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What do you do if a cop approaches you and starts questioning you while you're sitting in your car in a public parking lot? (lemmy.world)

submitted 10 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Unfortunately, I drive a ghetto minivan which causes the police to profile me and has caused people in small towns to call the police on me if I am in a public park or in their neighborhood. I even had someone call the police on me at campground that I had pre-paid for and the police were not sympathetic at all to my right to just exist.

I am aware of stop and identify laws and know that a cop needs reasonable suspicion to demand to see your ID. However, can't the cop just make up some lies about reasonable suspicion?

If a cop approaches me can I immediately start with: "Officer, do you have reasonable suspicion that a crime has occurred, is in the process of occurring, or is about to occur?" It seems like that will immediately escalate things even if technically the law is on my side.

I just want a damn right to exist law and to not be a target for an overactive imagination by the police which treats me like a criminal until they can check me for warrants.

Honestly, I want to tell them to fuck off right away but I also don't have money for a lawyer.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 10 months ago

You can fall down a rabbit hole on YouTube of similar videos. Rarely do the cops just respect the law and back down. For many of them it's about ego and power and they seem to believe whatever information they receive first, as in a caller said you were suspicious so they're going to treat you like a criminal regardless of the facts or what you tell them.