Kilted encounter with my city's finest

[Wolfhawk]

Well, I took this conversation to a friend of mine who I see at the pub often whose his wife and he works for the police. He was a past police officer and his wife was also. I bought them both a beer and sat with them and showed them the info I had from this 'conversation' and this topic. The info I received was basically like this. In fort worth Texas , you are not required to have any official documentation on you if you are not in your car. If I am walking down the sidewalk and an officer asks me for info, all I have to give him is my name and address. Nothing more. If we wants more; tuff. This approach will get you more grief but it is all you are required to provide. On the problem that Hector is having with the Police harassment while kilted in front of the McDonald, they think someone at the McD reported you and that is where this comes from. If you are not doing anything wrong, make the city waste its money and let them be a a**, according to the people who work for the police here in Fort Worth. If you got the time and effort to put toward it, I was told to make them work for it. Best Case, you might build a case against them. They are wasting taxpayers money harassing you; especially a kilted you. It might be construed as profiling against kilts.

[Regnifne]

BobsYourUncle, excellent post, Your Honor!

I've often marveled at how little the general public knows about the people who volunteer to protect and serve them . . . granted the days of true "public service" are all but gone, or only exist in the hearts and minds of the faithful few, but you're right that the intimidation of police interaction is primarily from unfamiliarity.

Hector, I was gonna make a joke about you being in Louisville and how that probably has a lot to do with it ("Hey Joe, that feller over thar's warring a skirt! I'mma call the Poe leese!!"), but I decided against it.

Better luck next time! And it's annoying that you may have to change up your routine, but maybe that will help throw off the guys who have been staking you out.

Cheers!

[BEEDEE]

Folks - let me remind you of one of our rules:

Seeking & Submitting Professional Advice
The X Marks the Scot Kilt Forum is not a trained or licensed medical or legal facility. Nor is it staffed by persons trained in medical treatment or in matters of the law. Please do not submit posts seeking or offering advice in these matters, as this forum is not a professional environment that lends itself to this type of exchange. Posts containing these topics and/or comments will be deleted.

Hector's original post was OK since he was factual and did not seek advice.

However, several subsequent posts have offered advice on dealing with police enquiries. Further 'advice' may result in this thread being locked.

Brian and the Mod Squad.

[bikeolounger]

Actually yes, here they are, the building with the red roof is the Mac Donald's:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...05724&t=h&z=18

and the street view:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...305.71,,0,3.65

I suspected that might be the place, from reading your first post. I used to live about a mile south of there, and remember when that library (and county clerk's office branch, and police district substation, and county health department branch--all in the same building) replaced the bowling alley for which that building was constructed. I remember when that McDonald's was built in the mid-1970s, as well.

Given that the police substation is right there, I'm not surprised that the police would get nervous about seeing the same man parked in the same car several days running. Our county police are a curious lot.

Thanks for politely putting them in their place.

[Spc. Scott]

I have to say that I think Hector did the right thing here. Good on ya.

My reasons behind this are these two right here:

Eats lunch there 2-3 time a week and has been doing so for the time that he has worked in the area. That amount of time being 3 years.

My quick math says he has been in that parking lot somewhere around 300 times over three years.

And someone just noticed?

Smells to me like something else happened (who know what that might have been) to bring this on. Just my .02.

[BobsYourUncle]

Folks - let me remind you of one of our rules:

Hector's original post was OK since he was factual and did not seek advice.

However, several subsequent posts have offered advice on dealing with police enquiries. Further 'advice' may result in this thread being locked.

Brian and the Mod Squad.

Sorry, Mods! If I didn't outright cross the line [tried not too...didn't succeed] and break the rules, I sidled right close up to the line. I have always appreciated your dedication and diligence herein. Thank you for the brotherly admonishment. Please accept my apology. Regards...

[CDNSushi]

I'm with hospitaller on this one all the way.

Not all cops are like that, but many are. Many are just the same high school bullies who took your lunch money -- just all grown up.

Exacerbating the fact that I've never had a pleasant exchange with a cop is the fact that here in Japan, the name of the game is racial profiling and you can get stopped just for being a foreigner.

What's more, the recent trendy thing to do now is to stop random foreigners in Tokyo and demand urine samples (because having even trace amounts of illegal substances like THC is enough to put you away for a long time under the Draconian laws here)...

No joke.


That's it from me though...I'd better stay out of a "cop thread" or things may turn ugly.... :-( From here on in I'm not saying any more -- I've said my piece.

[Tony Miles]

be glad this wasn't you
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUzd7G875Hc

[ChubRock]

A guy named Hector, in a kilt, who is Chilean eating lunch in a public parking lot in Kentucky. Sounds like the basis of a good pub joke. No offense Hospitaller, it just seems to be our country is 'skeered" (in best southern accent.)

[HarborSpringsPiper]

had i similar encounter when i was on conleave from germany ( im in the U.S.Army). i live in a small town. there is 4 police on the force. while taking pictures of my girlfriend with the bridge in the background and police station behind me, i hear a car come to a screeching halt.. followed by camera on the hood and hands up. now, my girlfriend although an american citizen and former soldier has lived in germany for quite some time.. this didnt help the situation. he went on to tell me i was taking pictures of the police station and the library, which i was not. he then started asking my gf where she was from, why is she in the states, for how long etc etc. she tells him she with me and im on leave. hes telling me to bend over forward with my hands on the hood still and i cant because i had spinal surgery 2 days prior and shouldnt have even been walking around. so i keep telling him no i cant and he keeps telling me im resisting blah blah blah. i show him the my back and bumcheek from the operations and he sees my military id. so then he goes on telling me i should have told him i was a soldier and i should know better than to take photos of govt. buildings. which i told him i wasnt. so basically he sat there and looked through every photo in the memory disk hands me the camera tells me " im lucky" and gets in his car and drives off. what a yahoo.

I hope my question is not too far off the beaten track, but you've piqued my curiosity. If I follow your post correctly, this occured in the US? Since when is it illegal to photograph government buildings in the US? I never received that memo. Is this true? Is this a post-9/11 thing? I know this to be the case in many places in the world where freedom has been sacrificed under the guise of security but please tell me this has not happened in the USA.