Hassled By Local Police While Walking - Your Thoughts?
 

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?

I think you have a small-minded friend.

Just a cop doing his job.
And could have done it better.

It there was an actual call

Yep,

Unfortunately a lot of LEO's are on a crusade to save the world and don't stop to use a little common sense.

This.

I figure one of two things.

1 THere were two other dudes that may have been suspicious. If the cop got next to no description other than "2 <insert applicable minority here> guys", then it was a case of him checking you out, and not knowing (especially these days) what 2 people (regardless of classification) will do if confronted.

2 Some moron saw the two of you and called you in as suspicious (a BS complaint made by a moron) and you were the right two guys, but once he got there, and looked at you and spoke to you for a few mins, realized it was BS and left. It's just unfortunate, that he wasn't a little nicer about it.

With the way cops seem to be widely hated (and killed) these days for no reason at times, it's easy to understand why he might be a little tense, but at the same time, that's not an excuse for him being anything other than polite.

You and your friend should have started running showing your friend how the incidents on the news happen.

Steve nailed it, your friend needs to grow a thicker skin.

Once you told him where you lived and your name it would have taken him seconds to verify it.

No need for backup to have been called.

And if your friend is from Europe, they actively profile there, so I agree with the small minded comment.

If it was my best friend, I’d have asked the cop to taze him...

Thanks for all the replies gang - much appreciated. Its good reading the responses.

My friend was saying he isn't coming back in jest but the experience did leave a sour taste.

Some anxious old lady probably thought you were up to no good and called it it?

seeing that my friend and I are both minorities..It just goes to show ya Racism is alive and well in America.

ANY MINORITY GROUP that looks different than the general population is going to be treated with suspicion. "You are NOT LIKE US OUUU." You can not escape it, it is HUMAN NATURE.

The LEO might have been more polite in checking out the call in, as the caller didn't see a crime committed? And the LEO didn't see you doing anything suspicious. One one hand you can be happy that LE is on top of it in your hood and on the other it is a personal slight..

African Americans in particular in America have been given the short end of the stick for centuries and have had their emotional nerve endings frayed..since a not going away ever bias exists (human nature), emotion has to be side stepped in dealing with the situation...other wise the results can be fatal. You can express your displeasure at the incident to the Mayor, your Congressman, Councilman, Police Chief, your Pastor and or the Media. It all depends on how much you want to press the issue?

Everybody wants to be treated with respect.

Cop probably saw two guys walking to smoke herbs away from home or something.
Easy ticket/bust without much effort required.
Gets his quota for the day.

LOL. "Let me put on my magic mind reading cap and find out for ya. Okay?"

We are not talking two twenty somethings in baggy pants checking out homes... two well dressed adults out for a walk in their own neighborhood.

I can give the LEO the benefit of doubt and he probably thought he was just doing his job.

At least he didn't grab the door of your van

Also he should have reached for his Smart Phone in his pocket at the same time....and we would be having FILM AT ELEVEN....

LE Spokesman to the media.."The suspect was running and reaching for a gun after the officer told him to stop, put his hands up and lay on the ground." Media person, "Well is it true that the LEO shot the Suspect 14 times in the back, and in fact the Suspect was reaching for his Smart Phone?" LES, "This incident will be fully investigated."

How did the LEO know it was the Suspects own hood...maybe our Suspect is the only minority person living in that Hood..which makes him Suspicious.

Pejorative..BIAS...

LEO don't need no quota...they see enough shyte happening everyday to fill up the jails ...

Holy carp, a tabs post that didn't make me roll my eyes. Not only that, but I think I can agree with the post. Wow. Will wonders never cease?!?

Some neighborhood busy-body reported a pair of middle aged child molesters scoping out the school and the cop was routed. He was unnecessarily curt but performed his duty and realized after talking to you it was a BS call so he left.

I reported a dude on a bike rifling mailboxes in my neighborhood which happens a lot. The routed officer calls me on my cel as I am following mail thief slowly in my truck and asks me 17 questions, attempts to confuse me, and says I made false statements to the police. Annoyed, I calmly re-stated exactly what I saw and exactly where this guy was.

Officer arrives shortly, questions mail thief, searches his backpack which is full of other peoples mail and his drug paraphernalia. Mail thief is a chronic offender who was recently released, now in handcuffs and headed back to his room with no view.

Cops have a ****ty job and deal with lowlifes all day every day while putting themselves at great potential risk. It does affect their cheerful personality. If they eventually do reach the right conclusion I can forgive their sometimes crappy attitude. I want them out there and I surely don't want their job.

At least he has something exciting and interesting to talk about when he goes home...

"Heey what happened on your holiday in America....anything exciting?" "Yeah I got rousted by some Redneck Pecker wood Cops for walking down the street in Houston Johann!!!"

You over looked and failed to mention the called for reinforcement backups...

Officer probably called for backup as soon as he made a confirmed sighting of the reported child molesters. Standard procedure when outnumbered.

Maybe you should take another look at what else I post that makes your eyes roll...a reassessment if you will.

As a standard practice...If you think well of this it stands to reason that the other stuff has veracity as well...this stuff just doesn't happen in a vacuum and is not one off.

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!

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.”

You probably looked like a long haired drug dealing hippy...

You probably shoulda asked the cop if he wanted to buy some Smack or L...

It sounds to me like the officer was a bit rude but he was searching for 2 subjects that were reported as suspicious. Probably had to be a bit rude because if you actually were the subjects, you might act funny after a confrontation and then they would know it was you. It's also possible that some idiot reported you without knowing anything about what you were doing.

Yeah right tell that to the guy who got shot 20 times in the back...

Time for somebody to bring up that old Chris Rock video...

I wasn't even wearing my white linen shirt!

What is this "Subject" stuff.....SUSPECTS...

"had to be" BS, nothing is "had tooo beee." That is an absolute...situations are fluid and you have decisions to make.

Yeah it was probably in the wash because it was too greasy from having wiped your fingers on it after eating ribs.

Steak gristle and lobster sauce to be exact.

The officer could have handled the situation with a little more professionalism and courtesy. The fastest way to escalate a simple stop into a bad situation is by the officer not acting in a professional manner. Years ago I took a course on preparedness for armed confrontations. The instructor interviewed many prisoners convicted of shooting Police Officers and when asked why they shot the officer many gave the same answer they felt the officer disrespected them.
I live in a safe middle class area and a few years back my dad was on my doorstep late one night because I asked him to come over. He is a 70 year old white man. A police car pulled up the officers got out and politely asked what he was doing there late at night, they explained there were several burglaries in the area. They were polite and respectful. I came to the door and explained who he was and thanked them for watching out for my house, They were appreciative of our understanding and went on their way.

Cop was a dick and needs some training or fired because he's on the short list for shooting someone because "I though he had a..." and he's bad at his job.

I get the call was made. The moment, maybe 5 seconds at the very most, the cop saw who he was dealing with, 50s well dressed articulate, polite gentlemen, minorities or not, he should have thanked you and wished you a good evening.

Recently read a statement naming the police as the largest gang in the U.S. . I'll admit that it's had me thinking ever since.

Okay, here it is...
 

Too many people calling 9-1-1.

The end.

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.

Pulled over by a cop for 50 in a 35. Was late had kids wanted to get home. Pushed back. "Whad I do?"

Pulls me out of the car. Reads me the riot act for being an a-hole by the back bumper and lets me go.

I see him in the Sheetz gas station two years later. I said "Hey, you have yelled at me". He said, "Man, I yell at a lot of people". He smiled.

Seemed good people enough to me. He was 50, though. Maybe age mellows them out?