Are The Streets Free For All?

[Another Demise]

Recently I lost access to my cable phone service, cable internet, and digital programming. It all had to go atonce since its all connected. I do have wireless access and i get many signas, most secured/ I've had to go many places over town t get a hot spot. I recently found one in a parking lot beside the road up the hill from myhome. I was on mylap top, sitting on a wooden crate watching Elton John's Rocket Man video when just then MPD pulls up. They get out the car, ask me my name, call for back up and ask me what Iam doing. I tell them I had to get online to get a few things done. They say "well we've had a recent rash of home robberies and you are suspicious". I tell them ok but this is my computer, I'm renting it, I'm well aware of my location in relation to police headquArters. I tell them my name and addy and they tell me to call it a night. So question: Was it a request or an order?
I'm over the age for the curfew and I wasn't doing anything other then watchin' some '70s gold and hoaning my C++ skills in the dead of night.
Did I HAVE to leave?


P.S. I am a night owl you see, thats when I work, ALWAYS. I'm hoping to make a career out of the programming so I was sorta on the job too :/

[jk]

private property?

public property?

if public, what was the parking lot for?

depending on what type of property your were on, you may have been able to be cited or arrested for tresspassing or loitering if you had not complied.

[cdwjava]

If you were on private property, you likely had no lawful reason to be there. Depending on your state and local municipality, there may have been loitering ordinances in effect as well.

It was likely a polite suggestion. When it becomes an order, you'll probably know it.

- Carl

[Maxima Lover]

This is something I have been trying to find out as well. Supposedly only owners of the property and others acting on the owner's behalf (like employees) can tell you to leave.

It's not like if you are standing on your friend's front lawn, an officer can make you leave the property. Unless your friend tells you to leave.

[cdwjava]

This is not ALWAYS the case - though it tends to be. For instance, we have 30 day trespass notices that are used out here ... we also have local ordinances that prevent trespass without the specific consent of the property owner (mostly used for farm and ranch property - kinda hard to locate the farmer, but it's unlikely he approves of a a bunch of hooligans drinking in his field).

In general, the owner/manager or his/her agent must ask the person to leave, but this is not universally the case ... at least not in my state.

- Carl

[Another Demise]

it was at theend of a long ass blockbuster's lot. sum ppl use it 4 parking. i was just sitting at the end. then one day i was feelin bad and went to walk in downtown, sat on stairs on the street and the cops told me i had better go home since it was late..

[cdwjava]

it was at theend of a long ass blockbuster's lot. sum ppl use it 4 parking. i was just sitting at the end. then one day i was feelin bad and went to walk in downtown, sat on stairs on the street and the cops told me i had better go home since it was late..

That's a commercial property and generally subject to trespassing or loitering statutes. Whether they could COMPEL you to leave can be debatable. But, the police could likely make a lawful arrest even if the DA did not choose to pursue the charges, so it is probably the better part of discretion to move on in situations like these.

- Carl

[jk]

the owners/tenants of the property could have a understanding with the police already, expecially if it is a common hang out.

We had about a 1/2 mile stretch of road lines with business and large parking lots. hundreds, upon hundreds of kids and cars would simply "park" and hang out.

Onwers of business told cops '"if they are not patronizing the businessess, they are tresspassing. Make them go away" They did.

The kids generally got one warning. After that it was off to the whooscow for the night or until mommy came and got them.

as far as them telling you to go home because it was late. They did not have the authority to make you go home but I suggest they told you to go home due to the type of folks they generally run into in that area at those times. If you did not want to be included in "that type" of group, going home would simply be good advice.

They could have just as easily told you to go elsewhere but as long as they did not arrest you if you did not go home or actually force you to do something you were legally allowed to do, take what they said as a suggestion.

There is no need to make it into anything since nothing came of the contact.

[Another Demise]

its never been a hang out, its never really full. They told me to go back to my room when I was at the hotel I stayed at, they told me to go home when I was sitting down on the side walk on the street, they said go home, one time I walked from a friends, forgot my house key, had to walk back, the cops shined his light on me and told me "I better not see you again walking". All they do is yell at people. And in these parking lots I'm in I see them parked all the time chatting a way with each other driver window to driver window.

CD I couldn't really move on because the hot spot wasn't that big.

As for me being "that type" as I've said I live about 500 feet away from police head squarters, no one that close in proximity is dumb enough to even try to be "that type"...

[jk]

As for me being "that type" as I've said I live about 500 feet away from police head squarters, no one that close in proximity is dumb enough to even try to be "that type"...

Oh how wrong you are. I laugh everytime I read about somebody calling the police to report that somebody stole their pot. Just another one last week somewhere.

There are idiots everywhere.

For some reason it seems you do ahve your share of trouble with the police. Either you have had a run in or something and they simply continue to give you a hard time or the cops around you a more or less, jerks.

If you want to argue it, then it sounds like you have had plenty of opportunity to do so. It will mean going to jail and fighting the arrest but if you want to set things right, that is often what you have to do.

Just don;t forget; there is always the chance of being found guilty, regardless if you believe you were or not.