11-09-2015, 11:33 AM
(11-09-2015, 10:56 AM)GMDino Wrote: Again just because they can doesn'tmean they have to IMHO. That's all I meant. If the lady didn't seem suspicious in any other way a friendly warning and keep going would have been a non-story. Be nice to the officer...be nice to the citizen. Not every situation, but this one.
Depends on what you mean by have to. If you mean in a cosmic, we all have free will way, then no, they don't have to. However, if you mean engaging in their day to day duties and following policy then yes, they very likely have to. Picture this, this woman out for a stroll is a wanted felon. The police establish contact with her but don't ask for ID, again likely in violation of policy. The person then goes out and commits another, serious felony. The police essentially allowed a crime to happen by not following policy.
Now, if, in the example in OP, this woman had been walking on the sidewalk and doing nothing to justify initiating official contact with her, then you'd absolutely have a point. Honestly, what you're advocating is that the police stop doing their jobs properly so as not to potentially offend someone enough for them to write about it on the internet.
