5 ms·

Sorry to hear that would you be willing to describe the abuse in more detail?

by gist 11y ago

samstave 11y ago
Without giving too much detail in public, police were called to my house and I had just finished putting my children to bed. The officer was talking to me and then asked me to step on the porch, after doing so they had asked if I had been drinking - I said yes I had wine with my dinner, why. They then arrested me and refused to tell me why - their exact words were "you know why" and took me to jail. I then had to bail out of jail and upon doing so, found out they arrested me for "being drunk in public". For drinking wine, hours prior, in my OWN HOME. I went to court and no charges were filed and the whole thing was dismissed. But not after I lost several thousand to bail, and I had no recourse at all. There is a lot more to the story of this particular officer but this arrest was exactly as stated above. It almost cost me my job as well, had I not had the ability to bail out. All for nothing. If you drop all charges / do not charge someone with anything then the police should have to not only pay all my bail feed back, but I should be able to go after them for false arrest.
- coldpie 11y ago
  This is not an admonishment of you, but a reminder to everyone. Don't ever talk to the police. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wXkI4t7nuc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wXkI4t7nuc
- dguaraglia 11y ago
  Ugh. Assholes. The tactics you describe remind me of Matt Taibbi's book "The Divide", where he recounts the experience of people in NYC being asked to empty their pockets (which the police shouldn't do unless they had probable cause) only to be charged with "possessing narcotics in public" when they found they had a joint. The existence of such a loophole, and the fact that the police knowingly uses it with impunity, is evidence of how fucked up the system is. They are supposed to be there to protect us, not to entrap you for whatever power game they are playing.
  - eric_h 11y ago
    I have a friend in the NYPD. One of the tips he gave me is never empty your pockets if asked to by the police if you are carrying contraband. He said you should just point to the pocket that contains said contraband and tell them that it's in there.
    - wyclif 11y ago
      So the cop empties your pocket and you get arrested. Same result as far as I can tell.
      - eric_h 11y ago
        In NYC, mere possession of less than 25g of marijuana is just a ticket (first offense, anyway). Displaying it in public can get you actually arrested versus just being issued a summons. While again, for a first offense, one can avoid any real long lasting consequences, the latter situation can be very expensive once you factor in lawyer fees. The former will cost you at most about $150.
  - mbubb 11y ago
    Good advice. I had a non-tactical, non-aggressive knife in my pocket and ended up getting arrested. No previous trouble with the law... I was minding my own business on the subway. Handful of court dates, a few grand and community service. For a tool.
- specialp 11y ago
  Perhaps I could be wrong, but isn't bail returned when one successfully shows up in court until the matter is adjudicated regardless of the outcome? The only way bail is forfeited is when the defendant skips out on returning to court.
  - defen 11y ago
    If he used a bail bondsman there is typically a 10% fee (e.g. bail is $25,000; you pay the bondsman $2,500 and get bailed out)
  - samstave 11y ago
    The bail was $25,000 - I don't have that in cash. I had to get a bond, and pay out of pocket $2,500. Also, they keep bail, assuming I had paid it in cash in full, for "a year and a day" The cops retain the "right" to charge you for 1 year.
    - srean 11y ago
      I am sure the cops and the bondsmen have a sweet deal going.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- gist 11y ago
  "police were called to my house and I had just finished putting my children to bed" Understand that you don't want to give details but can you say why they were called to your house in the first place?

Sorry to hear that would you be willing to describe the abuse in more detail?

by gist 11y ago

Sorry to hear that would you be willing to describe the abuse in more detail?

Without giving too much detail in public, police were called to my house and I had just finished putting my children to bed. The officer was talking to me and then asked me to step on the porch, after doing so they had asked if I had been drinking - I said yes I had wine with my dinner, why. They then arrested me and refused to tell me why - their exact words were "you know why" and took me to jail. I then had to bail out of jail and upon doing so, found out they arrested me for "being drunk in public". For drinking wine, hours prior, in my OWN HOME. I went to court and no charges were filed and the whole thing was dismissed. But not after I lost several thousand to bail, and I had no recourse at all. There is a lot more to the story of this particular officer but this arrest was exactly as stated above. It almost cost me my job as well, had I not had the ability to bail out. All for nothing. If you drop all charges / do not charge someone with anything then the police should have to not only pay all my bail feed back, but I should be able to go after them for false arrest.

coldpie 11y ago
This is not an admonishment of you, but a reminder to everyone. Don't ever talk to the police. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wXkI4t7nuc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wXkI4t7nuc
dguaraglia 11y ago
Ugh. Assholes. The tactics you describe remind me of Matt Taibbi's book "The Divide", where he recounts the experience of people in NYC being asked to empty their pockets (which the police shouldn't do unless they had probable cause) only to be charged with "possessing narcotics in public" when they found they had a joint. The existence of such a loophole, and the fact that the police knowingly uses it with impunity, is evidence of how fucked up the system is. They are supposed to be there to protect us, not to entrap you for whatever power game they are playing.
- eric_h 11y ago
  I have a friend in the NYPD. One of the tips he gave me is never empty your pockets if asked to by the police if you are carrying contraband. He said you should just point to the pocket that contains said contraband and tell them that it's in there.
  - wyclif 11y ago
    So the cop empties your pocket and you get arrested. Same result as far as I can tell.
    - eric_h 11y ago
      In NYC, mere possession of less than 25g of marijuana is just a ticket (first offense, anyway). Displaying it in public can get you actually arrested versus just being issued a summons. While again, for a first offense, one can avoid any real long lasting consequences, the latter situation can be very expensive once you factor in lawyer fees. The former will cost you at most about $150.
- mbubb 11y ago
  Good advice. I had a non-tactical, non-aggressive knife in my pocket and ended up getting arrested. No previous trouble with the law... I was minding my own business on the subway. Handful of court dates, a few grand and community service. For a tool.
specialp 11y ago
Perhaps I could be wrong, but isn't bail returned when one successfully shows up in court until the matter is adjudicated regardless of the outcome? The only way bail is forfeited is when the defendant skips out on returning to court.
- defen 11y ago
  If he used a bail bondsman there is typically a 10% fee (e.g. bail is $25,000; you pay the bondsman $2,500 and get bailed out)
- samstave 11y ago
  The bail was $25,000 - I don't have that in cash. I had to get a bond, and pay out of pocket $2,500. Also, they keep bail, assuming I had paid it in cash in full, for "a year and a day" The cops retain the "right" to charge you for 1 year.
  - srean 11y ago
    I am sure the cops and the bondsmen have a sweet deal going.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
gist 11y ago
"police were called to my house and I had just finished putting my children to bed" Understand that you don't want to give details but can you say why they were called to your house in the first place?