3 ms·
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 the
by 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 agoI 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 agoSo the cop empties your pocket and you get arrested. Same result as far as I can tell.
- eric_h 11y agoIn 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 agoGood 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.