I was just harassed by an out of control police officer in Louisiana. Good ending though!!

I had just flown in from Nashville, TN and was driving home from New Orleans Airport to my house in Baton Rouge, LA when I noticed a cop was behind me. I switched lanes and he switched lanes, about a minute later I switched lanes again and he did the same. At that time I decided to pull over to determine why I was being followed. As I pulled off onto the shoulder, the police officer finally turned his lights on and followed me until I came to a stop. I turned down my radio and was about to get out of the car when I heard “DRIVER, PLEASE STEP OUT OF THE CAR WITH YOUR HANDS IN PLAIN SIGHT.” I obeyed with my hands up high, parallel with each other, as I walked towards the police car.

He got out of the car and I asked him why he was tailing me. I had a suspicion it was my “GOOGLE Ron Paul” and “George Orwell said this would happen” bumper stickers but I wanted to hear the legal reason for being followed. He told me I was stopped because I was swerving and that multiple drivers called 911 to alert them of my “suspicious activity.” I denied that allegation and asked if he or any other police officer had witnessed me swerving. He said that no police officer had and instructed me to get my license, insurance and registration. This is when I was able to take the picture of the police officers from inside my car. I took 2-3 minutes to collect my thoughts and walked back to the police officer with the requested documents. By this time there were 3 police officers on the scene. The 2nd police officer (he seemed higher on the food chain) asked me where I was coming from. I ignored the question and told him that if I was not being arrested for anything I would like to get back on the road. He ignored me and asked if I had been drinking or doing drugs today. I again ignored him and asked to get back on the road if I was not being arrested. I did offer to take a field sobriety test but was ignored. He asked why I wouldn't answer the questions if I had nothing to hide. I told him because I was not obligated to as a sovereign citizen of Louisiana. I then asked him why he was asking me these questions if I obviously wasn't high and no crime had been committed? This went on for about a minute until I noticed the 3rd police officer on the passenger side of my car appearing to open the door. I later came to the conclusion that he probably wasn't opening my door, rather, he was leaning inside my open window to look around. I'm not 100% sure though.

http://www.reboottherepub...

I asked the 2nd officer if they had a warrant to search my car. He said no and the 3rd police officer came over to join the group. The 3rd officer also asked if I had been drinking or doing drugs. I again ignored the question and said I would like to return to the road if I was not being arrested. The 3rd officer (much more of an asshole than the other two) asked if he could search my car. I asked if he had a warrant. He said no and asked why I wouldn't let him look in my car if I had nothing to hide. I asked him why would he want to search my car if there was no probable cause. He said my refusal to let him search my car was probable cause. This blew my mind. I explained to him how that is not probable cause and it was a circular argument and unless I was being arrested I would like to return to the road. I also asked if I was such a danger to others why didn't the officer immediately pull me over right away rather than wait until I PULLED OVER TO FIND OUT WHY I WAS BEING TAILED. He then very sternly told me that warrant or not, a police dog could be here in a few minutes and we would get this squared away. I had nothing to worry about, I don't drink or do drugs and told him I was fine waiting and informed him that I would be filming the entire incident (with my iPhone 3GS) so I can use it as evidence.

BTW, I suggest everyone get a iPhone 3GS. You can film something and upload it directly to YouTube from your phone. Using this feature, I don't have to worry about my footage being thrown away by an out of control cop. Once it's on YouTube, it's out of their hands.

Anyways, he did not like this response and told me he was done playing games and I was going to be taken to the police station so he could get to the bottom of this. I asked why I was being arrested and was told “Disturbance of the Peace.” I asked whose peace I was disturbing and was basically ignored and put into the car of the 2nd officer. On the way to the police station I explained to the officer that my intent wasn't to be a nuisance, I respected him and his occupation but felt my rights were being violated. He was actually very cool and didn't defend the actions of the 3rd cop but I could sense he felt the guy went too far but he didn't want to get into the middle of it. We discussed NAZI Germany, the Nuremberg trials, etc. He was fairly educated and without coming out and saying it I could tell he knew this was bullshit.

We get to the police station where I was cuffed to a bench in the hallway. A 4th officer came and spoke to me and we went over and over the same type of questions I had already answered by the first 3 officers. After going in circles, he left and I sat there for about an hour until the 2nd officer came over, uncuffed me and said I was free to go. I asked if I was going to be issued a ticket for swerving. He said no charges were being filed and I was free to go on my way because no officer viewed me swerving. I asked him what happened to my car. He went to check and found out it was still on the side of the road. I asked how I was going to get back to my car. He asked if a family member or friend could come get me. I said probably but this is not their problem, I was detained for no reason and expect the police department to provide me with transportation back to my car. He walked away them came back and said “let's go.”

On the way back to my car he was a bit more open. He told me how the 3rd officer had been accused numerous times of abusing his power but never charged with anything. We started talking and he was curious why I put up all that resistance if I had nothing to hide. I went on to explain what rights, freedom and liberty really are and even shared with him websites such as dailypaul.com where he could better educate himself. He was open to this and seemed very appreciative of my cooperation. I had a spare copy of “The Anatomy of the State” in my car which I gave to him. I shook his hand before walking back to my car and after about 2 hours I was finally on my way home.

I am not going to file any charges. The further away I can stay from a courthouse, the better. There are much bigger fish to fry at the moment.

What is the moral of this story?
-Know your rights.
-The path of least resistance isn't always the best path to follow.
-Stay calm and never get belligerent with a police officer no matter how bad they are.
-The opportunity to educate others can come at very strange times.

Hopefully this will encourage others to practice non-violent forms of civil disobedience.

Ryan
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
http://www.RebootTheRepub...