Your papers please

Tim May tcmay at got.net
Fri Oct 19 00:00:58 PDT 2001


On Thursday, October 18, 2001, at 05:59 PM, measl at mfn.org wrote:
> In 1983 I was questioned by a (New York) police officer, who interrupted
> my quite open and obvious dictation into a hand held microcassette
> recorder to do it.  Since he saw the thing in my hand, and did not ask 
> me
> to turn it off, I let it run during what was essentially a "Terry Stop".
>
> When the Terry stop escalated, and I was ordered to follow the officer 
> for
> more questioning, I asked him, while holding out the recorder for the
> answer, whether I was under arrest.  Answer: no.  Followed by "Am I free
> to go?".  Answer no.  "Sir, I believe these two conditions are mutually
> exclusive: either I am under arrest, or I am free to go.  As I have 
> things
> to do, I need to know which it is, so that I may either go do them, or
> call my attorney to join us".
>
> My reward was a crushed microcassette recorder, a "missing" cassette (he
> claimed the recorder was both damaged and empty at the time he first
> encountered it), and an arrest (and conviction no less!).
>
> On the way to central booking, he helped himself to my pocket change to
> pay for the coffee and doughnuts for him and his three buddies (they
> actually stopped en-route, leaving me cuffed in the car alone for about
> 20 minutes).


He earned killing. You would be justified in arranging his death, if 
this really happened.

If this really happened and you have not yet taken him out with a good 
rifle, why not?

(I realize you cannot say one way or the other whether you delivered 
justice to this (alleged)  miscreant, but my point remains.)

Personally, I doubt your story. Someone who does what you say was done 
to you has clearly earned killing.


--Tim May





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