Are cops heavy-handed with "our kind"?

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My first and foremost concern when thinking of such situations was also my cat.

That being said, why were you driving without a license and going 107 mph?

It's hard for me to trust most NT's, but I do not trust cops whatsoever. It's not personal - I'm sure most cops are good people just trying to do their job.

I've only had one significant encounter with cops, about two years ago. I had a few drinks out with a friend, had water and time to pass and drove home once the alcohol had worn off some. Not enough time apparently passed, as I was pulled over and ended up in jail for nearly 24 hours (DUI). Was .007 over the legal limit.

In his statement, or whatever they called it, he lied about numerous things. If I had the text here I'd post it, because reading it sounded like I had drunk a liter of vodka and proceeded to drive my car all over the road and was luckily pulled over a U-turn.

In reality, I was only slightly buzzed and performed a completely legal U-turn to avoid what I thought was an accident (it was a checkpoint). During the DUI exam, I made one mistake that I know of (instructions weren't 100% clear) and asked a lot of questions cause, well I'm sure you all understand why. I didn't run any red lights, drive over lanes or do anything dangerous. It was a mistake I made in the end, I broke the law.

Luckily he ended up recommending that my charge be reduced. I wanted to fight it since it was technically not a legal stop, but risking losing and ending up with a DUI on my record would have sucked. Ended up with reckless driving and pretty much the same costs and penalties as a DUI, minus the huge blemish on my record.

I think what helped me most, in the end, is that I was compliant with everything he asked of me. I didn't question "why" or anything of the sort, I answered. If I didn't know, I'd ask for clarification. I responded with "Yes, sir" whenever appropriate, asked at multiple points confirming my rights and most importantly - shut up when it wasn't necessary to say anything.

Since then I keep my distance from police since I know I was lucky and got a cop who was fairly good. If I encountered another one I would not trust him for a second and I don't think any Aspie should. If the police come to your door, go outside to talk with them and lock the door. If they ask to come inside, ask why and if they have a search warrant. If they don't have a warrant, they don't get in.

If you are stopped outside, answer politely to the office. If you're not doing anything wrong and they're pestering you with accusatory questions, ask them "Am I free to go?"

You obviously don't want to be a dick to a police officer - but if they are harassing you and a simple answer doesn't alleviate their concerns and they're being jerks, you have the right to ask if you're free to go - either arrest me or leave me be.

Without a doubt, I believe that cops can be heavy-handed with "our kind" because of the signs they look for in suspicious people. Bad eye contact, I know my eyes are usually red cause I'm always tired, "odd" talking behavior, etc. We seem "different" and some cops will take that as someone who's a drug user, or a criminal acting oddly, that sort of thing.

I used to respect the police. Now while I am sure many of them are decent people I have learned not to trust cops in any way. I know the local city police are corrupt and have been for a long time although I never saw any personal examples until a few years ago.

I was falsely ticketed twice in the same day for something I absolutely 100% did not do. Prior to that I was pulled over by three cops with their hands on their guns and falsely accused of practically racing (two drove off before the third came to my window). I told the cop he obviously got the wrong car and had to listen to his lecture about how 'dangerous' I was driving and how 'lucky' I am to just get a warning. I was actually driving below the speed limit at the time! I still can't figure out why such a heavy handed response was needed for a routine traffic stop.

The second (and third) time I wasn't so 'lucky' and got ticketed twice for the exact same offense in the exact same spot on the exact same day! I was naïve and thought that you needed proof to be convicted in court, especially since I could prove the cop was lying or at least mistaken with pictures. How wrong I was. The judge just called me a liar and a manipulator and set aside one of the two convictions for another date because he was "just going to find me guilty" and wanted me to "have a shot". The fact that I drove for 14 years without even a parking ticket meant nothing to anyone and the prosecutor was the biggest bully I have met in a very long time. I couldn't believe how he twisted my words into something I never said and the judge believed him rather than ordering him to stop being a bully.

My biggest regret was not telling that a-hole cop what I really thought of him. As usual being polite and cooperative just means you get manipulated and taken advantage of. I have since installed a dash camera and won't drive without it because apparently cops have a free pass to do whatever they want (short of outright murdering someone)without repercussions. There are a number of YouTube videos of our local police forcefully arresting innocent people for nothing so I'm not just some crazy delusional person. On the plus side, a number of cops have recently been arrested, demoted or fired and the younger members seem pretty good so let's hope the corruption is on its way out. I will also point out that I once had the heavily armed unit that deals with dangerous situations knock on my door and they were polite, respectful and did not arrest or detain me like they usually do in those situations. The neighbors called because my crazy ex was screaming loudly and they rightfully thought she might be in serious danger.

What are you going to do? Physically stop them? What if they try to break the door down? Good luck saying that to someone who is armed, likely has a huge ego and who can call backup that will automatically take his/her side. Reminds me of a YouTube commentator in a video of a female officer politely arresting a male suspect for a minor charge. Someone bragged about how they are 'not beta' and would never let a woman do that to him. Right

Sounds to me like a great way to try a pair of handcuffs on. Even if you aren't arrested they can still cuff and detain for 'safety', especially if they suspect you are on drugs. Also doesn't matter if you aren't arrested or charged: your neighbors see the 'weird' guy in handcuffs and will assume you something very bad like a pedophile or drug dealer.

You're absolutely right, what I said is based on what I think could be referred to as the "majority". Hopefully, it's the majority. Cops who would respect the law to a certain degree. (such as not breaking into your place without a legal warrant)

Now if you have a cop who decides to break down your door, get back up, anything like that then all you can do is stay out of the way and call a lawyer. That's definitely the scary thing, if they see you as a threat, they can do pretty much anything they want in a worst-case scenario.

By breaking into your house, however, without a warrant - they risk losing any evidence they might gather. They might be able to get away with it, but usually, it's not worth the risk.



The advice I mentioned with the above two is what's recommended by a lot of lawyers. At the end of the day, like I said above, the police can really do whatever they want and some of them I'm sure still plant stuff on people, all those dirty tactics back from the earlier days of policing are still around.

The problem is if you cooperate too much and start answering questions without a lawyer, with the cop having an issue with you, sadly at times it might be easier to insist on lawyering up and dealing with jail for half a day-a day. Otherwise, you say the wrong thing and maybe they decide you broke a crime and charge you with that.

In my experience, it was better to just do what they wanted, as long as it was legal and not violating my rights. To say as little as possible, but it's always going to be a judgement call for each person - have I broken the law, where I live are the cops considered "shady", etc.

I've only ever had very positive interactions with local police and state troopers here.

I do think that Alaskan cops are very high quality, though.

Playing devil's advocate for a moment, a former neighbor was arrested for child molestation and it was quickly determined that it was a bogus charge and was dropped almost immediately. It sounds like the neighbor at the time thought it was a prank call until the cops knocked on his door. Even though he was only in jail less than a day, 25-30 years later he is still a social pariah, likely because he is Aspie like and that was 'proof' of him being a dangerous pedophile. Remember that hindsight is 20/20 and you wouldn't know for sure it was be "a day" in jail: it could be long enough to get many people fired. I honestly don't know how to 'properly' handle such a situation but wanted to point out that 'being silent' can be more costly than being 'too cooperative'. In some situations in life you are damned no matter what like I was with the schoolyard bully with a cop for a father.