I hear about cops staking out bars all the time.
Yeah, I hear "expert" testimony all the time too like: "I wasn't doing anything and this cop just arrests me!!!"
Blah, blah, blah. As I told WSGrundy about sports, most people don't know the rules yet they bitch about them despite having no idea what they're talking about. Ditto for laws.
Nobody tells a story that paints them as the bad guy.
Being in IT I hear the same shit. "I swear I didn't do anything!" "No, I've never been on a porn site."
Not saying cops are always right, but you'd have to be pretty fucking naive to think someone is going to tell you all the facts about them getting arrested. Hell, if you ask them, you'll find that the vast majority of people in prison are innocent.
I remember a friend talking about how he got arrested for just walking down the street drunk. For years he stuck to that story until finally the truth came out that he actually was walking down the street, but what got him arrested was the fact that he was bombed and pissing on the side of the road. The cop gave him a drunk in public ticket and not a public exposure or urination as well.
JUST got a call from a cop, here's what I learned:
-It is not illegal for a cop to sit in a parking lot of a bar and bust drunks as they get in their car, however (I'm sure I lost some of you haters right there...I feel like I might as well be discussing the merits of Republican politics at the DCU...or discussing the MSM's honest coverage of Iraq HERE) the arrest will not stand up in court because the cop had no probable cause. A cop must observe you crossing lines, forgetting to turn on your lights, swerving, etc. before he pulls you over. Remember those dashboard cameras that you think cops love to have in their cars? That's what those are used for; to get proof of the drunk's swerving and such.
-That also means the roadblocks at the bridges can't get drunks on probable cause (IE: Following them and witnessing the crime) but instead having them come right to the cops. Look in the newspaper, you should see all roadblocks listed as to when and where they're occuring. Hell, I've heard them announced on the radio here. How much fucking easier can cops make it to avoid them?
-As for the San Diego thing, the men probably weren't cops, it's more likely they were liquor control agents. Their job is to bust BARS for the illegal sale of alcohol, not bust drunks. That's what the liquor control act is all about. They are undercover in bars and when they see underage people or people who are obviously drunk getting served they can make arrests and issues tickets.
-Not sure what the deal was with the camera shit, but the obstruction charge is easy. If the cop told them to disperse and they didn't, they could be arrested. Now you have to ask yourself, since the article was written based on facts from the guys who got arrested, do you think you're getting the whole story of what they were doing? Did they really film from the street or did they move in really close to the cops and the people they were arresting making the situation more dangerous for the cops and the people they were arresting?
But hey, safety first, I always say.
You are correct about this though. Fucking nazi pigs fucking with drunks. It's not like drunk drivers hurt anyone...
Fuck, I used to know a cop that did just that.
Then he sucked. See above. You should have found out what his conviction rate was like for that tactic. Or is it possible he meant he parked away from the building and would follow people until they proved they were drunk or sober.