Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Why The Innocent Flee From the Police - William Norman Grigg

I have had very few encounters with LEO's but none were pleasant and I cooperate completely. But one lied to me and it cost me a lot of money and time in court to prove my innocence. never trust a LEO as they only want to make a case.

I think the author of that article has a point. Encounters with cops are very dangerous, even if you're an upstanding non-criminal citizen.

A couple of months ago, I was taking my evening constitutional in my own neighborhood, a practice of mine for many years, and I was rushed by four occupants of two police squad cars, and quickly surrounded and approached. Immediately, I imagined myself being slammed to the ground, possibly being seriously injured, because these guys had me mistaken for someone else. Didn't happen that way (they were gentlemen), but that could be because I reacted in just exactly the right way to save myself from said injuries. Had I deviated in any degree from the behavior pattern that I displayed that night, perhaps allowing fear to control my behavior rather than my rational mind, I may well have been seriously injured, or even killed.

And overly-active imaginations, at that!

The usual suspects!!!

the po po have never understood the anxiety they cause in the average Citizen when there is an 'interface' between cop and Citizen.
On the other hand, maybe they do...........

You betcher asss they do.

I saved a ton of money in lawyer's fees by fleeing from the poleece in my younger days...heeheehee hawhawhaw

Sure...we all have, probably. But, when you're a responsible, mature, working and family man, the things we did as kids don't work anymore. When I'm confronted by police, the first thought that comes into my mind is how I'm going to humor/BS my way out of this one. I never have a first thought of looking for a place to run because I'm afraid I'll be killed.Not even a similar 2nd,3rd or 4th thought. Hence, the over-active, silly imagination comment.

The scant few times I've had to interact with the law, all went down pretty innocuously.

I think I said "sir" a few times, communicated the presence of my concealed weapon (per NC law), and a few other pleasantries.

Now, the flipside. During my tenure behind the badge, not one person that ran from me was found to be innocent upon apprehension. (none that is). Some of them we're very silly infractions that I probably wouldn't have ticketed or arrested to start with.

I didn't beat or kill any of them either.

I'm gonna suggest to the administrator that he change the name of this site to "24 hour cop bashing". That seems to be a favorite topic.

Ron

Seems to me more like behavior bashing than "cop bashing".

As was posted earlier police motives and behavior are shifting. Public safety and politeness was once at the forefront of the thinking but now, often as not, gettting themselves good and pumped up and rushing into combat is, often creating a volatile situation where none existed and never would have.

As far as this topic goes, police encounters isn't the only reason an innocent man may choose to try run and hide. Proving your innocence before the courts may well bring financial ruin. And the smearing of your good name can be impossible to erase.

Another thought always in the back of some people's minds is that some officers are no more than lap dogs for judges and lawyers, keeping revenue flowing into the courts regardless of whether there is a victim or whether there has been wrong doing.

No matter how you slice it innocent men are often made victims of the system. And in some regards, it's difficult to argue, that all tax payers are nothing less than innocent victims of the system. Can't really blame them for preferring to not pay even more.

I went back and tallied the posts on this thread. I got 11 post "anti law enforcement", 12 posts "pro law enforcement" and 4 that were neutral, more or less. None of the posts were what I'd call really inflammatory. Hardly 24 hour cop bashing, but then YMMV.

Exactly.

Facing the potential to endure ruin, physical, financial or social (or any combination thereof) and the pains associated with, can be heartwrenching. Not that I'd do it but it's really no wonder to me that some would choose to flee, whether guilty of some minor infraction or completely innocent. The system has people boxed in. There's so many bone headed legalities and hoops to jump through I'd wager anyone could be found guilty of at least something at any time. If it's not imposible to not be, it soon will be.

And, that so many cops out there have such strong desire to get tough with people rather than use disgression and restraint it's all the more unsettling.

amazing....normal people who act normal when they meet police, in 99.999% of cases have no issues and go on about their business.


paranoids, psychos, and criminals act weird, have problems with the police 99.999% of the time when they encounter them, and of course blame it on the police.

"normal people who act normal when they meet police, in 99.999% of cases have no issues and go on about their business."


Very true, Steve. But even .001% potential sucks. Numbers can and do come up, eventually. And fear is most people's strongest motivator.

Running certainly ups the ante. Ita sign of something serious. Normal people don't run. Criminals do. Now how serious the reason for running is up for debate.

Different places have a different relationship with police. Where i live for the most part its a good relationship. Bad cops are weeded out at least eventually. No hiring system is perfect.

Here is an example of why the game changes when someone runs.

It looks to me like it's pretty much just poor folks and minorities that have to worry about the cops going off on them. Most of these kinds of articles about cops and or prosecutors reference minorities and poor folks getting the shaft. As long as it's not 'us regular folks', there's no problem right?

A bit lower than your potential for getting struck by lightning.

Took me about a dozen trips to move all my stuff here from Montana, 2005�2007. Usually drove all night. Got pulled-over by a cop in one or another of four or five states, just about every trip, usually at night. Every one of 'em was very courteous.

Five states each way � Montana, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico � never twice by the same cop or twice in the same state on any trip.

I still wonder what's so suspicious or threatening about an old guy in an old pick-up, pulling a trailer at night, intentionally slower than the speed limit. I suspect that they were acting on complaints from drivers who had to slow-down behind me on long up-hill pulls. There were a lot of those, a lot of 'em still furious when they were finally able to get around me.

One cop asked me "Have you been drinking, Sir?" Didn't pull me out of the cab or make me walk a line, touch my nose, snort into a breath-a-wheezer, etc. Was satisfied with "No. I don't drink alcohol."

Conversations were all short � little more than

"Are you all right, Sir?"

"Yes, no problem."

"Drive safely. Have a good trip."

One � Salmon, Idaho � suggested that stopping for the night might be wise, and directed me to a huge parking lot at a Mormon church. Suggested that parking under a light would be wise. Had a good night's sleep there.

I hate to wish time away, but I look forward to the day I can cast off the evil yoke of "the man" and live out the last of my days as a hermit. Retirement is looking better and better every day.