The issue we are having with this discussion (not just you and me, but in the universal sense) is that we need to weigh BOTH police behavior and suspect behavior. Actually, we also need to weigh such things as circumstances of the engagement, reason for initiating the engagement, etc.
Just because Bob wasn't dong anything DOES NOT mean that the cops are harassing him if they stop him or call him over. The way I engaged a suspect or person of interest was always dependent on a whole lot of factors. For example, maybe we had been getting complaints about a prowler in a certain neighborhood. We'd patrol that neighborhood a little more regularly and look for people that appeared to be "out of place". For example, if we did a drive through at 2am and spotted someone walking alone that would get our attention. If it appeared that the individual was checking out front doors or side yards that would get more of our attention and we'd likely make a stop. At that point we'd do a "field interview" noting the name, address, gender, age, race, height, weight, identifying characteristics, reasons given for being out, etc. The idea was that if the individual was the prowler the stop might convince them to stop that behavior or, better yet, give up something that would warrant further investigation. Sometimes we'd see the same person with some regularity. Perhaps they liked to drink and would just be walking home from the club. We'd get to know some of the people that way and if we got the same story a few times from a few different interactions we knew that person either was or wasn't a problem. We'd also know that maybe there wasn't a "prowler" in the neighborhood but, instead, that "Bob" occasionally went into someone's side yard to pee on the way home. Now, maybe "Bob" got tired of being "harassed" every night when he was stopped but if he learned to take a leak before leaving the club then "Mrs Smith" wouldn't be thinking she had a prowler in the yard.
Along the same lines, some cops can get overzealous in their approach. I knew guys that would come off like they were ordering someone around when a simple polite request would have been sufficient. Some cops are a lot more nervous about certain engagements than others are. Certain people are more nervous about being engaged by cops than others are. When I was a kid the LAST thing I wanted was to have a cop talking to me. That was partly because there was a good possibility that I had been drinking or had a little weed on me or was somewhere that I didn't need to be. I'd regularly end up in rather bad neighborhoods and took to dressing so that I fit in there. Unfortunately, if I ended up in a better neighborhood I suddenly looked suspicious. I can't really blame cops for stopping me here and there. In hindsight it makes perfect sense. Because I'd get stopped here and there I kind of recognized signs that one cop would be OK to deal with and another needed a different approach. I knew that it was up to me to adapt to the cop's behavior if I wanted that cop to adapt to my behavior.
I keep on hearing about "The Talk" like it's something that only black parents need to do with their kids. Well, ALL parents need to do that and the talk needs to be more than, "Watch out for the cops because they'll shoot you in the back at the drop of a hat!"
eace
