Dealing with the Police

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Not sure if this is the right category for this thread. I noticed that there are a lot of threads in this category dealing with law enforcement: how they react to A/AS individuals, discrimination, problems with authority, the need to educate law enforcement, and how we can best relate to officers of the law. It seems like it would make sense to start a thread about that, so I did.

When I deal with the police, I act as NT as possible. I carefully modulate my voice to be friendly and calm, in the higher register, with a sort of lilting tone, ending on a descent for statements, ascent for questions, etc. I make careful eye contact, only looking away if I have to, for example, to take off my seatbelt if they ask me to get out of the car. When pulled over, I make sure to have my seatbelt on, my hands on the steering wheel, and a curious expression on my face by the time they get out of the car. My eyebrows are raised slightly, my eyes are wide (but not too wide, so I don't look scared), my mouth is neutral, and my head is slightly tilted, which says, "I wonder what this is about?", but says it politely. I answer questions calmly, and as clearly and directly as possible. I only speak when spoken to. If I have to move, especially if I have to put my hand out of sight, I tell the officer what I am doing and wait for acknowledgment. For example, before I reach into my purse to get out my license, I'll say, "My license is in my purse. I'll get it for you," and wait for the officer to say, "Ok" before I do it. Then, I'll say, "My registration is in the glove box" and wait for a nod before I open it. It is never good to make an armed man (or woman) nervous. When I was filling out a police report, and wanted to stand with my back to a wall so no one could come up behind me and startle me, I told the deputy taking the report, "I'm going to stand over here, if that's alright", because to get where I was going, I had to move behind him while he was distracted. If you keep your tone and expressions just right, this usually won't annoy them.

Should all this be necessary?

I think it also helps that I'm a woman, and have gotten better at good posture. I still hold my left arm at a funny angle unless I think about keeping it down, though...

None of this means I'm subservient, though. If an officer asked to search my trailer while I was on the road, I would ask him or her if he or she had cause, or possibly even ask for a warrant, not because I have anything to hide, but because I have a right not to have my property invaded. However, I would ask all of this politely and respectfully.

Law enforcement officers, I have found, are a bit like horses. They can be very dangerous if provoked, but if you learn to communicate their way, and show them the proper respect, you can have a mutually beneficial relationship. (I don't mean any offense by this; in the Renaissance, one used the respectful term "you", instead of the familiar "thou", for horses, because they are noble animals.)

There are good ones and bad ones out there, and because of the power they have, the good ones can do great good, and the bad ones can do great evil. Just don't forget the great good!

I get along fairly well with police by I do believe I was a bit too nice when I was in my accident.

They usualy think I'm "ret*d"
(please excuse the society bob normal word
I can't communicate for poop anyway pleaswe
type it for me tis too hard)
so I just let them think I am, its
so I don't step in a pile of poop withthem,
and they lose interest in me unless they
think I am in danger myself.

I just sit there like a frog in a pond
until they give me some command and
I do it sluggishly and robotically
and when they are satisfide that
I'm not some druggie they usually
go "Ok, better get home, son before
it gets dark." and its over with.

I don't go out without my brother or
someone in the neighbourhood that
knows me fairly well, I am very afraid
of strangers take avantage of me.

All I understand is electronics and I
stink at everything else, I don't know
I did have my brain damaged by a heat
stroke so mebbe I am more handicapt
than I think I am, I have surprised myself
with things that I th*t I cood do but
I can't.

I can't:
clean things
drive
have an "official" job
type worth a dange
understand politicks
understand church
understnad reshipsahs or why I
shood have a girlfrend, i'm not intristed.
be a growedup


But I can:
Play with my toys
Play very nice with my little friends (thier perants tell me thank you
for playing nice and sharing my pavement chalki with them, hey I
like to colour)

Fix electronic things
Edit video
Have a self employ job, altho there is
no license or papers or any stupid rubish
that says I have one, I also tell peple
that is my job so they will quit saying
stupid poop to me about not being employed,
I am employed, I COUNT IT as having a job,
I edit video and repair electronics for 8 hours
a day.

*********************

Oh poop now I got a boogar

I stagger when I walk so the cops believe I am either drunk or on drugs. They pull up along side of me all the time I usually just laugh and say my high blood pressure medicine makes me a little clumsy. The cop usually says be carefull then drives off. One time I got some young cop who drives up to block my path with his squad car on the sidewalk in front of a store. He looks me up down and asks me how much did I have to drink? I told him I do not drink so he asks to look at my pupils so I leaned forward but I could not hold still or let him make direct eye contact with me so he got pissed and told me to move too the front of his car. I asked him why so he opened the car door by kicking the door into me knocking me back away from the car. He gets out of the car and grabs me by the upper arm and thats when I blurted out I have Aspergers and he let me go but told me to move to the front of the car. He began explaining what he was doing and why he was doing it. I think he might have had training to deal with Aspergers. I think if I did not say I had Aspergers I would have caught a major asswhooping.
I often think does he know what Aspergers is or did he misunderstand thinkingI said I have AIDs. Perhaps he did not know what Aspergers was and did not want to risk catching it by touching me.

I think everyone in this thread needs a medialert bracelet or a card stating they have an ASD. Seriously.

My diagnosis isn't official enough for that yet. Also...how would that help, exactly?

Sometimes the police have to stare into your eyes to see if your pupils are dialated so they look into your eyes and being an Aspie that is a bad thing for you. They also think asking too many questions is a form of difiance to their orders. A braclet saying autism or Aspergers so the cop does not lump you up because he has mistanken you for being drunk or on drugs or disobeying on purpose.

I know you can get red dog tags that you can put medical information on. I was thinking about having four tags printed up to use as a necklace showing the high blood pressure meds listed on them with my doctors name and phone number on them. I have been almost run over by people text messaging or talking on cellphones every month. Maybe I'll put a lawyers phone number on their too.

Last edited by Todesking on 13 Jul 2010, 1:20 am, edited 1 time in total.

I like the suggestion of putting the lawyer's phone number on the dog tags

Every person in America should watch this, NT or no:

http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/2010/03/ ... th-police/

ahhh, the police, the government's brutish henchmen. they'll do any thing for a quick buck, even if it is a predjudice hate crime. i heard on the news about a group of anti-gay cops. it said that they think god is punishing America because it had gays in it, and that's the reason why the troops in Afghanistan are dying, how stupid can you get