pulled over the finer points

**sin2001** · 23rd May 12, 08:01 AM

So the other night leaving a local gas station I was following all rules of the road and all blue and red lights. I pull over and the cop comes up tells me to get out of the car. I ask what I did wrong he said just get out of the car. So I proceed out the car. He looks down at my Kilt. I said did I do something wrong. He said no and asked me where I got my Kilt. It was a UTKilt. So I told him. He said thanks and was on his way. I guess it was an emergency question.

**Tobus** · 23rd May 12, 08:04 AM

Wow - that's some nerve, using his legal authority to temporarily detain you just to ask where you got your kilt. Even if his intent was benign, that's still not cool. Probably even illegal.

**sin2001** · 23rd May 12, 08:09 AM

Right I was a little mad for the fact I was running late. I told him He could have followed to my destination then asked me. Gotta love the ones who think there above the law.

**Harold Cannon** · 23rd May 12, 08:14 AM

LOL! I used get pulled over all the time by the state troopers in our area. Everytime they changed the code to the fire station I would get pulled over so they could get the code to use the bathroom. I would get lights sirens and all!

**Chas** · 23rd May 12, 09:34 AM

I wonder how many enforce the law and how many uphold it?

Regards

Chas

**OrneryPiper** · 23rd May 12, 09:37 AM

Perhaps he stopped you and them realized that you were not the person he was looking for?

I don't mean to play devils advocate, I just think its important to hear all sides before attacking someone's credibility. I like to give the people who serve our communities (and often give their lives) the benefit of the doubt. All that being said, if I did feel I was wronged I would take it up the proper channels...

**sin2001** · 23rd May 12, 09:46 AM

No he said he saw me at the gas station and wanted to ask and see it closer. Personally I see it as bad judgement on his part. But nothing was harmed. Just thought it was funny.

**BudTX** · 23rd May 12, 01:23 PM

Ooops. Sorry about that.

**Scout** · 23rd May 12, 04:46 PM

I've been in law enforcement for 20 years now and am currently the commander of my department's uniformed division. If this officer pulled you over without any articulable suspicion that a civil or criminal violation had occurred, he was completely in the wrong. Depending on where this happened he himself likely violated civil and possibly criminal law. At a bare minimum he would be subject to department discipline if not more serious repercusions.

While you say that "nothing was harmed" I'd argue that the reputation of my profession has been harmed by his foolish and prohibited actions. I don't think anyone would disagree if for example he was stopping cars without cause to get the names of attractive women drivers. This isn't really any different. I don't mean to come off like a complete hard a$$ but this guy is lucky he doesn't work for me.

Sorry to stray a bit too far off topic.

**CameronCat** · 23rd May 12, 05:03 PM

...using his legal authority to temporarily detain you just to ask where you got your kilt. Even if his intent was benign, that's still not cool. Probably even illegal.

Hmm; that might be a stretch. I'll stipulate that every cop is different, and circumstances affect cases--that is, a cop in a big city will / might / may react differently to something than a small town officer would. However, they all share a certain "cop-sense" as explained to me by my neighbor, an officer in our semi-rural township. "If something looks unusual, it just might be," he told me once. "You get to know what 'normal' looks like."

Not knowing how common kilts are in your area, if he just got a glance of you in the gas station you may have set off his "unusual" light. Normal? costume? disguise? what? he's thinking....worth a look. You're briefly stopped; in that time he determines you're 1) a bit out of the norm but OK, 2) not drunk, 3) and based on a quick visual check, not an imminent hazard or threat. Naturally, he can't say to you "Sorry, you just looked unusual for around here," so he asked about the kilt.

I won't say he couldn't have ignored you completely but I will say what he did was well within the bounds of his job.

Yes, I've been "stopped" (motioned to the side, actually) by a cop in the next town over who simply wanted to look at
the car I was driving. First words out of his mouth were "You're not in trouble..." We talked cars for 20 minutes.