Like it or not, you can swear at a police officer. Now don't get me wrong, I don't go out of my way to cuss them nor do I swear at them if asked a simple question but as soon as I detect wrongful behavior or "attitude" on their part I let them have it. Swearing at a police officer may be disrespectful, but it's not criminal. The courts have sided with citizens and rightfully so. The APD is schooled on this subject at the Academy, see this article done by their legal instructor: www.dps.nm.org/training/docs/Legal_Update_in_NM.pdf. By the way, I do not have a history of hassling cops. Never been arrested and no, never had any problems with my neighbors, just the cops who have tried to give me grief. Now I'm out to give them some oversight which it seems they need. A badge does not give them the right to tell a citizen what to do; they have to comply with the legislated laws just like anyone else. Most people will automatically comply with a cop EVEN if they know the officer is wrong. These spineless citizens willingly give up their Constitutional rights thus reinforcing the "bully with a badge" mentality of our police forces. Now I'm sure some "law and order" types might find that cussing a cop IS "criminal" despite not being codified as such. Thank God we have a Constitution to protect us from those types too. An article regarding resisting the police: http://politicalinquirer.com/2008/06/25/resisting-unlawful-arrest-constitutional-legal-and-our-duty/
Although you can legally cuss the cops, its not recommended. IF you have done something wrong then it will surely earn you a citation plus a judge is not likely to lessen the charge or penalty. And IF an officer violates your rights and you cuss them then your chances of winning a lawsuit are decreased because its highly likely that the officer is recording the conversation and a jury may be offended especially if the officer is being professional and talking respectively (which they usually do because the recording will be heard by their supervisors).
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Incident Number Two - April 19, 2009
I was again doing some volunteer work in City Open Space when I noticed a trespassing vehicle. I used a visitor's cell phone to contact the police to report the violator. When the cop arrived he stopped by me to ask some questions which I answered. I then made a comment that "he needed to cite" the trespassor. I unknowingly "raised" my voice when I said this and the cop asked my "why was I raising my voice at him". Needless to say I had a few choice words for him in which he replied that if I didn't cease he would arrest me for "disorderly conduct" which happens to be the "conte
mpt of cop" weapon of choice. Pictures of the offending vehicle and the offensive APD officer. By the way, the cop did nothing, didn't even get out to check the trespassing vehicle's license number, whether there were dead bodies in it or not, nothing - let it go without even a word. This cop is a supervisor too. When you talk to an APD officer, make sure you get on your knees, bow and of course say "pretty please" to get them to do their job.
mpt of cop" weapon of choice. Pictures of the offending vehicle and the offensive APD officer. By the way, the cop did nothing, didn't even get out to check the trespassing vehicle's license number, whether there were dead bodies in it or not, nothing - let it go without even a word. This cop is a supervisor too. When you talk to an APD officer, make sure you get on your knees, bow and of course say "pretty please" to get them to do their job.APD Cites Volunteer for Contempt of Cop
On February 6, 2009 I was cited by the APD for "Vehicle Trespassing", which happens to be a criminal misdemeanor. Why was I cited? Because I committed two serious offenses in the eyes of law enforcement: (1) I disagreed with a cop's judgement and (2) used profanity. Thus I had committed the unofficial but serious offense of "Contempt of Cop". The trespassing charge was dismissed on February 20th. It seems the DA refused to prosecute the case because no violation had taken place; the citing officer, "errored". Although in an official statement to the Albuquerque Journal, published February 26th, APD stated the reason for dropping the charge was "confusion of posted signs". Confusion!!! I was parked 50 feet in FRONT of the sign shown in the newspaper. The real kicker, this happened while I was doing volunteer work on City of Albuquerque Open Space property. This incident made the front page of the Albuquerque Journal on Feb 16, 2009. Link: ((http://www.abqjournal.com/cgi-bin/decision.pl?attempted=www.abqjournal.com/news/state/16117414449newsstate02-16-09.htm) .There is also a video available of the incident (does not require a password): http://abqjournal.magnify.net/video/Man-Volunteers-Over-300-Hours
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