4 ms·

If you're starting from a position where the police can't take any action against you without more evidence, and they need you to provide that evidence, sure. I

If you're starting from a position where the police can't take any action against you without more evidence, and they need you to provide that evidence, sure. In that case, there may be no benefit to you to cooperating. But that's not where the parent post was. He was a juvenile, carrying a rucksack, walking alone at 5am. He is already starting from a position of being detained as a potential runaway. His encounter can get better (proving that he's just a birdwatcher and being allowed on his way) or worse (if he's carrying anything he can be arrested for). If he's just carrying a camera and a pair of binoculars, it seems like its worth the risk. The officer has better things to do with his day than ferry around kids who clearly aren't runaways.

clouddrover 10y ago
> In that case, there may be no benefit to you to cooperating. There's never any benefit to you in cooperating. You do the absolute minimum you are compelled by law to do, and do nothing further. I encourage you to read James Duane's book. You are the target audience.
- TheGrumpyBrit 10y ago
  In this case, failing to cooperate would almost certainly have led to him being detained as a potential runaway, and returned to his parents, or if he refused to provide any information at all, taken to the police station and turned over to Child Protective Services. In this particular scenario, it seems that cooperating was the best approach. By all means enforce your rights, but make sure you know your opponents rights too, and choose your battles carefully.