Originally Posted by masraum (Post 10017701)

This, exactly.

Are there some bad cops, I'm sure. If you line up 100 of any profession, you're going to find bad ones. Most of the cops that I've met or known, even if they were pulling me over were good people doing their job.

Originally Posted by scottmandue (Post 10017650)

In the United States, a person is considered innocent until proven guilty. The 14th amendment to the US Constitution guarantees to every person, aliens included, “equal protection under the law.”

Originally Posted by speeder (Post 10017719)

So the whole, *bad apples in every profession* canard is really irrelevant when discussing the police.

Originally Posted by scottmandue (Post 10017650)

In the United States, a person is considered innocent until proven guilty. The 14th amendment to the US Constitution guarantees to every person, aliens included, “equal protection under the law.”

Originally Posted by slow&rusty (Post 10017556)

It was surreal and bizarre. I was left thinking if the officer was just doing his job and following up on the supposed call or was this a clear case of harassment and profiling (seeing that my friend and I are both minorities), taking into consideration we are both almost 50 year old men that were well dressed and walking slowing and talking (enjoying the morning). The way the officer handled it was also unprofessional.


So what says you guys?

Originally Posted by aigel (Post 10017757)

Not cool at all.

That said, people (calling police) and cops may be freaked out with recent school shootings being reported.

Also non Texans or non-Southeners need to understand that NOBODY walks in TX. There are hardly any sidewalks. It is all geared towards cars. Walking makes you immediately suspicious as someone that broke down, can't afford a car or is out on foot because they are up to something. You may be safe if you are obviously exercising, but even that usually takes place inside on a treadmill. ;)

G

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey (Post 10017839)

I live in TX.

Everyone in my community walks.

A lot.

Originally Posted by LEAKYSEALS951 (Post 10017644)

Sorry to hear this Slow and Rusty.
I wouldn't be surprised is there was not some element of racial profiling involved.

On the bright side- and please let your friend know this- As a home grown American whitey :) I have been on the receiving end of some high strung cops. In several occasions, I have been harassed and even had them with their hands on their guns as if I was some lethal threat.

As a minor aside- (one incident- and not even one of the "high strung ones") I remember even being pulled over in my 911 (in high school)and asked how I got the money to afford such as car. I had pictures of how I restored it in my glove box and he went through all of them (rocker panel replacement pics- floor board replacement pics, etc... as if it was some important evidence.) A fellow classmate of mine (who happened to be black, and who's father was a surgeon and who also had a 911) also got pulled over for no reason. To my classmate- it will always be "because he was black." Well, I was white, had done nothing wrong, still got pulled over, and by the end of it, there were three cop cars there surrounding me for no real reason. That was just one occasion, and not one of the more scary occasions where the cops were visibly on edge.

That doesn't mean what happened to you today was right, but it does happen, and like you, in the hours afterwards I have thought "WTF?" trying to weigh my rights, versus putting myself in their shoes, etc... I try to understand the concept of "nice cops end up dead" and give the benefit of the doubt, but when that kind of stuff happens, it gets hard to stay objective.

On the other hand- I have several patients who are LEO's- and who actively play down their jobs in an effort to "not be hated" A neighbor up the street quit law enforcement about two years ago and went to work for a power company repairing downed power lines because it was "safer."


What you do have is your intelligence and positive demeanor. Based on what you have posted on this forum- you are a decent, positive, and passionate person. Give it some time to calm down, and then decide on where to go from there.

Go out and have some fun with your friend while they are still here. That sounds like a bunch of crap!

Originally Posted by slow&rusty (Post 10017556)

So this has been bugging me all day and not sure if I am being overly sensitive?

This morning at 8am my oldest friend from middle school (we've been friends for 35 years) visited me for the first time here in Houston, he was flying in from Germany.

He's never seen a Bayou so we walked a few blocks from my house and I was explaining to him how they manage storm water and how they crested their banks during Hurricane Harvey. I live in a nice quiet neighborhood that is very safe.

On our short walk back to my house I saw a police car following us very slowly and I didn't pay any attention to it until it pulled into a driveway in front of us blocking our path and the sidewalk followed by the officer jumping out.

The officer then approaches me and asks "if I was walking by the school and crossed the Bayou bridge"?

I responded that we walked to the Bayou's edge but never crossed the bridge or never came close to the school (about 1/2 mile away).

The officer then said that they received a report of two suspicious men walking by the school, I firmed up and said we never walked by the school, to which he responded "why would someone call and lie to the police department?". He then asked if I actually lived in the neighborhood, to which I said "yes for the past decade" and I pointed to my house which was about 100-ft away.

It was tense for a few minutes and then then the officer got into his car and drove off, but he actually called for back up and within seconds two other cop cars came cruising down the street.

It was surreal and bizarre. I was left thinking if the officer was just doing his job and following up on the supposed call or was this a clear case of harassment and profiling (seeing that my friend and I are both minorities), taking into consideration we are both almost 50 year old men that were well dressed and walking slowing and talking (enjoying the morning). The way the officer handled it was also unprofessional.

Ironically, after my neighborhood flooded I donated \ contributed much of my personal time to help the municipality as I am a Texas registered professional engineer with many years of storm water management and hydraulic modelling. My friend said he is never coming back to the US after this morning.

So what says you guys?