TSA-Style Pat Downs Hit The Streets

This is nuts, nuts nuts.. If this is true, why in the hell are we allowing this?
It really is a sad time in my once beloved country

In Philadelphia, you don’t have to visit the airport to have the government molest you, TSA-style “stop, question and frisk” pat downs are already being conducted by police on the streets targeting people who act suspicious, by doing things like putting their hands in their coat pocket.

Source

one time i was walking through the local public park on a sunday afternoon. i was walking home from the mall to my house as it was in walking distance and i could either walk through the park and get home in 20 minutes or walk down the road and get home in 30 minutes. it was cold so i chose to walk through the park. so as I'm walking through, 2 detectives came walking by and i could tell from a distance they looked like d tecs and they just grabbed me and frisked me and told me the park was closed on Sundays (yet they had the gates open and cars were driving through), they asked what i had in my pockets cuz i had my hands in them for i had no gloves. but that was 2 or 3 years ago. theyre reasoning behind it was that there was problems with other kids in the park tagging grafitti all over the place but i was just walking through alone minding my own business. i figured id share where the stories are similar. since when is it a crime to keep your hands warm in your pockets?

Guilty until proven innocent- the official motto of the governments of the 21st century. Sad to see how this is rapidly escalating, particularly when the biggest criminals are the ones introducing, and on occasion enforcing this.

I think I'm just gonna start wandering the streets naked. I got nothing to hide other than a few tattoos and my nipple piercings. I will apologize now to those who witness my nudity. It's better than being molested by the police. Violate my rights and I'll violate your eyes.

Anyone in Philly or has even been to Philly will tell you the cops there are worthless layabouts, why do you think so many young kids get shot a day there. Thats all I see is another shooting in philly a double homicide atleast everyother night

Check this video out.

This is nothing more than another attempt by the ACLU to challenge the Terry v. Ohio ruling of the Supreme Court in 1968. A 'terry' stop, otherwise known as 'stop and frisk' allows a law enforcemnt officer to stop and pat down someone, without probably cause, who they believe with reasonable suspicion that the person has commited a crime, is in the process of committing a crime or about to commit a crime.

For the sake of not boring you to death with the ins and outs of the law here is the link to the actual case:
Terry v Ohio

The Supreme Court ruled that this type of stop and frisk is not a violation of the 4th amendment protection from unreasonable search and seizure.

The orginal source in this thread makes a sensational claim that a Terry stop is 'unconstituional' where the Supreme Court has held that it is in fact not in violation of the Constitution for the pas 42 years.

The issue here is pretty straight forward. The ACLU is taking advantage of the recent TSA turmoil, and the ado over the new searches, and using it to challenge a lonstanding Supreme Court ruling. They believe that the public outcry over the TSA searches will give them an edge to finally challenge Terry v Ohio successfully.

The use of Terry by law enforcement officers has not changed, but the ACLU is trying to stop it.

This is blatant disregard for the constitution not only by the police officers, but by the Americans allowing this invasion of privacy and personal rights. Why are we letting people in a uniform feel us up???

Originally posted by matrixportal
This is blatant disregard for the constitution not only by the police officers, but by the Americans allowing this invasion of privacy and personal rights. Why are we letting people in a uniform feel us up???

Read the post above yours, you will see that it is in fact a constitutionally allowed practiced, and determined by the Supreme Court in 1968.

Well it looks like I won't be going to Philly this christmas afterall! I have already been stopped there while walking down the street when I had just moved there, cause I 'resembled' a known druggy? WHAT? I don't dress like a dreg (Always look very well put together) or like a prostitute (too cold anyway) but that was just to ask to see my ID. Which I gave to them. But I think it was more a personal interest, honestly. And this could turn into free feeling women that the Police are just interested in becoming "friendly" with if you know what I mean!

reply to post by ericsnow


Speechless.

The entire justification that this guy offers is that maybe your child will get shot, so they need to frisk anyone who seems suspicious.

I am currently working 11-7am and I walk to work for the exercise carrying my lunch in a backpack. The shortest route takes me through a rough nieghbourhood but being a 6 foot, 220lb man I'm not worried, just alert.

Being winter and I'm in Canada, my hands are in my pockets and I'm walking fast.

-Late at night
-Rough area of town
-Big guy
-Carrying a 'package'
-Hands in pockets / 'hunched' (against the cold)
-In a hurry

I'd be stopped by every cop who saw me under those criteria. Since it gets cold in Philly and like most cities today people work around the clock I'd say a majority of people fit into the suspicious category.

As a side note, since most of the people being stopped are black, isn't that racial profiling?

Isn't that illegal?

(I guess being white and in my late 30's I'd only get stopped by every other cop, but then they'd see me as the typical serial killer so screwed again).

Just fantastic.



reply to post by FrancoUn-American


Wow.

I had asked if it really was that violent but removed it after reading your post

(this was originally written for another thread that was closed and directed here while I was writting this...I just copied and pasted from the preview)

reply to post by youdidntseeme


Acting "suspicious" these days is considered taking pictures, standing with your hands in your coat pockets in the middle of winter or maybe even whispering something to a friend on the sidewalk?
pfft, give me a break.
Well at least the ACLU is finally doing something worthwhile.

This definitley isn't limited to Philadelphia.

I have been stopped, questioned, frisked, and threatened by police just for walking home at night, in my own neighbourhood. Sadly most people just assume the cops stopped another "evil-doer" and continue on their way.

I see this type of intrusive procedure being introduced to every facet of our daily lives. We are soon going to be searched just for trying to get into our workplaces, our neighbourhoods, and any means of travel which we can still conduct freely.

We have to end this now! Before it really is too late.

Just a side note, when did we start taking anything put out by Alex Jones seriously.
So often we see information that comes via Jones to be nothing more than sensationalist and self promoting.

Sadly this is just sensationalist journalism trying to gain steam on the heels of the TSA scandal.

Originally posted by Animatrix
Acting "suspicious" these days is considered taking pictures, standing with your hands in your coat pockets in the middle of winter or maybe even whispering something to a friend on the sidewalk?
pfft, give me a break.
Well at least the ACLU is finally doing something worthwhile.

Where do you get the statistics to back up your claim that 'suspicious' behavior encompasses these behaviors?

Taking pictures in a historic city such as Philadelphia, which I have done hundreds of times since Mayor Nutter has been in office has never once rasied the suspicious of officers around me.

I have walked down the streets with my hands in my pockets alone, with friends, with my wife, with my son, whispering to her about a possible Christmas gift for the kid, never once have been as much as questioned by police, let alone subjected to a Supreme Court sanctioned Terry stop.

The "Stop and Frisk" law was passed a few years ago because kids with drugs kept getting off because of "No Probable Cause" of searches...I've lived in Philly my whole life, however I'm white, so I just say "Hello" when I see a cop.

reply to post by youdidntseeme


Statistics? what do stats have to do with news stories about people being searched and detained for taking a photograph?

Well heres one example for you but google is free, look up the rest yourself.

Artist Shirley Scheier drove to Snohomish to make the kind of picture you couldn't get in a city -- power lines against an unobstructed sky. She wound up being patted down, handcuffed and put into the back of a police car on that day two years ago, in a detention that lasted 44 minutes.

Source

reply to post by youdidntseeme


I'm guessing:

1.Your not a black teenager
2.You don't have tattoo's on your face
3.You don't drive a Bonneville,Park Ave, or Grand Marquis
4.Your not Muslim

...They don't care about white adults unless they're drug addicts, so don't state your immunity like Philadelphia Police are up to par..

Originally posted by [davinci]
Wow.

I had asked if it really was that violent but removed it after reading your post

davinci,

Yes there are parts of Philly that can be pretty violent. If you read my posts, you can tell that Ive been there 100's of times in my life. I dont live there but only a hop, skip and small jump away. Just like any city in the world, there are both nice and not-so-nice areas.
If you or anyone is coming to Philly for business or vacation, I would not be overly concerned. The historic sections of the city are just as safe as mostly anywhere. Coming in for a sports event, the stadiums are wonderful (so long as your not wearing the opposing teams apparel).

In fact all this talk about the City of Brotherly love is making me think of going there tonight. It is cold and windy today, temp is probably about 35, after dark will go to about 30, so I will have my hands in my pockets, hunched over, possibly even staggering alittle
But i am not concerned in the least bit to be subject to unreasonable search.

Originally posted by youdidntseeme
I have walked down the streets with my hands in my pockets alone, with friends, with my wife, with my son, whispering to her about a possible Christmas gift for the kid, never once have been as much as questioned by police, let alone subjected to a Supreme Court sanctioned Terry stop.

edit on 6-12-2010 by youdidntseeme because: spelling as usual

Let me guess, you are not black.

It really opened my eyes a few weeks back when I had my black friend riding in the passenger seat of my vehicle. We were pulled over, for speeding 2 miles an hour over the speed limit. As were the other 6 cars on the road beside me. The officer asked me how fast thought I was going and I replied "the speed of traffic." He seemed kind of flustered and just kept on staring at my friend, after a minute or so, letting us go without a ticket (which I didn't mind)!

It was obvious that he was profiling, which was an odd thing for me since nothing like that has ever remotely happened before. That gave me a pretty good insight as to why black people seem to have "a chip on their shoulder" when it comes to police behavior. My friend didn't even look like a gang banger except for the hoodie (cold night). . and the fact that he was black.