I have been putting together a video to expose the police departments in the area I film. For the last few months they run me for warrants everytime I show up on scene and film.
The best part is on at least 2 occasions they ran me for warrants when I wasn't even there.
Today I am sitting at the beach all by myself and I hear on my scanner that I just showed up on scene and to run me for warrants, haha. I was probably 11 miles from where they were talking about.
Its interesting because I have never once identified myself to police. I have gotten one traffic infraction in my entire life...it was 19 years ago. My car isn't even registered to me.
How do they know my name ? (they obtained and shared it illegally)
Why do they run me for warrants ? (trample free press)
Do the police run all media and press for warrants when they show up on scene ?
I have never once seen ANY case law that even implies that GIVEN THE FACT THAT YOU KNOW SOMEBODY's NAME (iow we are not talking about making a stop to obtain it or something like that where all sorts of factors govern whether it is lawful or not), that you need ANY indicia of suspicion to run that person's name... or any car registration for that matter.
Fwiw, there is a guy who nearly every year tries to drum up support for either law or court action to require police to at least have some indicia of suspicion before they run license plates... in the course of a couple of hours on patrol it's not unusual for me to run a dozen license plates or more, and of course there is no case law that demands I need any reason whatsoever to do so. , He's never been successful of course.
If there is ANY jurisdiction that either through case law or statute, requires ANY indicia of suspicion to run somebody's name for warrants etc. I'd love to know, but I am not aware of any.
Put briefly, there is NO expectation of privacy, in regards to law enforcement, in whether any jurisdiction has issued warrants for your arrest. In many states, the flowery language on the actual warrant reads something like "To any peace officer having jurisdiction to arrest...". Iow, it's an open call to LEO's to enforce them and no reason needed.
Contrast. In many cases, you absolutely have an expectation of privacy vis a vis your name/identity at least to the extent that certain factors must be present for peace officers or any authoritah to demand you present ID, or give your name or whatnot. THAT is a privacy interest. But GIVEN the knowledge OF your identity, there is NO EOP as to whether there are warrants.
This is a longstanding principle. Recall the well established practice of the posting of "wanted posters" whether in old time America, or at the post office. Look at shows like America's Most Wanted. They do not need any permission whatsoever to broadcast far and wide that Person X has a warrant for their arrest.
A warrant is essentially some authority (judge usually) deciding that there is ample cause to arrest somebody (talking arrest warrants obviously) and asking for the assistance of law enforcement in bringing that person before a court. In regards to the privacy thang, it's not personal info, heck you may not even know you have one, it's govt. process.
There are all sorts of frequent fliers, impact offenders, etc. that I will check warrants on either if I see them walking around driving around etc. or even if I don't see them, but might want to go look for them and hook them up if they have warrants. That's probably true of many leo's. It's considered good police work and an example of the executive branch acting at the judicial branch's request to bring somebody before a judge, for any # of reasons from they skipped a court appearance, to they got sentenced but never showed up at the lockup, to the cops got PC and delivered it to a prosecutor, etc etc.
Given the above...
Many love their (relative) anonymity. THis is not a society where cops can demand ID w/o cause and people are free to gambol about in RELATIVE anonymonity. But not really. But any resident of a small town where everybody knows everybody or any celebrity, notorious person., public figure etc. etc has to come to grips with the fact that as they walk about, they are far from anonymous.
Guess what? The reality is if one chooses to open carry, one is (in many communities moreso than others) inviting people (not LEo's but just people) to NOTICE you. If joe blow goes to the store to buy bubble gum, chances are if he becomes a criminal suspect and the cops go to the store clerk and ask "seen this guy", the clerk won't remember. But that's less true if one is open carrying. For some it's shocking, for others interesting, but it makes you stand out such that people are going to be more likely to do a double take, remember the person, etc. etc.
This holds true for others, such as those that choose to wear skimpy clothing in public. It's entirely legal for a woman (or man) to walk down the street wearing pasties and a thong, but guess what? if you do, people are going to remember you, and for those that know your name, they are going to share it with inquisitive others, such that you will be known to far more people in your community.
Carrying a gun openly is somewhat similar. I absolutely have the right to do so, but i'd be naive not to recognize that I AM going to draw more attention to myself than if I carried concealed - more people are going to scrutinize me, do a double take, remember what kind of vehicle I got into or out of, what I am wearing etc.
In many communities, over time, open carriers are almost mini celebrities (whether they know it or not). It's a statitiscally rare occurrence in most communities (parts of arizona etc. excepted), and people tend to pay attention to, remember, and discuss the unusual. not the mundane
So, if you've been OCing in your community for some time, and especailly if it's a small town, etc. it's not at all unlikely that you are going to be a mini celebrity of sorts, amongs peace officers as well as people in general. OCing is a right, but it's also a spectacle in many communities and just like the person exercising their right to free speech, who carries a sign and makes a scene for one and all to notice (and generally speaking, a person engaged in such advocacy WANTs to be noticed obviously ), people are going to notice, discuss, SHARE your name with those who don't know it etc.
If one values one's anonymity, there is often going to be a price to be paid for open carrying, in that you are going to be less anonymous , known to more people, noticed by more people, etc. It's not unlike what I experience as a police officer, where I am going to be watched far more often than if I am walking around in plainclothes amongst those who don't know me. I'll go t a store on duty and then a week later, go there off duty and it's not at all uncommon for the clerk to say something like "hey, not working today? got the day off?" They remember me, whereas they likely would not have if I was just another guy in line to buy cheezy poofs
So, there could be any # of perfectly legal ways your name became known to the cops, and recognize that once it;'s known to one, very often that information is shared - at roll call, or just when cops are talking smack.
People who are offended or surprised by this remind me of Cartman in the recent south park episode about privacy/NSA etc. where he walks around loudly having conversations on his cell phone and then gets pissed off when people know his bidness. duh
As another example, similar to the cop and the OCer, years ago I lived in a town in New england and would often go surfing. Surfing was pretty rare back then, in that area. In california, etc. people don't look twice, but in that town, they DID. My best friend (also a surfer) and I thus gained a sort of mini celebrity - "oh, there goes surfer d00d" and when I later applied to be a firefighter and a cop, my background investigation was easier because people knew me (at least by face ... if not my name) and if I had done something illegal in public, i would more likely be noticed and REMEMBERED - the observed act associated with a name vs. unknown. People I had never met in the fire dept and PD "knew" me in the sense of "surfer dood". They knew what car I drove. since they saw me drive with it with a surfboard on a roof, and many had asked of others generally curious stuff etc. That's a price you pay when you CHOOSE to engage in certain activities no matter how legal and constitutionally protected, like OCing. It's a price of course only IF you value "walk around" anonymity. Guess what? Just like the smalltown cop, you are now a celebrity, a known entity, etc. much moreso than if you weren't OCing around town. No private investigator in their right mind, if authorize to carry, would ever carry OC for exactly that reason. The LAST thing a PI wants, when on stakeout etc. is to be noticed and the better known they are, the more likely that's going to happen and/or blow their stakeout and tip off the target.
We could speculate as to any # of myriad ways the cops could have found out your name, then, all perfectly legal and above board. And of course given your name, there's no prohibition whatsoever on them running computer warrant checks as often as they like. Unlike a terry stop or even surveillance in a public place (where even though there is no expect of privacy , the cops cannot just choose to surveil you over and over w/o due cause w/o getting slapped with a suit and./or internal discipine ) etc. , they are 100% free to make those warrant checks anytime they want.
I would assume that especially for those cops who are ideologically opposed to open carry, the neighborhood celebrity open carrier is going to be one of those people they check warrants on. It's not fair in the cosmic sense, but if you choose to bring scrutiny and minicelebrity upon oneself and any OCer who doesn't realize they may be doing that (again , depending on where they live) is a fool.
So, hey. Welcome to the club . I've dealt with it as a cop for decades. People are going to notice you, talk behind your back, etc. where they would not have in the past and your "freedom" to go about your daily chores without being noticed is diminished. Some of us like being minicelebrities, other's don't and for most it's good at times and annoying at times. It's also one of the reasons I have to be doubly circumspect about how I act in public, because it is MUCH more likely I will be noticed and remembered and wont be anonymous to the viewer AND it will negatively reflect on my PD as well as myself. FOr the Ocer, the same is true in that acting like a ******* will negatively reflect on all OCers whether we like it or not, people tend to think that way. People here do it all the time with cops, for instance, and well... welcome to the club
