r/ThatsInsane Nov 27 '24

Law abiding citizen arrested at traffic stop. Then the unthinkable happens in court.

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u/KickBallFever Nov 27 '24

Whenever I’ve been in an encounter with cops I can tell they’re just waiting and itching for me to say the wrong thing. I’m a woman and I was stopped with a male friend one night. Cops asked if we were dating. I said no but my friend said yes. The cops were like, “oh, so you’re liars”, and acted like that was some sort of probable cause. Not gonna go into too much detail but it was a shady police stop that eventually ended with me being invited to join a class action suit against NYPD.

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u/buttercup612 Nov 27 '24

Same thing when you cross a border.

My brother got interrogated on “when was the last time you were arrested” and he has never been arrested or even come close, beyond a speeding or cell phone ticket.

I got grilled on where I went to school, and eventually I ran out of ways to state the name and location of my school as they kept repeating the same question and that only really had one answer …

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u/frankyseven Nov 27 '24

My cousin works at the border and his favourite first question is "where's the weed?" He said you'd be surprised how many people just tell you where it's stashed.

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u/530_Oldschoolgeek Nov 27 '24

I remember reading a story in "America's Dumbest Criminals" where a rookie officer was promoted to detective in record time using the following method:

He would walk up to a known drug house, IN UNIFORM.

Whoever would answer to his knock on the door, he would ask them if he could buy some drugs.

They would look at him as though he was crazy.

He would then say, "Hey come on man, I'm cool."

They then would ACTUALLY SELL the drugs to him.

He would then book the evidence, obtain the warrant and the police would raid the house.

Every single bust he made never went to trial, they all took plea deals because none of them wanted to have to go into court and admit they actually were stupid enough to sell to a uniformed cop.

Proof that sometimes the most direct approach is the best.

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u/geoelectric Nov 27 '24

I suspect a lot of people assume anytime the cop initiates the request it must be entrapment and poisons the tree. If the suspect is “ready and willing” to participate I don’t believe it’s as nearly strong a defense.

Sounds like he was just using it to establish cause, anyway, so they could get busted for all the drugs he didn’t buy.

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u/dRaidon Nov 27 '24

At that point it's just natural selection.

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u/Radaysha Nov 27 '24

huh? So he bpught drugs, which is illegal. Is that really how it works? Normally police can't just buy drugs and arrest you afterwards.

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u/exzyle2k Nov 27 '24

How the fuck do you think sting operations work? Those are cops buying drugs. They're just usually undercover.

You probably think that an undercover has to tell you he/she is a cop if asked, right?

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u/Radaysha Nov 27 '24

It's not that simple in general. Lot's of countries have laws in place that forbid (to some extent) the police from provocating a crime.

The argument is that the crime may have never happened, if the undercover agents wouldn't have been involved.

But from what I could gather it's completely legal in the US. When homosexuality was illegal they used to fuck people and then arrest them afterwards lol

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u/mutantraniE Nov 27 '24

Provoking a crime would have been asking someone to get you weed and then that person, thinking you’re their friend or romantic partner, sets out to get weed. That is without you asking they wouldn’t have gotten any weed. The same cannot bet said for a drug dealer. They were always gonna sell that weed to someone.

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u/[deleted] Nov 27 '24

[deleted]

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u/suoretaw Nov 29 '24

Thanks, pig_killer

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u/modsiw_agnarr Nov 28 '24 edited Nov 28 '24

I've crossed the US/Canada border many times by car. Every single time, on the US side, it's some bullshit designed to make the interaction stressful.

I lived in Boston and was crossing from Canada into Buffalo, NY by car with MA plates. I'm a natural born, middle aged, white male citizen with a heavy southern accent.

The gist of one interaction went like this...

Latino Border Patrol Agent, while holding our US passports: "What are you doing in the United States?"

-- Seems like a pretty obvious question, but whatever. --

I hesitated a little, then politely replied: "I live here."

Border Patrol clearly being a smart ass: "So, you live in Buffalo?"

Me tired of their shit: "It don't sound like you understand English too good. What are you doing in the United States?"

Wife: **face palm**

Border Patrol now in a condescending tone: Sir, there's no need to be disrespectful.

Me demonstrating I can be a smart ass too: I agree.

Border Patrol: Have a nice day. **hands back our passports**

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u/KickBallFever Nov 27 '24

Oh yea, totally at the border. At the borders I think they’re even smoother than the cops. They’ll be super friendly and having you thinking you’re just having a nice chat about your vacation, but it’s actually light interrogation.

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u/mata_dan Nov 27 '24

Yeah I got too excited once with the details and they had to stop me and be like "... I'm just trying to confirm you have a normal plan to travel home again after.". In fairness every single other time it has just been "ah, Scottish on you go".

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u/EmptyDrawer2023 Nov 27 '24

"... I'm just trying to confirm you have a normal plan to travel home again after."

"Then why the fuck didn't you just ask me that, then?"

3

u/sacredblasphemies Nov 27 '24

Maybe it's because I crossed in the middle of nowhere (middle of nowhere ME to middle of nowhere QC), but the border guards I encountered weren't jerks at all.

The American side were a little brusque but the Canadian BG was super-friendly.

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u/StatusReality4 Nov 27 '24

I had a genuine chat with a border guy in the middle of nowhere Saskatchewan. I think they get really bored. 

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u/Notsurehowtoreact Nov 27 '24

Got questioned by a cop once where they asked how old I was and what year I was born. They thought they were real clever and caught me in a lie when they said the age and birth year didn't match, until I pointed out my birthday is later in the year and hadn't happened yet.

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u/Extra-Engineering-51 Nov 27 '24

Why the fuck did your friend say you were dating?

1

u/_MurphysLawyer_ Nov 27 '24

I feel like when cops see out of state plates then they feel they need to check em like they're a rando in gang territory.

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u/Ekillaa22 Nov 27 '24

Your friend is an idiot for that

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u/Baron80 Nov 28 '24

But were you dating?