From: frank theriault
On Thu, Nov 12, 2009 at 1:01 AM, mike wilson <[email protected]> wrote:
> Not fair. ?The guy was doing (to a large extent) his job and made the
> decision that no further action was required upon investigation. ?His
> personal interests are largely irrelevant. ?I am not sure I would have
> stopped so quickly - let's face it, someone photographing power lines at
> night _must_ be up to no good.
Well, this kind of reminds me of when I flew down to New York City for
the Cycle Messenger World Championships back in 2005. I didn't have a
passport, so crossed the border with my birth certificate and an
expired driver's license (as it had a photo and my birthdate on it).
With the "sketchy" ID I had, he asked the "usual questions". My only
checked luggage (which was next to me) was my bike in a proper
hardshell traveling case. He asked what was in the box.
He asked what type of bike I had. "Rossin trackbike," I replied.
He asked, "Is that titanium?"
"Nope, aluminium," was my prompt reply.
I later related that story to a friend, and he said, "Wow, the guy
knew that Rossin doesn't make a titanium frame? He must have been
trying to trip you up."
I explained to him that in fact he wasn't interested in my answer and
likely didn't know that Rossin only (at that time) only made steel and
aluminium frames. He was looking for my reaction, any hesitation on
my part, ~how~ I answered, not ~what~ I answered.
I'm guessing that Larry's cop was in the same situation.
I expect Larry's cop was doing what cops are supposed to do, checking up
on an apparently abandoned vehicle on the side of the road to:
a. see if someone was drunk and passed out
b. see if someone was broke down and needed help
c. see if someone abandoned a stolen car there
d. log it and put a sticker on it, so the next cop who came by would
know it had already been checked, and it could be towed if it sat there
long enough.
From Larry's story, the cop didn't see him taking pictures, Larry saw
the police car next to his car and walked down to talk to the cop. The
cop asked Larry what he was doing and Larry told him.
That's when the cop asked "But what are you taking pictures for?"
It's not an unreasonable question given the "time of day", location and
apparent subject matter - after midnight [?], taking photos of the power
grid out in the middle of nowhere.
Having determined Larry wasn't doing anything wrong, wasn't in trouble &
didn't need help, he left Larry to do his thing.
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