I was handcuffed on my porch due to officer mistake.

I would love money, but that isn't the point.

What I want is liberty. There are so many hypocrites out there. People who don't even know how wrong they are. It is sad and frustrating to think of all of the sheep out there who will defend the government's actions. Are most people actually too stupid to understand what I am trying to explain to them about liberty and how the use of coercion is immoral? Are they too lazy to try to comprehend what I am saying? Why don't people care? Their ignorance and unwillingness to comprehend what I talk to them about is offensive and imposing. When I talk about philosophy, all I get back is political conversation that has nothing to do with what I am talking about. It's almost everyone I talk to. They use statistics to justify the 2nd amendment... no, fuck your statistics, even if the statistics showed a the 2nd amendment had negative effects, it doesn't take away my NATURAL right to defend myself. That's just one example.

Not sure why i'm rambling on now, but I can't stand life under government control anymore and I don't see any way out any time soon. It makes me sick.
 
THIS
Ok, when you craft your complaint, be careful about making it personal. You want to get across that you are displeased with your tax money being spent on people who don't know the law and abuse their position of authority. While your incident ended without further complication, the actions of this officer demonstrate a lack of training that could cause serious harm to the public.

You see? the problem is not between YOU and THIS guy. Your problem is that the department would allow such a circumstance to exist.
 
Personally, given the circumstances and the fact that he apologized, I would let it go. I despise lawyers much more than I do the police.
 
I concur with the lawyer and formal complaint suggestions (lawyer first).

So this isn't a real suggestion. But I'd love to hear the cops answer if you were to ask him, "What would be a way that I could have kept you from illegally entering my home that you would not have considered 'hostile'?"
 
Personally, given the circumstances and the fact that he apologized, I would let it go. I despise lawyers much more than I do the police.

There's something to be said for this.

The big deal here in my mind is that you were humiliated and came within a hair's breadth of getting your fourth amendment-guaranteed rights violated because some cop couldn't find an address--even though your address was clearly posted. I would try this case in local media, especially if you have a popular 'alternative' newsweekly in your area. If an alleged inability to read a number on a mailbox is all it takes in your community to transform the Constitution into a meaningless scrap of parchment, then do you live in a free society? Do the people in your town, in fact, have liberty at all? Or tyranny?

I think this is worth pursuing to this degree because only when citizens push back do the local powers that be learn any circumspection at all. Locals tend to be at least somewhat responsive to local public opinion. That's the reason so many of us are far, far less distrusting of local government than Washington--local authorities are part of the community, while the feds are too many steps removed from the people they allege to 'serve'.

I would acknowledge that there is merit to laws that insist that 911 hangup calls be investigated. After all, home invaders have broken down doors and forced people to hang up on the police before. Some jurisdictions merely call back and question whomever answers, and send officers only when they don't get an answer or smell a rat. And don't just whine, but show appreciation for the lady officer who actually got the address right.

But do question whether the people of your community are free if any call within a block or two can land any law-abiding citizen in cuffs. Due diligence can retard and has retarded the growth of tyranny. Please do your town a favor and exercise some. And it sounds like the local press is the appropriate place to exercise it.

It's disturbing that the one officer thought little enough of the Constitution that he refused to double check the address before handcuffing a citizen and threatening to violate his Fourth Amendment rights, and backed down only when the lady officer called him on it. It's more disturbing that he thought so little of the citizen whom that Constitution was designed to protect, and whom he was hired to serve. And yes, you may use that in your letter if you wish, with my compliments.
 
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a lot of great responses. Thanks everyone.

I can't remember any time that a cop (is that better anti federalist? haha) let me off the hook for speeding... I'm pretty certain this cop gave me a speeding ticket last year too. Not that I'm upset about that. I just don't want to cut him any slack ether.
 
Due diligence can retard and has retarded the growth of tyranny. Please do your town a favor and exercise some. And it sounds like the local press is the appropriate place to exercise it.

This is a logical approach.

I just don't see much good asking the police to police the police...
 
what would you prefer?

There are plenty of pejorative terms out there.

But if you don't want to appear insulting, at the same time to not infer a level of respect that is not deserved, well, for me, plain old "cop" works fine.

Glad you got out unscathed.

Short of telling people your story, there is very little you can do at this point.
 
a lot of great responses. Thanks everyone.

I can't remember any time that a cop (is that better anti federalist? haha) let me off the hook for speeding... I'm pretty certain this cop gave me a speeding ticket last year too. Not that I'm upset about that. I just don't want to cut him any slack ether.

You read my mind.

;)
 
next time offer up your mother as a sacrifice to the overlords.

Guranteed a get out of jail card for free.
 
You read my mind.

;)

haha I guess so.

After thinking about it, He didn't even ask me my address. While trying to reason with him, I asked him if he could have the wrong house, and told him this is 1410____ trl. and he said, yes, 1410... that's when the female cop corrected him. I'm glad I asked.
 
In a perfect world, mistakes such as this would eventually have consequences. How many times does an employer allow an employee to screw up? Are screw-ups tracked? In the grand scheme of things, it's a minor screw-up, but even those should add up if they happen too often.
 
I would just hand cuff him up to a tree in the woods , leave him , call it even :)
 
Hindsight is 20/20 but you shouldn't answer the door for cops. If you don't have a peephole + another method of seeing who is at the door, get that taken care of. Do not open the door for the police. Worse things could have happen from that visit.

*edit nevermind. You were on your front porch. Should have went inside when you saw them approaching.

I removed my windowed door and replaced it with a solid one and added a peephole for this purpose (and to avoid solicitors easily).
 
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