Did either of you do any background research on this woman? (a possible clue as to her attitude towards police)
Did either of you know that she traveled to Cuba to take pictures of decaying buildings?
Did either of you know that the area that she was in is an area of potential prostitution activity?
Did either of you read anything from the Cops POV?
Were either of you privy to the information available to the local policeman?
Here is what I think happened:
The cop suspected her of possible prostitution, but did not want to specifically say so, in case he was wrong.
He innocently asked for her ID and more info to either determine if she was a hooker (possible prior arrests) or to let her know that the area is being watched.
She became infuriated and let him know it, in no uncertain terms.
He arrested her, because he was ticked off at her reaction.
The Sargent came out, cooled things down and released her.
Was the cop wrong...........probably.
Did the woman overreact to the questions...........yes.
Do cops have the right to ask us for ID...........yes.
Should we treat cops with respect? .............yes.
Have many here assumed the cop was wrong with insufficient evidence on which to base that conclusion?.............YES
Hear! Hear!
I might agree with you, except the cop said there was no probable cause. Additionally, just because the woman took a trip to Cuba does not establish probable cause. Neither does her presence in an area noted for prostitution.
If you read this thread you will see that it is I that pointed out the possible protitution suspicion.
I will agree that we need to treat law enforcement official with respect. Our society has been lax in this regard...also with regard to our soldiers.
But, I've had an experience with a cop that just went WAY overboard. I'm a 48 year old grandma with no arrest, no traffic violations, nothing period. I have 5 grown children. One of them is serving in the armed forces and was in the Iraq. I've taught my children the importance of respect...they are all just wonderful contributing members of society. I was not shown any respect either. I was wrestled, roughed up, cuffed, held in the cruiser, and basically belittled with little reason other than I had the audacity to question why this cop was at my house. No charges were ever filed, no "rights" were given me, even though I was being held.
So, from my experience I would say that some cops need to chill out. What threat was I, (even if I was a known criminal) to the cop. He was 5 9" and about 215 pounds. Me, I'm 5'3" and 130. I was obviously not armed, I was standing out in my yard in tight jeans and a T-shirt. Oh yeah, and I have an hispanic surname.
She became infuriated and let him know it, in no uncertain terms.
He arrested her, because he was ticked off at her reaction."
C'mon, Michael. Let's PLEASE stop torturing logic as well as the facts here, shall we??
Occam's Razor. He didn't just ask for her ID (SSN? I don't THINK so, bud). "Innocently"? What does that mean? Doesn't apply here at all, and quite a leap on your part. He was a cowboy, pure and simple. The results of this whole affair bear that out. Never should have happened in the first place. Have you never in your life run across some hotdog, pushy, "there's God then there's ME" sort of cop? I sure have....and I think most have. Cops that I know will wax eloquent on the topic for hours about their own (and they swear State Troopers are the absolute worst, for some reason).
How do you know or even suspect that she became "infuriated", simply because she refused to comply with a clearly un-Constitutional bullying tactic?
......and the real kicker........he arrested her "because he got ticked off at her reaction". Whew...........Michael, please show me that law on any of the books in the US of A. If you find it, I'm moving.
Yep, I do believe you have nailed it.