imported post
Wynder wrote:
Liko81 wrote:
In general, a police officer can detain you for any articulable reason relating to his duties as an officer. It's called a "Terry stop". During such detention, a failure to heed an officer's request for information, including a request for ID,is causefor arreston charges ofhindering an officer and/or obstruction of justice.
This is false... The officer must have reasonable articulable suspicion that you have committed, are currently committing or are about to commit a crime. What Liko writes can actually be read as, "My articulable reason is that the suspect is wearing a watch."
Most statutes you'll find simply require you to state your name, address, perhaps date of birth and business/destination. As someone has previously mentioned, you're not required in the US to carry around your papers.
And if you don't, that's failure to heed an officer's request for information. In addition, providing false identification to an officer who has lawfully arrested, lawfullydetained, or has cause to believe you are a witness to a crime is also a criminal offense in most states. Thus, it follows logically that the officer can verify identity if possible. The law thusdoes not compel you to carry ID, but if the officer can articulate reasonable suspicion of a false identity and you cannot or will not verify it, you can be arrested for failure to identify and held until your identity is verified.
In addition, it is illegal in Texasto resist an officer's arrest, detentionor search by force, even if the officer's action is unlawful.It is also illegal to flee from an officer who is attempting to arrest or detain. Therefore,if an officer stops you to ask you a question regarding a reported or suspected crime,you are being detained.If you fail to answer and attempt tokeep walking, that is evading detention. If you give false information (including sarcastic answers like "Joe Blow") that is failure to identify. You are now suspected of a crime for which youcan bearrested. Failure to identify yourself at that point is an additionalcriminal offense, and if you start making a scene ("take your hands off me!") and back it up with even a slap or a wrench to the wrist you are in deep water. All of this means that trying to stand up for your rights by treating an officer like he does not exist is a VERY bad decision, and if the officer's having a bad day and you irk him further by blowing him off,he can very plausibly make you cool your heels in a squad car or holding cell, all within the letter of the law, and he will face not one word of censurePROVIDED that he was trying to do his job when you blew him off.
All that said, that's Texas law and other states may grant officers more or fewer tools under the law to get what they need. I do not know Florida statutes (though statute 90 above looks pretty cut-and-dried if you have your weapon with you), but I imagine if you treat a cop like dirtyou won't getmuch further. They are human, and it is only common courtesy and a few seconds' inconvenience to answer the officer's questionsand then politely excuse yourself, and it's a Pandora's box to do otherwise.