cops and communication disorders

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alright how do you all deal with the police? i seem to be targeted by the cops because im a frequent walker in my neighbourhood and i must look like a shady individual? i swear in the last 3 weeks ive been stopped 4 times by the police. just because i know what there up to patroling but isnt it illegal to stop someone just because? and plus when i get stopped im always nervous because cops scare me. well actually authority scares me becuase i already know why there stopping me because they think im a trouble maker when in actually im not and to make matters worse i never carry my ID and they always ask me my SSN number, is this legal?

so i was wondering if this has ever happend to you, and what you do to make yourself act cool, calm and collected when talking with police so they dont think your a hoodlum

The first thing I would recommend is to watch this video on police encounters from the Flex your Rights foundation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqMjMPlXzdA.

In the US the police have the right to stop you and ask you questions to assess the situation; however they cannot detain you longer than 4 minutes without reasonable cause (where I live at least), nor can they search your car or anything you may be carrying without cause. If you are minding your business you can ask the officer if you are being detained or if you're free to go. Unfortunately they are allowed to stop you on different occasions. This is something police departments take advantage of in some neighborhoods in New York; searching people's person for contraband because they are in a "high risk area", which essentially means any neighborhood.

Get a medical ID bracelet if it's really a problem.

hm. the video isnt working i'll have to try again later, ive been stopped for the stupidest reasons, like not walking on the sidewalk
well thats what he said, and it wasnt like i was in the middle of traffic. i was in the gutter walking anyways now that i have a fancy phone with camera and video capabilities the next time i get "stopped" im gonna roll tape. we'll see how long the officer wants to stick around and question me then

i think ill pass. if i wore a bracelet printed out off of the internet thats screaming redflags right there, you gotta see it threw the cops eyes player
i thought they were like some official merchandise

First off, you need to work on remembering your ID at all times. That will stop the SSN thing dead. Technically, they are not allowed to request your SSN. Only a federal agency is allowed to do that. However, when being detained by police, it could be the difference between arrest and going on your way.

As for the ID, make it a habit to have it with you whenever you leave the house. In fact, I do not leave my home unless there are 4 things in my pocket at any time:

1) Wallet
2) Keys
3) Cell Phone
4) Chapstick

I also usually carry money and a knife with me but sometimes, I do not have cash on hand (not broke, just keep as little cash as possible on hand) and do not grab the knife when I am going into a situation where I am not allowed to have a knife (flying or visiting a courthouse). If you live by yourself, you could put a post-it note on the door in BIG LETTERS reminding you to carry your ID.

As for an actual police stop, the supreme court does limit how long you can be held without being informed as to why you are being detained. I know that in a vehicle, the time is 20 minutes. It may be less for a pedestrian. However, the court has ruled that the person being detained has to request to be released. If the police refuse at that point, they have to give you a reason for continuing to detain you. The court has also ruled that you have to provide some sort of identification or identify yourself in some way to the officers (such as answering identity questions) BUT you do not have to answer any other question. Most people use the line "I do not wish to answer that question." Your rights against self-incrimination are valid, even in a simple stop.

The hardest part though is remembering this when actually in a stop. Even NTs get anxious when being stopped by the police. I just thing that those with ASDs get even more anxious depending on their previous dealings as well as how they respond to people. You could carry a card stating that you have an ASD but from what I see, that would only result in harassment in your situation.

Finally, you can complain to the chief of police or the mayor that the frequency of stops is bordering on harassment and that if it continues, you will consider seeking legal advice. I do not know much of your situation so I do not know if you are eligible for legal aid but you certainly can talk to a lawyer about this too. However, realize that if you do take action against the police department, they tend to abuse their power (whether legally or illegally) just to show who is boss.

The best advice though is to carry ID and follow the law to the best of your ability. If the police officer wishes to stop you, just be polite with them.

A police office cannot ask for your SSN. The SSN is not to be used for identity.

You don't have to carry ID with you, but it can help.

That this has happened several times, you need to confront the police department about it. There is no reason why you can't go out and not be stopped on a routine basis. They should know who you are and that you are not a danger to anyone.

I have had many similar experiences with police that the original poster described. I have come up with the following solution. I wrote a cgi program that creates an autism ID card and an accompanying information card. I host the program on one of my websites. Feel free to visit the website to view an example http://www.plaza1.net/autexample.html. You can create your own I.D. card for free at this website as well. You should consider creating and carrying one of these cards at all times when away from home. If nothing else, it could provide a basis for a lawsuit under the Americans with Disabilities Act if you happen to live in the Police States of America. Nothing is stored on the website as a result of entering information or printing a card. If you feel uncomfortable with inputting information on the website, you can host the program on your own. The source code of the program is also available for download and your own use and modification.

oh well thank you everyone for your help. these bracelets seem nerdy but suddenly there value has risen considerably in th last few minutes with me. i didnt know they were made out of metal, i have some scrap gold (about 40 grams of 10k) that i dont use and i could have a jewler melt it down and make it. i'll have to put it on the to do list and it could prevent my nervous studder

God! do i know what your talking about! i walk home from work most nights and police stop me all the time. they only stop me for a few seconds, but its still very frustrating and annoying. I'm 6' 6" and about 230 pounds. I'm pretty sure I'm frightening to some at 1:00 in the morning.but still...you know? I wish they would leave me alone. this isn't Stalingrad. i should have the right to walk home without being harrassed.

Since I have to carry a GPS unit to keep track of my location and direction, I speak out my location at intersections or whenever anything different happens into a digital voice-recorder that I keep running continuously when I'm away from home.

I've already recorded a few encounters with people voicing threats of violence and obscenities, and instances of the super "polite" police saying things when they think other people can't hear.

Here in California, it's mandatory to carry photo-ID at all times, and the State only issues one, only one Driver's License or one Identification Card, but not both to the same person. So, if the police confiscates your ID (which they "never" do), you're an illegal non-person. A couple decades ago, protesters were protesting oppressive foreign governments that had such ID requirements, while the police just a couple blocks away were arresting homeless people for not having current and valid IDs. (When the states of the USA do it, it's OK, or ELSE!! !).

Having paper ADA impairments' documentation didn't work for me when I requested reasonable accommodations at the Federal District Court Building in San Francisco. The armed guards refused to read it, and struggling against my impairments, the Court Clerks played stupid. And my lawsuit was about discrimination against disabled people by Federal employers, which the courts ruled never happened. My congressman wrote back to me with the explanation that the Equal Access To Justice Act didn't exist either.

When I lived closer to the SF Bay area, news stories were frequent about the police shooting anyone with anything that looked like a gun, from brooms to cell-phones. The joke back then was, that if your a victim of a crime, call the police and double the chances you'll get shot.

If there is a sidewalk, pedestrians are suppose to be on it. If there is no sidewalk, they are then suppose to walk against traffic. If there is a sidewalk that only extends part of the block, then the pedestrian, walking with traffic, on the sidewalk (as required by law), is in trouble when the sidewalk runs-out, because jay-walking is illegal too. On garbage day, the sidewalks are usually blocked off with the containers, but here in the USA, all law abiding citizens drive anyways, or so holds the NT moral majority.

Also, some police officers think they enforce the law, but that they are not obligated to follow it.

Tadzio

I carry a GPS because my neurological sense of location and direction in forming such new memories was severely damaged from a frontal subdural hematoma that resulted from a unusually strong secondary tonic-clonic seizure with epilepsy.

I usually get a real bad migraine after major seizures, and tried to wait the "migraine" out as I typically do, but it lasted and lasted, until both sides of my body started to go numb in paralysis with my vision "whiting" out, and I decided to call the emergeny ER.

The ambulance people knew I had epilepsy, and they tried to convince me to still wait it out, since the after effects of seizures usually subside without lasting problems. I was mean enough to demand to go ER, and when I got there, after a CAT scan, ER told me that I had about 3 hours to live without emergency neurosurgery at a hospital about 70 miles distant.

Having a "medic alert" bracelet can also be dangerous.

Tadzio