Replies

--but how's about "Good evening, sir, how are you doing this fine evening?" instead of starting the pre-arrest interrogation on the spot?--

Your post is dishonest in the protrayal of most policeman and factually mispresentative of the event.

Officer #1: How are you tonight sir?
Brett: Hi.
Officer #1: Can you put your window down for me.

Your post is dishonest in the protrayal of most policeman and factually mispresentative of the event.

You (deliberately) skipped a couple of lines:

(I roll the window ALL the way down.)
Officer #1: Do you have a driver's license and proof of insurance?
(I begin to get my information out of my wallet)
Officer #1: Where you headed tonight?
Brett: I don't wish to discuss my personal life with you officer.
Officer #1: Alright, come on up here.

So, none of what I wrote is dishonest.

From my experience, most cops in the USA, especially those on traffic duty, are generally less than pleasant. They assume guilt until they prove innocence and have no concern for the basic rights, both Constitutional and human, of the people whose lives they disrupt.

Like I said before, it's clear the cop wanted to get a sniff of the "perp's" breath to see if he had a DUI on his hands. When faced with someone who had the unmitigated gall to question his absolute authority and suggest that something was none of his business (correctly, I might add) he got belligerent, rude and proceeded to act illegally.

This attitude is not atypical of American police today.

Officer #1: How are you tonight sir?
Brett: Hi.

Whoa!

Hooked on phonics, anyone?

I find the whole "checkpoint" thing to be about as "American" as Checkpoint Charlie (the "other side" of it), and I find "fishing trips" to be repugnant to the Constitution. But that said, to answer "High" to "How are you tonight sir?" is to BEG for "special attention"!

Remember, what the cop heard was "HIGH" as the answer to his question of how the kid was. He (the cop) wasn't reading the kid's answer off a typed transcript, he was HEARING it. Why am I thinking that if the kid said "I'm doing fine", or even "OK", it would have been the end of it?

If you think about it, "High" -- or even "Hi" -- is NOT a rational reply to "How are you tonight sir?" It's bait, pure and simple!