to question you.

Retired

[Niteshift]

"Well, I believe in Florida, and off duty cop is still a cop, 24 hours a days"

Mitzi, I don't quite follow this...his profile says he's from NY.

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Niteshift-
Perseverate In Pugna

[Mitzi]

I was just saying how I think it is in Florida but I'm not sure other states and cities have the same policy.

[mac90]

I had HEARD several years ago that someone got a ticket for the 'finger' and it was dismissed by the courts. Can't site a case, but if it were me I'd just be more careful crossing the street.

[StormTrooper]

Ok, this is a first --- I agree with all of you, I think.


I agree that Jorbiddon did best when he said -- "cop or not i just listenned to what they said". This at least didnt make matters worse but....... I agree with Mitzi who said: "I would have looked at the badge a little closer tho, to see if they were really cops."

I agree with Retired who asked: What is the significance of telling us on the board you are a mixture Black and Puerto Rican??
Reason being, that point never crossed my mind as I was reading Jorbiddon's story. What crossed my mind was that this one "cop" was obviously a hothead and should've stayed in his jeep and not made what very well could have been an illegal U-turn just to prove a point to someone that he ****ed off with his own driving.

And I think that Mac90 may be right that the "finger" isn't considered disorderly conduct so far as prosecuting for just that act... but I could be wrong.

In the 80s I was off duty with another officer and something similar happened. I was driving and he said stop, stop... He gave the women (yes) the "what for" and I was the embarassed other one. He was my friend, but he was a hothead and I think he was wrong. I shoulda drove on.

[PelicanDriver]

The "Finger" is recognized as the universal sign requesting a "complete and thorough mechanical inspection of my vehicle"

Yes, I know an officer that used that in court...and won!

[Buddingnovelist]

The answer is, if there is an ordinance or state law making vulgar, offensive language or gestures a misdemeanor, the police can arrest. In making the arrest, it is acceptable and advisable to pat down for weapons. The officers have the option to cite, release with a warning, or maybe even lodge. It's been done on my watch.

Another possibility is that you may have resembled wanted person. I've had that happen to me!

As to why this happened, we police are reticent to second guess what other officers do. Especially when only one side of the story is given. I'm afraid you won't get much out of any of them. They will all tell you, "I don't know. I wasn't there."

I wish you well.

[cajuncop]

Jorbiddon, let me tell you an incident that happened to me two years ago and perhaps that may give you a different outlook on things.

You see, I'm a white male, who also happens to be a cop. Two years ago, I was driving through a neighboring town at about 2 in the morning. I wasn't breaking the law, or driving reckless.

I was stopped by a black officer, taken out of the car at gun point and searched to see if I had any weapons. I cooperated with the police as you say you did. After the officer finished I asked what was happening. They told me that my vehicle matched the description of a another vehicle that just left an apartment complex where a burglary had just occured.

After the victim came to the scene and said that I was not the suspect, I was allowed to leave without incident.

So now the point of my story is this... Race doesn't have to play a part in everything like you may think. Believe it or not, some cops are out there just doing what they get paid to do, be hard on crime and do a job.

I'm not saying that what those so called cops did to you was right, all I'm saying is that you don't have to think race is a factor in everything police officers do.

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Without the support of our fellow officers, sometimes we have no support at all.

[jorbiddon]

thanks for all the replies guys. i know they could have searched me for a number of reasons. i just wanted to know if the middle finger was a crime. if it is then ill take the punishment. its just that when i told the partner i went to fordham university thats when they stopped searching me and didnt even search my bag. when the first officer was searching me he put his hand on my coat jacket and said "your going down for this knife". when he openned my pocket it was only my walkman. how does a walkman feel like a knife. thats when i got kinda scared. but his partner did say sorry and to not worry about it and that made things better. thanks guys
jay

[Valor55]

My Sgt was just in court and heard this one. Some guy put his arm straight out the window and gave a cop behind him the middle finger. After going several blocks the cop stopped him and gave him a ticket for not turning after giving a valid turn signal. That left arm straight out the window is a valid left turn signal and the judge upheld the ticket. That's justice.

[This message has been edited by valor55 (edited 05-12-2001).]

[StormTrooper]

Originally posted by valor55:
That's justice.

That's also CS --- but that's just my little ole humble opinion.