Have you been arrested?

[Defeated Detective]

Thrice. First due to Loitering & Power Theft, Second is due to a warrant(which was due to failure to appear in court) and third is trespassing which was also due to failure to appear in court.

If you're complaining on how they treat you in jail(as in, like shit), don't bother, being assholes are the main part of their job.

 

[Olas]

No, but I have been falsely ticketed twice. I challenged both tickets in court and won both times, I still had to pay a court fee and it cost me time and gas money to the point where it would likely have been cheaper to just pay the ticket, but at least my record is still clean.

In fact almost everyone I know has been falsely ticketed at least once for some reason or other. The police in my area are essentially corrupt and will make shit up to write you a ticket if they can't find sufficient reason to give you a real one after pulling you over. It's really crazy.

Edit: I'm surprised this thread doesn't have a poll, that seems like a no brainer to me.

 

[Malty Milk Whistle]

Never arrested, but had 2 encounters.
First was simply a party that got a LOT out of control (mainly due to Facebook) and ended up with riot vans and over 2000 people in a small street.
That was a blast. Ended up being told to move on, because my mates and I weren't attacking, stealing or fucking anything, and the police had bigger problems.

The second was a bit dodgey, but due to a bureaucratic error in which my dad was a major suspect in the murder and rape of a 19 year old.

Turns out she lived 4 counties over and was never in the same city as me Pa.
They were nice and polite both times, so that was a help.

 

[AldUK]

About 4 years ago I had a major breakdown after my best friend commited suicide which led to a stay in a police cell overnight. Immediately after I was interred at the local mental hospital for a 4 week stay, so it's pretty much the worst month of my life to date.

I live with my dad, we've always been together through a lot of shit over the years, so I look to him for support just as he looks to me. On the night I found out about my friend's death (the guy I spent pretty much my entire childhood with) I phoned my dad and told him about it. He didn't come home until midnight, roaring drunk because some guys from work invited him to the pub. I was so angry and upset that I threw a snooker cue at him, cutting his leg. He called the police, they came round and saw the cut and I was immediately dragged off in cuffs.

The cell was cold, filthy and only had a very small, narrow wooden bench to lay on. Luckily they allowed me a book, so I spent the night reading uncomfortably and trying to forget everything. Not an experience I ever want to repeat and if I'm honest I've never really forgiven my dad for that night.

 

[Ryan Minns]

An ex who cheated on me with a wannabe copper attempted to use my instaguilty problem by making some false claims but luckily my solicitor caught her up and she literally changed her story 4 times on the stand which was hilarious + I had a witness to call bullshit... sadly even after this the magistrate stated he believes I'm guilty but has to label me not guilty due to ALL evidence pointing towards that. Best part about this one was my town is low on decent officers but the one who came to tell me about the accusation was brilliant and seemed to feel it was bullshit from the start.



Yes, I live in a very fucked up town

I have two actual convictions. One of assault and the other property damage but I'd prefer not to get into them.

 

[Killclaw Kilrathi]

I got stopped by the cops for not speeding, once. This is in Australia, incidentally.

I was driving down a service road that police like to conceal cars along with speed cameras, and I came across a roadworks with a reduced speed limit. A police car was ahead of me and just cleared it, at which point they pulled over to the side of the road. Knowing what they're like, I slowed my car to the reduced limit and crawled through. The cops start following me, and pull me over a while later. With a completely blank expression on his face one officer asks me for my license and registration, takes it back to their car, brings it back and reluctantly lets me go.

 

[MetalMagpie]

Guess my surprise when I get a drunk in public.

You can be arrested just for being drunk in a public place where you live? That is harsh!

In the UK, you have to be "drunk and disorderly", which generally means you were hurling abuse at people, damaging property and/or started a fight. I have been approached by a policewoman on my way home after a night out (visibly wasted, but in a placid way) and all she wanted was to do was check that I didn't have far to go. Which was nice of her.

 

[Festus Moonbear]

I got arrested for possession of cannabis with the intent to supply, when I was 17. They bumped it down to just possession when it was clear I had no intention to sell it. Tbh I was more worried about getting expelled from school as I was about 100m from the gates at the time, and supposed to be in class. Anyway, I spent 10 hours in a cell waiting for a free solicitor to arrive (for my buddy, not me, as I waived the right), and then they let me go with a caution. A copper drove me home and told me he'd talked to my mum on the phone and that she wasn't the sort of lady who should be getting those kinds of phone calls, which was true. I actually thought he was going to ask her on a date or something. But he didn't. Thank God.

 

[Guffe]

Nope never.
You see I am the one doing the arresting so would be kind of shitty if I happened to get arrested...

 

[Use_Imagination_here]

That's right, waste everyone's time and resources by being petulant! stick'n it to the man, man.

Yes, how dare he ask for his basic rights. Clearly the police thought it was immensely important since they let him go without questioning.

Obviously he is a monster.

 

[Bellvedere]

My only experience being the one in trouble from police has been a speeding ticket. Speeding in a School Zone (that is not going the reduced speed) on first day school was back after Christmas school holidays - the really long one in Australia and I completely forgot to take notice of the signs.

I was also once a witness in a case that went to court. Had to give a statement to police. The officer I was giving a statement to kept pressuring me to recall really specific details and times for something that had happened months ago which I couldn't. Then when it actually went to court years later I couldn't remember anything at all.

 

[Ickorus]

Nope, the police in my area are pretty good and the only contact I've had with them is when my brother was bottled and when my Dad had his car broken into.

Same officer both times funnily enough, I remember because he was bloody huge even in comparison to me and my father.

 

[DugMachine]

Nope. Just some tickets here and there. I hope I never get arrested for anything, must really suck.

 

[major_chaos]

Snip

First, I was not accusing the person I quoted of being a criminal. Second, if you are taken in for questioning and you really didn't do anything it seems to me the best option would be to tell the truth and get it over with. If I need to call in someone who's entire job is to lie for me even though I'm innocent our system is fucked beyond repair.

I took Advanced Placement American Government and Politics class

And I took several criminal justice classes, and in both of them more than half the class had prior drug/DUI convictions and were very open that they plan to use everything they learned to avoid getting caught/convicted next time.

 

[Ratties]

The cops showed up to bust me for theft at a Toy's R Us. Had the great idea of stealing candy by scooping it up in my jacket. Eventually I just wandered around the store trying to act like I didn't have anything. Remember carrying my jacket around with about 20$ worth of stolen candy. Even though I didn't even want the candy, I just decided to steal on an impulse. Was screwed when a cop walked up to me after I left. After putting me in handcuffs, I just sat in the back of the car feeling like a dumbass. Seriously just get popped for stealing candy, lol.

 

[Captain Booyah]

Oh yes.
Once and only once, and has been the sole reason for my hatred to police ever since.

I had just gotten out of the navy, and moved to a new state for a new job. Trying to be social, I hit the bar with a co worker. After having a fun night, I decide to head home. The bar is less than a mile from my new apartment, so I head off walking back.I cross the highway right next to the bar, and get stopped by a police car as I come to the other side. Cop asks if I'd been drinking, and being honest, I say yes, that's why I'm walking home. Guess my surprise when I get a drunk in public. I tried to point out that I was carrying on a conversation with him without teetering/slurring, He watched me check that no cars were coming, and crossed right at the red light. I even said I'd go back to the bar and sober up/get a ride back if he wanted. No dice.

Best part of all this, going to make my phone call, I wasn't allowed my cell phone to look up anyone's number. The only number I could remember (new job and a new state) was to work. I thought I was fired when my boss came to bail me out.
(fun fact! If you work at a nuke plant and get arrested, NRC rules state they have to pull your access to the site. Going through security to regain access is a fun and extremely quick process, honest!)

So yea, I don't have any love for police. At all. Those donut munching pigs can all do a swan dive off a cliff as far as I'm concerned. They have the ability to ruin your life/public record, and they do so with no hesitation at all. I decide to walk home instead of chancing it at the wheel, and my reward is the honor of being the first one in my family to be arrested. Not a honor I thought I'd ever have.

(and yes, I am still bitter about it.)

Because clearly, one encounter with one pair of asshole cops means that all the millions of cops across all states and all countries in the world are exactly the same. They don't have individual personalities or shit that normal human beings have; they're just a homogeneous mass waiting to screw us over. Because you totally got pulled over once. Perfect logic.

If you recognise that you have an irrational hatred of the police, you should be working on fixing that, not gloating about it on the internet. I probably wouldn't have bothered replying to this at all, but you just told an entire group of people to jump off a cliff while sporting a pony avatar. Bloody hell.

 

[ace_of_something]

I've gotten one speeding ticket when I was 19. And it was a small county sheriff who was tailgating me super hard at night wouldn't go around, so I got pissed and punched it up about 7 over the speed limit then he gave me a ticket.

I was super fucking pissed.

I have been a police officer (or deputy etc) for about 11 years now. I am glad I've never gotten a complaint about minor arrests or anything like that.

(I have had one complaint when we had to end a guy's life but it wasn't his family that complained it was PEOPLE WHO WEREN'T &*(@_# THERE)

 

[Devil's Due]

Snip

First, I was not accusing the person I quoted of being a criminal. Second, if you are taken in for questioning and you really didn't do anything it seems to me the best option would be to tell the truth and get it over with. If I need to call in someone who's entire job is to lie for me even though I'm innocent our system is fucked beyond repair.

And if you knew anything about the Government and the legal system, you would not talk to the police during questioning because very often the police will find some way to get you to confess to something you didn't do to get their job over with.

I call bull on your "I've taken classes things," and I have both taken classes, have real life experience, and family members with lifetimes of experience in this same area. I'm sorry, but until you actually take a class and realize that you shouldn't talk even when innocent if they're taking you in for questioning I will wish you the best of luck. I can only hope that one day your trust in the system doesn't betray you like it has for so many Americans.

PS: The fact you call Lawyer's people who's jobs are to just lie is hilarious. Their jobs are to defend the person regardless if they did it or not, because that's how the law works. Please, tell me again how much experience you have here.

 

[major_chaos]

I responded "Yes officer, about 6 hours ago I smoked a bowl of weed. I'm completely sober now"

I had done nothing wrong, but because I implicated myself I was arrested. If I had remained silent, nothing would have happened.

Important clarification question: Is pot legal where you live?

Another example: Lets say you are a suspect in a murder trial. Being innocent, you want to cooperate with the police, you answer all their questions. You say that you were out of town the night of the murder, but you can't prove it. However a witness swears that he saw you at a gas station near the site of the murder. With a simple case of mistaken identity, the police now have reason to believe you are lying to them, which will hurt your case should it progress to a trial.

As unfortunate as this hypothetical case is, I don't see how a lawyer would help in this case, and refusing to say anything at all would make you that much more suspicious, especially if they have a guy saying you were there.

The bill of rights was designed by the founding fathers as a sword for the innocent, not a shield for the guilty.

Just a shame some people are so dedicated to abusing it for their own ends.

 

[A.A.K]

4 times. I've also received 4 cautions. How did they treat me? Lazily. You're supposed to be locked up after the 3rd. Nope, gave me a fourth.
All of them for street fighting.
Because I was the winner...oh uhm...'survivor', because no-one totally wins a fight, and I was either outmatched or outnumbered all four times, the cops just went "Please don't do this shit again."

And I suppose the rules say that you're not supposed to talk about it either, I take it?


OP: I haven't gotten arrested since I generally know how to behave myself, but I have had my run-ins with the cops, most of them mainly being either traffic-related or airsoft LARP-related.

Insinuating what? I made it up or that I was apart of a fight club?
Believe it or don't, I don't really care.

The most interesting thing I've found with a Geek-Culture site, is that no-one can seem to fathom a world where people choose to fight or be aggressive with one-another.
Another big thing I've noticed is the 'cops wear capes' sort of mentality. The 'cops always win and always do their job' sort of thing.

You know what it was? It was me being an angry teenager, having almost a decade of training at the time, and walking around shitty neighbourhoods being hostile to hostile people.
That moment when you meet a douchebag and he goes "The fuck you looking at?" When you say nothing and walk away to avoid problems, I used to turn to them and say something rather nasty; and when both people have wanted to go at each other, and both people are hostile towards one another, in a shitty neighbourhood, no-one goes to the police.
All four times I've had issues with cops, were because they happened to already be in the area at the time.
- That's it.
No drama, no conspiracy, and it's not even uncommon. Most of my circle, from friends, to students, to even my girlfriend...have done the exact same thing to varying degrees.