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Cops called on on me while hiking with daughter!


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It really sucks that this happened.

 

It's kind of like the film cans getting blown up by the bomb squad: once that couple called the police, they HAD to respond.

The police at that point would have no probable cause to detain/question the father and daughter. As such, I seriously doubt that they would have forced them to go anywhere.

 

I am neither an attorney nor a police officer, but I think you are wrong. They had a phone call from an informant who said that they thought a child was being molested. That is probable cause, and at that point, they have a duty to investigate. I suspect that refusing them entry to your home, and refusing to allow them to speak to your daughter, is NOT going to convince them that everything is ok. In fact, I suspect that if one did that, one would find the police quickly returning with a social worker and a warrant.

Where in the OP does it say that anyone thought that the child was being molested?

 

Sounds like Dad blew getting checked out WAY overboard. Extreme reactions to questions when no such reaction is normal will always get a cop's attention.

The police showed up at his home because he was seen walking in a local park with a young girl. Why do you believe that they were there?
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And the increase of stories just like this is why I walk away from a lot of caches. A large middle-aged man hanging around a park and acting "weird" where there is even 1 kid will draw unwanted attention darn near every time these days. I just don't need the hassle.

 

In a related situation we encountered, I actually had 2 little girls, MAYBE 6 years old, ask what I was doing once. I told them I was looking for something. They asked if they could help and I said no, that they should go on and do something else and I started stepping into the tree line. They asked if they could come too. I told them no in even stronger terms, went back to my truck, and called the cops myself and had the cops take these tykes home and educate the parents a bit.

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I'm amazed at how our society has gotten so paranoid.

Tell me about it.

 

A couple years ago, I was walking along a very popular path on a weekend and came upon a 6ish-year-old girl. She was alone, apparently lost, and crying loudly. Dozens of people walked by. I knelt beside her, calmed her a bit, and tried to figure out the situation.

 

Before too long, her parents came running up, grabbed her, glared at me, and led her away. I guess I should be thankful that they didn't call the police.

The average guy, me included, probably wouldn't think of it at the moment, but using hindsight I think the thing to do might be to call 911 and tell the operator what's going on and that you will try and console the girl until the police show up. It would cover your a** in case someone tried to accuse you of something.

I've reinserted and emphasized the original comment I was agreeing with about how paranoid our society has become.

 

Many people exaggerate the dangers posed by low-risk situations, especially when the media tends to hype those situations (e.g., plane crashes, alar-treated apples, fatal wildlife attacks). They start to see monsters under the bed rather than dust bunnies.

 

If police were called every time a father walked alone with their kid in a park, then we'd have to hire a lot more officers and/or a lot more dispatchers to filter the calls.

 

If fathers covered their a**es by calling the police in advance of their walks, then add even more dispatchers to the payroll.

 

If everyone always flatly refused to speak to police without a lawyer present, then solving crimes would be more difficult and our streets would be less safe.

 

If I was looking for monsters under my bed, then calling the police before approaching the child would be the prudent thing to do.

Edited by CanadianRockies
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It's never going to cross her mind to refuse; everything in her young life has conditioned her to respond when confronted by authority symbols.

That's a question of how she was taught by her parents, isn't it?

 

If it's legal for the questioning to take place, there is, in effect, a law requiring her to answer.
So you're going to ignore Miranda rights and the 5th Amendment?

 

 

Children in school don't have Miranda rights, according to the supreme court.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-miranda-20110329,0,5661437.story

 

Also, Miranda only applies once a person is under arrest. A child, being questioned about potential abuse by her parent, does not have Miranda rights.

 

I ask again -- what eight year old, being questioned at school in the presence of several authority figures, is going to refuse to answer? If you are going to allow the questioning, whether the child can be forced to answer or not is a moot point. The child will answer the questions.

 

Maybe your child would. Where's the law that says students MUST answer?

 

Children are conditioned by every interaction within the public school system to respond when asked a question. Does your child pull out a copy of the constitution and request a lawyer every time a member of the school staff asks them why they are in the hallway? Seriously?

 

Since you're asking a stupid question that has nothing to do with what we are discussing, the answer is yes, seriously.

Edited by EagleRiver_Baileys
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Question:

I am curious about what you mean by "where the hype ends and the reality starts"?

Answer:

and yes I did insert a little hyperbole into it

 

I can't imagine why the OP might have been a bit hyped up.

Don't feel bad. I can't figure it out either.

For most folks, when an officer approaches and asks, "May I speak with you?" the response is reasoned.

For the OP, facing this same scenario, it's mental anguish and trauma.

Go figure... <_<:unsure:

 

Sadly, I think you are dead wrong in your assumptions that most people are happy to interact with police. In a day and age where the job of a police officer has widely turned from protecting the public, to making money off of the public to fund our cities and states, I am rarely happy to be interacting with any police officer over anything. I've never been arrested, never been ticketed for any moving violation (but have received deserved parking tickets), and have always been in good standing in my community. And this is still my opinion. I know I'm not alone.

 

It is not entirely the fault of the officers themselves, but it is what has happened. We are not in the 60's, and this ain't Mayberry.

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If I come to your house and explain my concerns regarding a call I received, then ask if you'll speak with me about these concerns, I don't consider that to be an abuse of power.

That's ok. It is reasonable to follow up on a complaint. But after seeing that 2 were obviously father and daughter, would you then request to speak to the child outside the parents' presence? I think this is where most people think they crossed the line.

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This is sadly typical in today's sick society. Did you know that they don't allow lone children to sit beside men on some airlines? Same thing and its completely sexist without a doubt. If your wife had been there instead of you it absolutely would not have happened. Definitely don't let the police question your daughter alone. I'd have been traumatized too if I were questioned by two armed strangers without my parents. She only needs to say one thing that could have been misconstrued and your daughter could have been taken. It happens more than people want to think. I could probably find 10 examples or more in less than a half hour.

 

And on whether or not men should help lost girls. Sadly the best answer is run away. A 14 year old boy tried to help a girl find her mother and was charged even though the mother withdrew! :blink:Story is here. Call the police if you want, but who knows maybe they'll try and connect you to it or something.

 

Don't give up though, the only way to break these biases/stereotypes is to be out there. Unless we want a world where fathers can't have quality time with their daughters.

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I was reading this and was wondering where this happened. I was thinking somewhere back east or something. I then looked at his profile and said, "Ahhhh, yes!" That area is one of the worst for nosey people. I HATED living down in that area many years ago. Those same nosey people are the same ones who only think of themselves and no one else matters. Of course, where I am now isn't much better.

 

Kinda OT, but just had to get this out there...

 

1 more month until I leave this state!

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I am curious about what you mean by "where the hype ends and the reality starts"? This series of events is completely true, and yes I did insert a little hyperbole into it because it was a situation that happened and I was upset about. I added some of my own feelings (not hype) about the situation and series of events, because I was telling the story from my point of view. I have no ill will towards the police officers. They were great. Even in my original post I did not say the LEO's were bad to me or made me feel like a molester. I think the idea of any police make an 8 year old think something is wrong. The questions they asked me were the same they asked my daughter. It was like you said, no threats of arrest, no chest puffing, just talk. They only asked what we were up to down there that would make the couple think we seemed suspicious. I told them we were hiking the trail and looking for geocaches. They knew what geocaches were and said they understood we may have looked suspicious to some in the park or trail. The only things they asked my daughter was if we were hiking together and what we saw and she told them all about the geocaches we found. I actually have no problems with how the LEO's handled it. It came off like they were just talking to us making sure all was well and did not come off in a bad way at all. I did not intend for this to becoe a post about bashing LEO's or amendment rights. I was upset with the couple who did this all in the first place. I agree with all that said they could have come close to us and said hello or even asked "What are you up to"? I would have said geocaching and asked if they would like to join us. My daughter and I will continue to geocache without a doubt. We will just be more aware that paraniod people are out there that can't handle a father walking with his daughter without becoming suspicious.

That puts everything into a different perspective. It's quite a different mood to what you portrayed in your first post. Still don't know why they needed to ask her about geocaching without a parent around, but it sounds now like they were just making a routine followup.

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Maybe a nice police officer should go caching with you too.

 

Seriously?

I've been caching with a nice police officer. And had a great time. Thanks again, Frank!

 

--Larry

 

I bet that police officer is a friend of yours who went because he wanted to.

 

"Should go caching with you" makes it sound like they have some obligation to send someone out with you.

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Kinda OT, but just had to get this out there...

 

1 more month until I leave this state!

 

Good for you. I can't wait to get out of here either. I'm a decent job away from being long gone. My wife and I refuse to raise a child in this place.

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It wouldn't bother me that someone called the police. It wouldn't bother me that they showed up at my door. However, once they learned that I was the dad, they should have went on their merry way. They would not have questioned my daughter in that situation.

 

Agreed. (And I've been caching for years with my now 14 year old daughter.)

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I cache with my 9 yo daughter all of the time, but normally my boys are around too. I think that the OP looked interesting so the cops followed him home, invited themselves in, checked the house out pretty good while inside, then went on about their merry way. :blink: Never let cops inside your home, they are just looking for doughnuts or a reason to search your home. :mad:

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Sadly, I think you are dead wrong in your assumptions that most people are happy to interact with police.

Maybe. I can only speak from my personal experience as a law enforcement officer, a job I've held since 1982. Your observations may be more relevent than mine. But I gotta say the statistics I invented earlier are pretty darn close, for me. As a cop, I speak with many people, every day. The vast majority are perfectly willing to speak with me. The minuscule percentage who are paranoid, and/or hostile are so few and far between as to make the encounters rather noteworthy. On those rare occasions that I deal with someone who harbors such negative feelings, I try and determine if they just had a bad day, or are they some kind of kook? Whether their attitude stems from someone spilling coffee on them at the local Quickie-Mart, (short term), or if it is how they normally interact with others, (long term), they are certainly the exception, not the rule. I know our media loves to show a huge social gap between officers and the public, so I kinda understand why you might think such a gap exists, but if you ask the guys and gals who are doing the job, interacting with the public every day, you'll see how wrong your assumptions are. Unless, of course, you are so comfortable in your wrong assumptions that you are unwilling to change? :unsure:

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Never let cops inside your home, they are just looking for doughnuts

Actually, the times have changed. Now days we look for bagels. :ph34r:

 

You mean, we have to get yet another avatar approved now? Dang!

:omnomnom:

 

I guess that could just as well be a bagel...

 

Anyway... I suspect that, when wearing your LEO hat, you don't really see the apprehension that most people really feel when confronted by an LEO. We may not show it, but we are very aware of the power you have at your disposal. We say, "Yes, sir" and "No, sir" (or "ma'am") not so much out of respect and admiration (even though we may also feel those things), but out of fear of upsetting you.

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Anyway... I suspect that, when wearing your LEO hat, you don't really see the apprehension that most people really feel when confronted by an LEO. We may not show it, but we are very aware of the power you have at your disposal. We say, "Yes, sir" and "No, sir" (or "ma'am") not so much out of respect and admiration (even though we may also feel those things), but out of fear of upsetting you.

 

+1

 

I know things look different depending on whether you are the uniformed officer or the one talking to the uniformed officer.

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Sadly, I think you are dead wrong in your assumptions that most people are happy to interact with police.

Maybe. I can only speak from my personal experience as a law enforcement officer, a job I've held since 1982. Your observations may be more relevent than mine. But I gotta say the statistics I invented earlier are pretty darn close, for me. As a cop, I speak with many people, every day. The vast majority are perfectly willing to speak with me. The minuscule percentage who are paranoid, and/or hostile are so few and far between as to make the encounters rather noteworthy. On those rare occasions that I deal with someone who harbors such negative feelings, I try and determine if they just had a bad day, or are they some kind of kook? Whether their attitude stems from someone spilling coffee on them at the local Quickie-Mart, (short term), or if it is how they normally interact with others, (long term), they are certainly the exception, not the rule. I know our media loves to show a huge social gap between officers and the public, so I kinda understand why you might think such a gap exists, but if you ask the guys and gals who are doing the job, interacting with the public every day, you'll see how wrong your assumptions are. Unless, of course, you are so comfortable in your wrong assumptions that you are unwilling to change? :unsure:

 

I'm not trying to make this personal against any single LEO, certainly not against you. But those are some very nice rose colored glasses you've got on. I guess since nothing has changed since 1982, definitely not society as a whole, you must be correct.

 

Again, it's not solely the fault of law enforcement that their job description has changed. And I'm positive that how things work in your area is not the same as how they work in mine. You probably are a good cop. You probably can tell the difference between someone who is a bad person, and someone having a bad day. But not all LEO's can as you would have us believe here, and some LEOs are just flat out jerks too. When I have a bad day, I don't have the ability to take it out on others. Cops having bad days? Hmmm... not really the same scenario now, is it?

 

Of course people are mostly nice and polite to you when you approach them. You have a badge and a gun! I'm polite when the police approach me too, if for no other reason than to get them to go away as soon as possible. Before they can FIND something wrong with me, my car, or whatever I'm doing. It seems unreasonable for a law abiding, never had a problem with the law before person like myself to have those feelings, doesn't it? And yet it exists. Way more than you think, apparently. Probably somewhere right in the middle of where both of us think.

 

But you see this issue however it makes you feel most comfortable. It's probably not the case with you, people probably just really like you. I'm not unwilling to change my view, but a lot is going to have to be done differently to show me I'm wrong about what I've been watching... well... since about 1982.

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Anyway... I suspect that, when wearing your LEO hat, you don't really see the apprehension that most people really feel when confronted by an LEO.

Could be. I can only speak to my personal observations. My glasses may have too much rose tinting. Your glasses may not have enough. As G&P infers, the real answer may lie somewhere in the middle? One thing that is pretty telling is your choice of the word "confronted". If I come up and say "Howdy", would you consider that a confrontation, or just a casual conversation? It does bother me when I hear that someone fears cops in general. I guess it's like how a pilot feels when someone tells them they are afraid of flying? I can tell you that there is really nothing to fear, but considering my own rather extreme pteromechanophobia, I don't know that my comments would do any good. If I did not wear a gun, would you feel the same way about me?

 

I will say that most cops get to be pretty good at reading people. It often saves our lives. I don't confuse politeness with a lack of apprehension.

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A little girl "adopted" me on a bus when I was on my way to work 10+ years ago. She told me she was going to meet her Mom at the waterfront. The waterfront is long, she was on her own and I was concerned. This was pre cell phone days, so I took her to work and called the police from there. They came and she was known to them for wandering off. She couldn't have been more than six years old. It turned out Mom lived on the mainland and she was living with her grandmother. The police officer was a very nice gentleman and took her home in a police car - she said she'd had rides in police cars before.

I didn't know what else to do other than call the police...but it concerns me to this day that she was out on her own.

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I have to say that all of my personal interactions with police officers here in North Carolina have ranged from "courteous and professional" to "downright pleasant." Even the two times that I was pulled over by a State Trooper who wrote me a ticket.

 

That was less true when I lived in New Orleans, but only slightly.

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Anyway... I suspect that, when wearing your LEO hat, you don't really see the apprehension that most people really feel when confronted by an LEO.

Could be. I can only speak to my personal observations. My glasses may have too much rose tinting. Your glasses may not have enough. As G&P infers, the real answer may lie somewhere in the middle? One thing that is pretty telling is your choice of the word "confronted". If I come up and say "Howdy", would you consider that a confrontation, or just a casual conversation? It does bother me when I hear that someone fears cops in general. I guess it's like how a pilot feels when someone tells them they are afraid of flying? I can tell you that there is really nothing to fear, but considering my own rather extreme pteromechanophobia, I don't know that my comments would do any good. If I did not wear a gun, would you feel the same way about me?

 

I will say that most cops get to be pretty good at reading people. It often saves our lives. I don't confuse politeness with a lack of apprehension.

"Confronted" was a poor choice of words. A simple "Approached by" would have been sufficient. Your gun is just one symbol of the power that a LEO has the authority to use. Don't get me wrong... I don't live in terror of the police, I even have a couple of them that I count as friends. Just trying to let you understand some of what I think many of us feel when you come knocking at our door or pull us over with your lights.

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Anyway... I suspect that, when wearing your LEO hat, you don't really see the apprehension that most people really feel when confronted by an LEO.

Could be. I can only speak to my personal observations. My glasses may have too much rose tinting. Your glasses may not have enough. As G&P infers, the real answer may lie somewhere in the middle? One thing that is pretty telling is your choice of the word "confronted". If I come up and say "Howdy", would you consider that a confrontation, or just a casual conversation? It does bother me when I hear that someone fears cops in general. I guess it's like how a pilot feels when someone tells them they are afraid of flying? I can tell you that there is really nothing to fear, but considering my own rather extreme pteromechanophobia, I don't know that my comments would do any good. If I did not wear a gun, would you feel the same way about me?

 

I will say that most cops get to be pretty good at reading people. It often saves our lives. I don't confuse politeness with a lack of apprehension.

"Confronted" was a poor choice of words. A simple "Approached by" would have been sufficient. Your gun is just one symbol of the power that a LEO has the authority to use. Don't get me wrong... I don't live in terror of the police, I even have a couple of them that I count as friends. Just trying to let you understand some of what I think many of us feel when you come knocking at our door or pull us over with your lights.

What are you thinking? The cops gonna shoot you? :blink:

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I guess it's like how a pilot feels when someone tells them they are afraid of flying? I can tell you that there is really nothing to fear, but considering my own rather extreme pteromechanophobia, I don't know that my comments would do any good. If I did not wear a gun, would you feel the same way about me?

 

 

I have people tell me they're afraid of flying all the time. I guess I never really thought about it, but I rarely pay it any mind at all. It's not really the same thing as what we're talking about here, but a fear of falling from 30,000 ft. seems to be a perfectly rational one.

 

And no, it's not your gun that worries me as a regular old, not wanted, law abiding citizen. It's that book you carry that can cost me mucho dinero when you write in it. People like me don't have to worry about being shot by the police. But anyone can get themselves a ticket for any number of arbitrary offenses, and those things ain't cheap these days. Especially here in CA.

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Anyway... I suspect that, when wearing your LEO hat, you don't really see the apprehension that most people really feel when confronted by an LEO.

Could be. I can only speak to my personal observations. My glasses may have too much rose tinting. Your glasses may not have enough. As G&P infers, the real answer may lie somewhere in the middle? One thing that is pretty telling is your choice of the word "confronted". If I come up and say "Howdy", would you consider that a confrontation, or just a casual conversation? It does bother me when I hear that someone fears cops in general. I guess it's like how a pilot feels when someone tells them they are afraid of flying? I can tell you that there is really nothing to fear, but considering my own rather extreme pteromechanophobia, I don't know that my comments would do any good. If I did not wear a gun, would you feel the same way about me?

 

I will say that most cops get to be pretty good at reading people. It often saves our lives. I don't confuse politeness with a lack of apprehension.

"Confronted" was a poor choice of words. A simple "Approached by" would have been sufficient. Your gun is just one symbol of the power that a LEO has the authority to use. Don't get me wrong... I don't live in terror of the police, I even have a couple of them that I count as friends. Just trying to let you understand some of what I think many of us feel when you come knocking at our door or pull us over with your lights.

What are you thinking? The cops gonna shoot you? :blink:

 

No, it's not the gun that worries me as a regular old, not wanted, law abiding citizen. It's that book they carry that can cost me mucho dinero when they write in it. B)

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Anyway... I suspect that, when wearing your LEO hat, you don't really see the apprehension that most people really feel when confronted by an LEO.

Could be. I can only speak to my personal observations. My glasses may have too much rose tinting. Your glasses may not have enough. As G&P infers, the real answer may lie somewhere in the middle? One thing that is pretty telling is your choice of the word "confronted". If I come up and say "Howdy", would you consider that a confrontation, or just a casual conversation? It does bother me when I hear that someone fears cops in general. I guess it's like how a pilot feels when someone tells them they are afraid of flying? I can tell you that there is really nothing to fear, but considering my own rather extreme pteromechanophobia, I don't know that my comments would do any good. If I did not wear a gun, would you feel the same way about me?

 

I will say that most cops get to be pretty good at reading people. It often saves our lives. I don't confuse politeness with a lack of apprehension.

"Confronted" was a poor choice of words. A simple "Approached by" would have been sufficient. Your gun is just one symbol of the power that a LEO has the authority to use. Don't get me wrong... I don't live in terror of the police, I even have a couple of them that I count as friends. Just trying to let you understand some of what I think many of us feel when you come knocking at our door or pull us over with your lights.

What are you thinking? The cops gonna shoot you? :blink:

 

No, it's not the gun that worries me as a regular old, not wanted, law abiding citizen. It's that book they carry that can cost me mucho dinero when they write in it. B)

Oh yeah, same here. Except it would cost alot of money. Can you really pay in Pesos? :lol:

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It's never going to cross her mind to refuse; everything in her young life has conditioned her to respond when confronted by authority symbols.

That's a question of how she was taught by her parents, isn't it?

 

If it's legal for the questioning to take place, there is, in effect, a law requiring her to answer.
So you're going to ignore Miranda rights and the 5th Amendment?

 

 

Children in school don't have Miranda rights, according to the supreme court.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-miranda-20110329,0,5661437.story

 

Also, Miranda only applies once a person is under arrest. A child, being questioned about potential abuse by her parent, does not have Miranda rights.

 

I ask again -- what eight year old, being questioned at school in the presence of several authority figures, is going to refuse to answer? If you are going to allow the questioning, whether the child can be forced to answer or not is a moot point. The child will answer the questions.

 

Maybe your child would. Where's the law that says students MUST answer?

 

Children are conditioned by every interaction within the public school system to respond when asked a question. Does your child pull out a copy of the constitution and request a lawyer every time a member of the school staff asks them why they are in the hallway? Seriously?

 

Since you're asking a stupid question that has nothing to do with what we are discussing, the answer is yes, seriously.

 

Awesome.

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Anyway... I suspect that, when wearing your LEO hat, you don't really see the apprehension that most people really feel when confronted by an LEO.

Could be. I can only speak to my personal observations. My glasses may have too much rose tinting. Your glasses may not have enough. As G&P infers, the real answer may lie somewhere in the middle? One thing that is pretty telling is your choice of the word "confronted". If I come up and say "Howdy", would you consider that a confrontation, or just a casual conversation? It does bother me when I hear that someone fears cops in general. I guess it's like how a pilot feels when someone tells them they are afraid of flying? I can tell you that there is really nothing to fear, but considering my own rather extreme pteromechanophobia, I don't know that my comments would do any good. If I did not wear a gun, would you feel the same way about me?

 

I will say that most cops get to be pretty good at reading people. It often saves our lives. I don't confuse politeness with a lack of apprehension.

"Confronted" was a poor choice of words. A simple "Approached by" would have been sufficient. Your gun is just one symbol of the power that a LEO has the authority to use. Don't get me wrong... I don't live in terror of the police, I even have a couple of them that I count as friends. Just trying to let you understand some of what I think many of us feel when you come knocking at our door or pull us over with your lights.

What are you thinking? The cops gonna shoot you? :blink:

 

No, it's not the gun that worries me as a regular old, not wanted, law abiding citizen. It's that book they carry that can cost me mucho dinero when they write in it. B)

 

Ahhh... well said sir. Well said.

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In Australia yesterday a 6 year old boy was killed by a train. Witnesses have come forward after his death and they are able to piece together his movements in the 90 minutes he was missing including a near miss accident with a car 1 hr before he died. He was seen wandering the train tracks by at least three witnesses. No-one it seems made any phone call until they heard of his death.

 

I would rather a phone call was made and all was found Ok than the above incident.

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I'm amazed at how our society has gotten so paranoid.

Tell me about it.

 

A couple years ago, I was walking along a very popular path on a weekend and came upon a 6ish-year-old girl. She was alone, apparently lost, and crying loudly. Dozens of people walked by. I knelt beside her, calmed her a bit, and tried to figure out the situation.

 

Before too long, her parents came running up, grabbed her, glared at me, and led her away. I guess I should be thankful that they didn't call the police.

The average guy, me included, probably wouldn't think of it at the moment, but using hindsight I think the thing to do might be to call 911 and tell the operator what's going on and that you will try and console the girl until the police show up. It would cover your a** in case someone tried to accuse you of something.

I've reinserted and emphasized the original comment I was agreeing with about how paranoid our society has become.

 

Many people exaggerate the dangers posed by low-risk situations, especially when the media tends to hype those situations (e.g., plane crashes, alar-treated apples, fatal wildlife attacks). They start to see monsters under the bed rather than dust bunnies.

 

If police were called every time a father walked alone with their kid in a park, then we'd have to hire a lot more officers and/or a lot more dispatchers to filter the calls.

 

If fathers covered their a**es by calling the police in advance of their walks, then add even more dispatchers to the payroll.

If you're referring to the post I made I wasn't talking about fathers calling 911, I was talking about your experience with the little girl you were trying to console and getting a dirty look from the parents. If they had been a little paranoid and called the police you may have had some explaining to do.

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They wouldn't have talked to my daughter away from me. They wouldn't have been let in my house. Not without a lawyer present first. Sounds like very shady, suspect police work to me.

 

I wouldn't let any man, in uniform or not, alone with my daughter.

Which is totally irrelevant to the thread. The OP said the officers, plural, wanted to talk to his daughter without him being present. They didn't say "alone."

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They wouldn't have talked to my daughter away from me. They wouldn't have been let in my house. Not without a lawyer present first. Sounds like very shady, suspect police work to me.

 

I wouldn't let any man, in uniform or not, alone with my daughter.

Which is totally irrelevant to the thread. The OP said the officers, plural, wanted to talk to his daughter without him being present. They didn't say "alone."

Without re-reading everything, I also am not sure the OP said that officers were male.

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They wouldn't have talked to my daughter away from me. They wouldn't have been let in my house. Not without a lawyer present first. Sounds like very shady, suspect police work to me.
I wouldn't let any man, in uniform or not, alone with my daughter.
Which is totally irrelevant to the thread. The OP said the officers, plural, wanted to talk to his daughter without him being present. They didn't say "alone."
The OP has also said they had no beef with the cops, so it is doubly irrelevant.

 

The real issue is the people in the park who called the police.

 

The question that remains is: How does one help reduce suspicion while in a situation like this? We certainly aren't going to be able to eliminate idiots who feel enough responsibility to call the cops, but not enough to actually prevent the act that they thought was being perpetrated. <_<

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They wouldn't have talked to my daughter away from me. They wouldn't have been let in my house. Not without a lawyer present first. Sounds like very shady, suspect police work to me.
I wouldn't let any man, in uniform or not, alone with my daughter.
Which is totally irrelevant to the thread. The OP said the officers, plural, wanted to talk to his daughter without him being present. They didn't say "alone."
The OP has also said they had no beef with the cops, so it is doubly irrelevant.

 

The real issue is the people in the park who called the police.

 

The question that remains is: How does one help reduce suspicion while in a situation like this? We certainly aren't going to be able to eliminate idiots who feel enough responsibility to call the cops, but not enough to actually prevent the act that they thought was being perpetrated. <_<

 

I KNOW! I KNOW! CALL ON ME!

 

A: Act stealthier. :ph34r:

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I'm amazed at how our society has gotten so paranoid.

Tell me about it.

 

A couple years ago, I was walking along a very popular path on a weekend and came upon a 6ish-year-old girl. She was alone, apparently lost, and crying loudly. Dozens of people walked by. I knelt beside her, calmed her a bit, and tried to figure out the situation.

 

Before too long, her parents came running up, grabbed her, glared at me, and led her away. I guess I should be thankful that they didn't call the police.

The average guy, me included, probably wouldn't think of it at the moment, but using hindsight I think the thing to do might be to call 911 and tell the operator what's going on and that you will try and console the girl until the police show up. It would cover your a** in case someone tried to accuse you of something.

I've reinserted and emphasized the original comment I was agreeing with about how paranoid our society has become.

 

Many people exaggerate the dangers posed by low-risk situations, especially when the media tends to hype those situations (e.g., plane crashes, alar-treated apples, fatal wildlife attacks). They start to see monsters under the bed rather than dust bunnies.

 

If police were called every time a father walked alone with their kid in a park, then we'd have to hire a lot more officers and/or a lot more dispatchers to filter the calls.

 

If fathers covered their a**es by calling the police in advance of their walks, then add even more dispatchers to the payroll.

If you're referring to the post I made I wasn't talking about fathers calling 911, I was talking about your experience with the little girl you were trying to console and getting a dirty look from the parents. If they had been a little paranoid and called the police you may have had some explaining to do.

My point is that there are costs associated with paranoid attitudes.

 

People often behave in ways that others could interpret as suspicious. A father walking with their child in a park. A geocacher searching in some bushes. A stranger aiding a young girl in distress. Etc. Etc. Etc. If everyone alerted the police before they did any of these things, then the police would be swamped with calls.

 

There are other costs associated with paranoid attitudes:

 

And on whether or not men should help lost girls. Sadly the best answer is run away.

If people exaggerate the dangers of the possible, but unlikely, consequences of their actions, then fewer people will help each other. More people will die because less first-aid will be administered by strangers (potential lawsuits). Fewer elderly will have their sidewalks shoveled by neighbors (potential heart attacks). More lost children will wander in distress (possible police charges). Etc. Etc. Etc.

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There are other costs associated with paranoid attitudes:

 

And on whether or not men should help lost girls. Sadly the best answer is run away.

If people exaggerate the dangers of the possible, but unlikely, consequences of their actions, then fewer people will help each other. More people will die because less first-aid will be administered by strangers (potential lawsuits). Fewer elderly will have their sidewalks shoveled by neighbors (potential heart attacks). More lost children will wander in distress (possible police charges). Etc. Etc. Etc.

 

It's not paranoia that men are stereotyped as pedophiles, its a reality. Would I help a child in need? Yes, but I would have to do it knowing I could end up in jail. Tragically most people don't know that's the choice they have to make.

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Sadly, I think you are dead wrong in your assumptions that most people are happy to interact with police.

Maybe. I can only speak from my personal experience as a law enforcement officer, a job I've held since 1982. Your observations may be more relevent than mine. But I gotta say the statistics I invented earlier are pretty darn close, for me. As a cop, I speak with many people, every day. The vast majority are perfectly willing to speak with me. The minuscule percentage who are paranoid, and/or hostile are so few and far between as to make the encounters rather noteworthy. On those rare occasions that I deal with someone who harbors such negative feelings, I try and determine if they just had a bad day, or are they some kind of kook? Whether their attitude stems from someone spilling coffee on them at the local Quickie-Mart, (short term), or if it is how they normally interact with others, (long term), they are certainly the exception, not the rule. I know our media loves to show a huge social gap between officers and the public, so I kinda understand why you might think such a gap exists, but if you ask the guys and gals who are doing the job, interacting with the public every day, you'll see how wrong your assumptions are. Unless, of course, you are so comfortable in your wrong assumptions that you are unwilling to change? :unsure:

Just because 95% of the people you question choose to speak with you doesn't mean that they are happy about it or even knew that they had a choice.
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They wouldn't have talked to my daughter away from me. They wouldn't have been let in my house. Not without a lawyer present first. Sounds like very shady, suspect police work to me.
I wouldn't let any man, in uniform or not, alone with my daughter.
Which is totally irrelevant to the thread. The OP said the officers, plural, wanted to talk to his daughter without him being present. They didn't say "alone."
The OP has also said they had no beef with the cops, so it is doubly irrelevant.

 

The real issue is the people in the park who called the police.

 

The question that remains is: How does one help reduce suspicion while in a situation like this? We certainly aren't going to be able to eliminate idiots who feel enough responsibility to call the cops, but not enough to actually prevent the act that they thought was being perpetrated. <_<

 

Whether or not he has a beef with the cops is indeed irrelevant. You shouldn't let a child speak to the police about a matter that could pertain to your family without supervision. Ever. Beef or no beef. I think that was the point. At least, it was the point I was trying to make.

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Hi Angelsfan,

I was at the Pinecrest Park today with my dog. I happen to know the person who called the sheriff because her dog plays with mine. She was describing what she saw-- a young man with a little girl who walked the path around the park, looked around in the bushes, looked under the bench then sat on the bench. She thought your daughter might be frightened of dogs, so she kept her dog away from where you were. She just was concerned when she saw you head down the path and stand near the fenced area for a long time, talking on your phone. She couldn't understand what could be down the dirt road that was interesting for a little girl. When I explained that you might have been geocaching and using the gps on your phone, she was surprised and relieved. She said if you had gone to the playground first she wouldn't have thought twice about it but your actions were atypical for a parent coming to a park with their daughter.

 

I came online to check if there were any caches in the area and found your post.

 

Sorry for your inconvenience but it is a pretty remote area at the end of the dirt road-- the only people I've ever seen down there were people walking their dogs or joggers. When you didn't come out of the area for 20 mins, they decided to call the sheriff.

 

P.S. you must look young because she thought you were in your early 20's!!

Edited by girlscoutcookies
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I was at the Pinecrest Park today with my dog. I happen to know the person who called the sheriff because her dog plays with mine.

 

Dear gilscoutcookies,

 

Please ask your friend, if she thought the man was up to no good, why did she let him out of her sight before the police arrived?

 

Oh, and also, please tell her that her idiocy has caused no small amount of discomfort to an innocent family.

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I was at the Pinecrest Park today with my dog. I happen to know the person who called the sheriff because her dog plays with mine.

 

Dear gilscoutcookies,

 

Please ask your friend, if she thought the man was up to no good, why did she let him out of her sight before the police arrived?

 

Oh, and also, please tell her that her idiocy has caused no small amount of discomfort to an innocent family.

Yes, exactly. :anibad:

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Oh, and also, please tell her that her idiocy has caused no small amount of discomfort to an innocent family.

GeoGeeBee, please be nice. She was only trying to help a child.

 

Girlscoutcookies, maybe you can get in touch with angelsfan33 and you can make peace with him and your friend.

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And on whether or not men should help lost girls. Sadly the best answer is run away. A 14 year old boy tried to help a girl find her mother and was charged even though the mother withdrew! :blink:Story is here. Call the police if you want, but who knows maybe they'll try and connect you to it or something.

 

 

(OT) googled this one.. turns out the kid isn't the saint that was portrayed. And the info in the new story calls into question the previous incident..

link to new incident:

 

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2011-03-14/news/os-edwin-mcfarlane-arrested-sexual-ba20110314_1_mildred-roman-sexual-battery-girl-on-school-bus

Edited by benh57
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And on whether or not men should help lost girls. Sadly the best answer is run away. A 14 year old boy tried to help a girl find her mother and was charged even though the mother withdrew! :blink:Story is here. Call the police if you want, but who knows maybe they'll try and connect you to it or something.

 

 

(OT) googled this one.. turns out the kid isn't the saint that was portrayed. And the info in the new story calls into question the previous incident..

link to new incident:

 

http://articles.orla...l-on-school-bus

 

The boy was a saint in regards to the toddler situation, which is that he did nothing wrong except try to help the child but was charged anyway.

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