Campus Police

[nc-1701]

So ummm I have a little story about a run in with campus police pigs and I want opinions on it.

So last night my girl and I went for a walk on campus then went back to my car and made out in the backseat in an empty back parking lot, not the brightest thing I know but afaik not illegal. And that's all we did it was completely clean PG stuff. Anyway so a campus police car pulls up behind us and I got out and asked him if their was a problem, he yelled something at me about 5 times which I didn't understand to which I replied "excuse me?" and then he said "That means sit your butt down in your car!" He took my plates and then he came and talked to us threatening how he could get us kicked out of school etc. Then he asked for ID she gave him her student ID and I gave him my drivers license. He told me he wanted my student ID and I explained I never bothered to get one and he yelled at me about they were required and when I told him I hadn't known he said "!" as he stormed back to his car to run our IDs. Eventually he brought them back yelled at us more about how much trouble he could get us in and then told us to "get out of here" which we gladly did.
During this whole time I was nothing but respectful "Yes sir!" and "no sir!" were about all I said, I think this may be what got us out of a more serious confrontation...

Anyway I have a few question if anybody would so kind as to answer them.
1. Could we have actually got into any trouble? Were both over 18, had a parking decal, were parked legally, and as I said weren't doing anything particularly obscene so I don't think so, but it would be good to know. (regardless we're obviously not repeating that).
2. Isn't it extremely unprofessional for a cop to act that way? Every previous run in I've had for traffic stops or w/e has involved the cop giving me a name and unit number (didn't happen here) and being polite and professional. This joker was yelling, swearing and making threats at us.
3. Anybody got similar stories they wanna share?

 

[Masada]

1. Could we have actually got into any trouble? Were both over 18, had a parking decal, were parked legally, and as I said weren't doing anything particularly obscene so I don't think so, but it would be good to know. (regardless we're obviously not repeating that).

No, I don't believe so. Having said that, if you had a minor fault then you could probably expect a ticket for that. Something like a malfunctioning brake light for instance.

2. Isn't it extremely unprofessional for a cop to act that way? Every previous run in I've had for traffic stops or w/e has involved the cop giving me a name and unit number (didn't happen here) and being polite and professional. This joker was yelling, swearing and making threats at us.

Yes, I would check how one goes about making a complaint and make it. It could be internal - that is, through his direct superiors - or external - through an ombudsman for instance - I have no idea. If its the former I would probably think a little more before I made it. Nevertheless, there is no excuse for this kind of behaviour from a police officer. It would be enough here (Australia) to get a formal warning or caution.

3. Anybody got similar stories they wanna share?

Yes, I got picked up walking home one night. Apparently wearing hooded jackets is a bad thing or at least enough to get you picked up as a suspect for something that was never fully explained to me. I wasn't 'arrested' either. I was just 'voluntarily' cooperating with the police in their inquiry. I no longer walk home later than about ten wearing a jacket because of it.

 

[Cheetah]

I only got caught once for jaywalking at the University of Minnesota.

I was late for class and some administrative people were on strike for some reason I can't remember - they wanted more money I suppose, and they were demonstrating right at the corner of the intersection. The light started blinking so I ran past the demonstrators across the street and straight into a cop.

I guess they had found that they to be a good day to ticket people for jaywalking. Anyway, he started straight out with: "Show me your license please" or some such.

Explaining that my passport was in my dorm room, and that I could go back and get it and that I didn't have anything else at the time, he of course understood I wasn't American and asked me what I thought the blinking red light means. "That it's gonna be green soon and I have to hurry over"?

I got of with a lecture about how traffic rules work in the States.

Don't have much more to say about Campus Police. Don't like them much I suppose. And how the hell can jaywalking be illegal??

 

[SG-17]

This is why.

Spoiler :

Yes, all campus police are unprofessional.

 

[Bugfatty300]

I remember my school's rent-a-cops always leaving me gay little tickets under my wiper for not having my parking pass properly displayed. The finance department never asked me to pay them so they always went in the trash.

 

[Rashiminos]

Don't like them much I suppose. And how the hell can jaywalking be illegal??

So the idiots running out in the middle of moving traffic can be fined.

 

[Cheetah]

So the idiots running out in the middle of moving traffic can be fined.

The traffic wasn't moving.

Besides, lots of good countries don't consider jaywalking to be illegal. I can mention Norway and Japan, two countries were both other people and I am jaywalking right in front of police. As there is no traffic at those times, there is no problem and they don't do anything about it - like all sane people would expect.

 

[BuckyRea]

Campus police departments are not going to attract your top talent in the law enforcement profession. It sounds like you were doing nothing wrong. No, you can't get a ticket for smooching in public. But the "pigs" thing is probably not a word you want to practice in your daily vocabulary. The "yes sir" treatment in face to face dealings shouldn't be an act you put on. The best response to verbal disrespect is assertive and sincere respect. If you feel like you were treated unfairly, you have the right to complain. Doing so may even help the campus cops improve their professionalism.

 

[Tee Kay]

@BuckyRea: if he complains right there and then he might just get into more trouble.

 

[Rashiminos]

The traffic wasn't moving.

Besides, lots of good countries don't consider jaywalking to be illegal. I can mention Norway and Japan, two countries were both other people and I am jaywalking right in front of police. As there is no traffic at those times, there is no problem and they don't do anything about it - like all sane people would expect.

I didn't say it was in your case. I'm talking about the ones that start fifty car pileups.

 

[Bugfatty300]

The traffic wasn't moving.

Besides, lots of good countries don't consider jaywalking to be illegal. I can mention Norway and Japan, two countries were both other people and I am jaywalking right in front of police. As there is no traffic at those times, there is no problem and they don't do anything about it - like all sane people would expect.

I guess it's different from place to place. Where I lived in Mexico it seemed like every week some pedestrian who couldn't be bothered to use the walkway got run over or caused a major accident. Cars where always parked bumper to bumper along the street so if someone walked out they would be right in front of your grill. Even if you didn't hit them there was always a chance the guy behind you would rear end you after slamming on the brakes.

 

[dirtyparrot]

Of course you can't get kicked out of university for making out in the backseat of a car. He probably wanted to scare you into not doing it again, but what he did seems totally unnecessary.

 

[Virote_Considon]

Remember: ACAB

All Cops Are Bastards

 

[Glassfan]

Back in college, my Prof (Middle-aged dingbat genius female) and I were in Boston to do research at the Peabody. She was driving, we were lost (as usual when she drove), she saw a cop walking down the other side of the street, beeped at him, did a perfect U-turn and pulled up next to him to ask for directions.

He saw our Ohio plates, recognized a university dingbat when he saw one and just stood there laughing at us. He could barely catch his breath but pointed us towards Harvard Commons.

 

[warpus]

Remember: ACAB

All Cops Are Bastards

Not all cops.

I've had a couple run ins with the police and maybe I'm lucky but so far all of the encounters have been positive. It probably helps that I'm a handsome white male who could pass for a wasp, plus I don't wear hooded jackets after 10pm, but whatever.

Last time I had to deal with a cop was when me and my friend were walking to BMO field for a TFC game, beers in hand... which is illegal, but a bit of a tradition. They were still a fair bit away but heading towards us, when one of them screamed: "Is that beers you guys are holding?".. When they got closer, my friend responded: "Kronenbourg 1664, France's finest!" I was still kinda frozen, so did not respond. The cops came up to us, were very polite, we had a brief chat, and in the end they asked us to "finish up quickly and throw the bottles out". So we chugged the rest of our beers, and dumped them in a nearby garbage bin. When they were leaving, one of them said: "And next time, be more discreet!". So now we use brown paper bags.

There are good cops and there are bad cops. There are also good cops who are having bad days. I read a lot of "omg the police are jerks" stories, usually on reddit.com, and most of those stories originate in the U.S... So I'm not sure if there is a bit of a different cop culture in the 2 countries.. which is possible, but that is probably not the main reason. Me and a friend hit a deer just outside of washington DC on our way to north carolina, were in a bit of a shock (could have easily died), called the cops, were told that they would arrive "in an hour or so", which made us mad cause we were still in shock, it was cold, rainy, etc. We started ranting about "stupid american cops", when 10 minutes later a state trooper arrived. It was the nicest guy ever - he was incredibly polite, looked after us, and in the end even drove us to a hotel.

So that sucks about your experience, but there *are* nice cops out there.

 

[Virote_Considon]

No, All Cops Are Bastards.

The 4-Skins even wrote a song about it.

 

[MobBoss]

To the OP. Find a better place to make-out. Issue solved.

 

[warpus]

To the OP. Find a better place to make-out. Issue solved.

Legally speaking, what was wrong with the spot they found?

 

[Leonel]

The campus police on my campus were pretty cool. I never got into trouble at all with them and they actually were helpful if I locked my keys in my room.

 

[MobBoss]

Legally speaking, what was wrong with the spot they found?

Cops rousting out kids parking is a national pastime in the USA. Its considered having sex in public afaik. Dont want to be hassled by the man while making out? Get a room.