Too Many Questions Can Hurt Your Cause
If the police exist to serve the people then why don’t they listen to the people? This video is similar to another one posted by Cop Block and consist of officers disobeying parking laws. Before I go into what I like and dislike about this footage, I want to go back to my first statement. Why don’t they (cops) listen to the people? I mean how hard would it of been for these cops, who are clearly bending the law if not breaking it, to just move the cars? Same thing for the Arlington police video (linked above). If the officers in both videos would of just said, “You’re correct sir. I’ll move that as soon as possible (or right away).” Then no one would have a problem but instead they sit there and mock you. In an attempt to get a reaction out of you or maybe they just don’t care what you think.
That being said lets move on to the actual content of the video. What I really liked about this video, besides that it was fairly recent, is the information the man got. He stated the street, town, car numbers and even got one officers badge number. All that would be very beneficial had this been a more aggressive encounter. This person was also polite and kept his distance from the police. The last thing you want is for them to think or have reason to believe you’re threatening them. That could lead to a whooping in no time and that is what we want to prevent.
What I’m not as fond of in this video is what I call TMI (Too Much Information). The man behind the camera starts to question the officers, which is fine but he goes a bit too far. At which time they state they’re there due to a break in and bam, the police have their out. Not to mention you just lost all support you had of holding these officers accountable. As most won’t rally around ticketing/punishing an officer who was investigating a break in. This goes to show that the only information you need to get is city, date, car number or badge number. Other than that it’s TMI and you risk the cops making something up to justify their actions, like a break in call. Questioning officers is something I wouldn’t recommend, unless you’re 100% aware of (and ready to handle) what could happen to you, because all too often it doesn’t turn out good for you. You should really never talk to cops as they can twist your words, interrogate you or even worse physically harm you. But if you must talk to cops keep it as short as possible. Don’t talk about who you are, why you’re in the area or what they’re doing there. Just shoot the footage you feel you need and be on your way.
I don’t mean to come down hard on this fellow. I do have a lot of respect for people willing to film public officials in their duties. I just feel that the points covered needed to be made. That in order to be effective in spreading our message we need to be more polite, respectful and the better people. We need to keep our distance and document the law breaking officers. Only ask questions that you need to; like what is your name and badge number? To ask officers if they would ticket someone else is pointless. It’s not like they are going to say, “yeah I would” and then ticket themselves following that comment. All that does is keep you in a dangerous situation longer. My advice for people pointing cameras at folks with badges is simple. Get the footage you need and get out. After I’m a safe distance away or back home then you can start pressuring them. From the safety of your home and hopefully with a bunch of Cop Block supporters at your back.
