Skidmark,
Since when is it unauthorized or illegal for a LEO to ASK for ID? It's not illegal at all for any reason. A LEO can ASK anyone anything, it's called a consensual encounter.
To the OP- you first need to check into any state or local ordinances regarding stop and identify laws. Second you need to read up on probable cause, reasonable suspicion, and consensual encounters. There are many case laws establishing exactly what you are referring to and what's legal. And lastly, don't fully trust the legal advice of anonymous posters on a website who most likely don't have a law degree or have ever seen a courtroom. Have a good one and be safe.
Nova, Nova, Nova,
A police officer in uniform or displaying their badge of authority, or by tone of voice usually described as "command voice" has, in numerous SCOTUS decisions, been determined to be acting in a manner whereby an ordinary person would reasonably believe that they must obey.
You can discuss consensual contacts all you want. Yes, I believe in them but that is because I am not an ordinary person and therefore do not believe co-ps can do half the stuff cops believe they ought to be allowed to get away with.
But to get to the very heart - the dark and dangerous heart - of your position -- You know very well that unless you have RAS/PC you cannot demand to see a person's ID. Therefore you are going to couch your attempt as a "request". Now let's go look at why you are "asking" to see ID in the first place - what use are you going to make of the information once you get it, and how far beyond your eyes does the information go? Does the information get written down in a field contact report? Does that report get entered into any computerized database? Either way, who else gets to see that report? Why should I want/allow the fact that I was at point "X" and a certain time to be recorded unless there is some direct nexus to the investigation of a crime that either was or is currently being committed, or the suspicion (supported by RAS) that a crime is about to be committed? Or to put it in terms that even a street cop might not have difficulty understanding: allowing cops to build up a database of any sort that involves information on where citizens were, and possibly what they were doing, while not under investigation/ suspicion of a criminal act, is anathama to the concepts of freedom of person and of unfettered movement. We in the USA do not have a practice of cops asking "Papers, please" or of citizens submitting to such requests. Even the newbie seems to know deep down that it's "not right, fitting or proper" to have to show a pass to be out on the street. And yes, being asked/ordered to show ID is in fact requesting/ordering that citizen to produce a pass.
I've got a question for you -- how do you react when the citizen who must submit to your legal order to produce ID (because the circumstances are such that the law allows you to
demand ID) decides to do so by stating his name and residence address rather than show you any document? You are aware that, among other things, they have no obligation to repeat the information, nor to spell out any words you may not be familiar with, aren't you? My name is often misspelled. Unless it involves my receiving money or other valuables I an not ordinarily bothered by that occurrance and thus have no compelling desire to correct anyone's error. Nor, in an attempt to prevent a misspelling do I spell my name out to anyone unless the previously mentioned conditions apply. Are your ears good enough to decipher the spelling of my name? Is your memory good enough to catch my address and record it properly? Because even if you have the authority to demand my ID I am under no compulsion to provide it over and over again just because of your failings. And yes, I am more than willing to suffer the inconvenience of being falsely arrested and jailed as part of my resistance to repeated demands to repeat information I have already provided to the full extent the law says I must. Others may or may not be as willing as I am - but that's not germane either way.
As to your comment about accepting "legal advice of anonymous posters on a website who most likely don't have a law degree or have ever seen a courtroom" : 1) one does not need to have been awarded a J.D. to be a competent lawyer. And J.D.s still need to pass the bar exam and be admitted to charge a fee for their time and knowledge, which is the only practical distinction between a lawyer and an attorney (sorry USER); 2) the now-Governor, when he was AG, stated on several occassions that one does not need to be an attorney to give legal advice; and 3) I'll be willing to bet I have been in courtrooms in more roles than you have, as if that makes a whit of differnce.
Now, getting back on track -- I'd really like to read your explanation of why a cop would request ID from someone in a situation where there is no RAS/PC of a crime committed, being committed, or about to be committed or the investigation of the same (as you see, I'm not arguing against your seeking information on how to contact possible witnesses to said criminal activity). If you would be so kind, I'd also like to read your exposition on the uses that information will or may be put to by both you the officer collecting it and by anyone else who is authorized to access it. Just so you are completely informed and thus can make a decision that will be in your best interests and not detrimental to your person, you possessions, or your freedom or (present or future) employability status, this is merely a request and you are under neither legal nor moral compulsion to provide any response whatsoever.
(BTW, has anybody ever had a cop make a request and so clearly state both the range of possible consequences to andwering their request and the absence of compulsion? Can I get a show of hands? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?)
stay safe.
