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What do you do if a cop approaches you and starts questioning you while you're sitting in your car in a public parking lot? (lemmy.world)

submitted 9 months ago by rebarrrrrrr@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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Unfortunately, I drive a ghetto minivan which causes the police to profile me and has caused people in small towns to call the police on me if I am in a public park or in their neighborhood. I even had someone call the police on me at campground that I had pre-paid for and the police were not sympathetic at all to my right to just exist.

I am aware of stop and identify laws and know that a cop needs reasonable suspicion to demand to see your ID. However, can't the cop just make up some lies about reasonable suspicion?

If a cop approaches me can I immediately start with: "Officer, do you have reasonable suspicion that a crime has occurred, is in the process of occurring, or is about to occur?" It seems like that will immediately escalate things even if technically the law is on my side.

I just want a damn right to exist law and to not be a target for an overactive imagination by the police which treats me like a criminal until they can check me for warrants.

Honestly, I want to tell them to fuck off right away but I also don't have money for a lawyer.

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[-] Sanctus@lemmy.world 18 points 9 months ago

Are you living out of said van? That complicates things quite a bit. If you really are just chillin' just show them your ID and get on with it. None of these dudes are trained and are already aggressive towards you.

[-] rebarrrrrrr@lemmy.world 10 points 9 months ago

Are you living out of said van?

Yes, I am.

[-] Sanctus@lemmy.world 17 points 9 months ago

Don't show them your ID then. If I were you I wouldn't chill anywhere longer than thirty minutes during the day. Misery loves company so that shit is illegal in a lot of places. I dont know of any of them but I vaguely remember forums about surviving like this on reddit.

[-] rebarrrrrrr@lemmy.world 16 points 9 months ago

Yep, I agree with you. I do move around a lot. But I also paid for a spot at a campground where you're supposed to be able to just chill and I still got harassed.

[-] Sanctus@lemmy.world 13 points 9 months ago

Check the rules for the campground next time you pay for a spot. Sometimes they sneak shit in there where you actually can't be camping out of your car. I haven't seen that where I live in the southwest. But I have seen people post about it in northern states.

[-] rebarrrrrrr@lemmy.world 17 points 9 months ago

Yeah, you're right about that. I have seen those rules about car camping. Not sure what they were at the campground I was at but I got there around 1:30PM and was only there an hour before the deputy sheriff showed up. Even if that campground had a rule like that it was only 2:30 in the afternoon and surely there wouldn't have been a "you must set up your tent within x minutes of arriving" rule. Cops suck! And the people who call cops because their overactive imagination gets the best of them suck too!

[-] KpntAutismus@lemmy.world 10 points 9 months ago

get a decoy tent. /s

maybe cleaning it will help. the difference between someone's "i'm gonna haul shit" van and a drug dealer's van is often just the amount of dirt and the straightness of the panels.

this post was submitted on 05 Feb 2024

221 points (96.6% liked)

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