MFP Commentary:
This hits close to home. A year ago I was stopped for not having the kings current permission slip on the rear of my trailer, while driving through Seymour MO. The “Blue ISIS” member was intent on a fishing expedition, and stealing as much money from me as possible. When I attempted to use my right of free speech, he put torture devices on my hands, and bound them behind my back. Besides excruciating pain this created a feeling of anxiety and claustrophobia. (My wrists could not even be touched for 5 days after this due to pain) He also exacerbated nerve damage in my right arm that remains there to this day.
I informed the terrorist that I needed to use a restroom (due to a medical contrition) in response to that he shoved me into a his portable prison. The backseat of his vehicle. It was a very hot day, the air conditioner was not running and the window was rolled up. Between trying not to defecate or urinate in my pants, I was having heart palpitations. It was uncomfortably hot and I was about to have my first real panic attack….. For those of you that have never had one, I compare it to how you would feel if someone put you in a coffin and buried you in the ground, and left you there.
Over a year later I have a lot of anxiety anytime that I go into this town. I also have developed claustrophobia which I never had before this incident. As far as I know nothing at all happened to this terrorist, which surprises no one.
Seymour Police are terrorists and thugs. (as are all police today) Unfortunately I recently had another interaction with them that reinforced my low opinion of them. Perhaps I will write about that encounter soon.
~MFP
The Nation. The framers would be appalled.”—Herman Schwartz, the whim of every cop on the beat, trooper on the highway and jail official“The Fourth Amendment was designed to stand between us and arbitrary governmental authority. For all practical purposes, that shield has been shattered, leaving our liberty and personal integrity subject to
We’ve all been there before.
You’re driving along and you see a pair of flashing blue lights in your rearview mirror. Whether or not you’ve done anything wrong, you get a sinking feeling in your stomach.
You’ve read enough news stories, seen enough headlines, and lived in the American police state long enough to be anxious about any encounter with a cop that takes place on the side of the road.
For better or worse, from the moment you’re pulled over, you’re at the mercy of law enforcement officers who have almost absolute discretion to decide who is a threat, what constitutes resistance, and how harshly they can deal with the citizens they were appointed to “serve and protect.”
This is what I call “blank check policing,” in which the police get to call all of the shots.
So if you’re nervous about traffic stops, you have every reason to be.
Trying to predict the outcome of any encounter with the police is a bit like playing Russian roulette: most of the time you will emerge relatively unscathed, although decidedly poorer and less secure about your rights, but there’s always the chance that an encounter will turn deadly.
Try to assert your right to merely ask a question during a traffic stop and see how far it gets you.
Zachary Noel was tasered by police and charged with resisting arrest after he questioned why he was being ordered out of his truck during a traffic stop. “Because I’m telling you to,” the officer replied before repeating his order for Noel to get out of the vehicle and then, without warning, shooting him with a taser through the open window.
Unfortunately, as Gregory Tucker learned the hard way, there are no longer any fail-safe rules of engagement for interacting with the police…….Read More
