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What do Americans do when they get pulled over? Open the window and hold your hands on the wheel and dashboard? The police in New Orleans took a shot at touri

What do Americans do when they get pulled over? Open the window and hold your hands on the wheel and dashboard? The police in New Orleans took a shot at tourists because when they pulled over their car, the person next to the driver reached over and grabbed a (silver colered) photocamera... Policeman thought it was a gun and shot. I feel European people need a 'How To Interact with the Police' course. Made us very jumpy whenever there was a policecar around.

javert 13y ago
> Open the window and hold your hands on the wheel and dashboard? Yeah, they teach you to do that, and if you don't, normally the cop will tell you to do something like that next time you get pulled over. I think it's a good system. The cop doesn't know if you have a gun. The chance is probably 1 in 1,000 or less, but still kinda scary. As a sidenote, America is in many ways more like a 3rd world country than most of Europe. The bad guys will have guns no matter what [1], and it's much safer for us all if the good guys have guns, too. [1] Well, we could change this in a few decades if we ended the drug war and eradicated endemic poverty. But the government is too busy spying on us and planning to invade Syria, to think about making other changes.
- digitalengineer 13y ago
  Thanks for the reply. On a side note: Most Europeans are (tough to be) very afraid of guns. They're not allowed to own guns (except for very heavily regulated guns for hunting and sports). Even carrying a pocket-knife downtown is against the law, as is defending yourself with something like a baseball bat against burglars at night in your own house. ('Excessive force').
  - cesarbs 13y ago
    I fail to understand how people accept that, especially the last part. That's basically taking away their right to defend themselves and their families. That kind of law favors and protects the bad guys - what's the point in that?
    - DominikR 13y ago
      You can use weapons to protect yourself, but it is very limited and will always trigger an investigation if the use of force was excessive. (I think some if this might also be the case in the US, though in many european countries you really are in trouble if you end up shooting someone that didn't have any weapons on them, or just a knife) The other thing is that it is rare that a burglar brings along weapons, because he can safely assume that the victim wont have any weapons. (so they usually just run away if they are caught) If everyone had weapons at home, you would have more life or death situations, where a burglar would have to shoot someone, just to get out alive. In most cases not even the police would shoot a criminal who is running away (if the person isn't threatening anyone), because they are also bound to never use excessive force if there are other means. (like picking up the criminal on another day at his home) So yes: In rare cases you wont be able to properly defend yourself, but it reduces the amount of escalating situations on a larger scale, so you are generally better off. (Just take a look at statistics on how many people are injured/killed by weapons in a country like Germany vs USA)
      - danmaz74 13y ago
        In Italy you can harm someone physically only to defend people (self-defense, which of course also applies to your family or any bystander) , not to defend property. I guess that most European laws work like this, and I agree with this attitude.
        DominikR 13y ago
        I also agree with that. I wouldn't want to live in a society that is okay with killing or otherwise harming someone for stealing or breaking into someones home, because it would profoundly change how criminals act, and I'm also not a sadist that enjoys harming other people. If someone breaks into my home it could be annoying, or maybe I will even experience fear to some degree, but I am also insured, so it wont hurt me that much, as long as burglars generally don't feel the need to protect their lives with weapons. I would protect myself an my familiy by force if I needed to, but I wouldn't do it just to protect some stuff that someone tries to steal.
  - kybernetikos 13y ago
    Most of this is certainly not true for Europe as a whole and I doubt that it's true for any particular country. In some european countries, owning a gun is nigh on compulsory, and even in countries where it's restricted, there's usually not much restriction on particular kinds of weapons, e.g. shotguns. Using a bat to beat someone until they flee is allowed almost everywhere, using it to beat someone until they're dead or brain damaged is not. You're perfectly allowed to use deadly force to defend yourself in all European countries I know about as long as a reasonable person would think it necessary.

javert 13y ago

> Open the window and hold your hands on the wheel and dashboard? Yeah, they teach you to do that, and if you don't, normally the cop will tell you to do something like that next time you get pulled over. I think it's a good system. The cop doesn't know if you have a gun. The chance is probably 1 in 1,000 or less, but still kinda scary. As a sidenote, America is in many ways more like a 3rd world country than most of Europe. The bad guys will have guns no matter what [1], and it's much safer for us all if the good guys have guns, too. [1] Well, we could change this in a few decades if we ended the drug war and eradicated endemic poverty. But the government is too busy spying on us and planning to invade Syria, to think about making other changes.

digitalengineer 13y ago
Thanks for the reply. On a side note: Most Europeans are (tough to be) very afraid of guns. They're not allowed to own guns (except for very heavily regulated guns for hunting and sports). Even carrying a pocket-knife downtown is against the law, as is defending yourself with something like a baseball bat against burglars at night in your own house. ('Excessive force').
- cesarbs 13y ago
  I fail to understand how people accept that, especially the last part. That's basically taking away their right to defend themselves and their families. That kind of law favors and protects the bad guys - what's the point in that?
  - DominikR 13y ago
    You can use weapons to protect yourself, but it is very limited and will always trigger an investigation if the use of force was excessive. (I think some if this might also be the case in the US, though in many european countries you really are in trouble if you end up shooting someone that didn't have any weapons on them, or just a knife) The other thing is that it is rare that a burglar brings along weapons, because he can safely assume that the victim wont have any weapons. (so they usually just run away if they are caught) If everyone had weapons at home, you would have more life or death situations, where a burglar would have to shoot someone, just to get out alive. In most cases not even the police would shoot a criminal who is running away (if the person isn't threatening anyone), because they are also bound to never use excessive force if there are other means. (like picking up the criminal on another day at his home) So yes: In rare cases you wont be able to properly defend yourself, but it reduces the amount of escalating situations on a larger scale, so you are generally better off. (Just take a look at statistics on how many people are injured/killed by weapons in a country like Germany vs USA)
    - danmaz74 13y ago
      In Italy you can harm someone physically only to defend people (self-defense, which of course also applies to your family or any bystander) , not to defend property. I guess that most European laws work like this, and I agree with this attitude.
      - DominikR 13y ago
        I also agree with that. I wouldn't want to live in a society that is okay with killing or otherwise harming someone for stealing or breaking into someones home, because it would profoundly change how criminals act, and I'm also not a sadist that enjoys harming other people. If someone breaks into my home it could be annoying, or maybe I will even experience fear to some degree, but I am also insured, so it wont hurt me that much, as long as burglars generally don't feel the need to protect their lives with weapons. I would protect myself an my familiy by force if I needed to, but I wouldn't do it just to protect some stuff that someone tries to steal.
- kybernetikos 13y ago
  Most of this is certainly not true for Europe as a whole and I doubt that it's true for any particular country. In some european countries, owning a gun is nigh on compulsory, and even in countries where it's restricted, there's usually not much restriction on particular kinds of weapons, e.g. shotguns. Using a bat to beat someone until they flee is allowed almost everywhere, using it to beat someone until they're dead or brain damaged is not. You're perfectly allowed to use deadly force to defend yourself in all European countries I know about as long as a reasonable person would think it necessary.