Peterborough Police Harassment
Last night after my Blogtalk Radio show, Voluntaryism Volunteers, I traveled to the local 24 hour convenience store in Peterborough, NH, which is the town I live in. While chitchatting with the clerk, a man came into the store. He looked quite frazzled and sunburned. The clerk and I were talking, when the man stated vociferously that he hated New Hampshire and was moving back to Ocala, Fl. I commented that I had just moved to NH from Tampa, Fl. He then proceeded to relate the following story:
Earlier that night, he was traveling home from work, he works at a farm. He had just worked 14 hours straight, he was tired and sunburned. He swerved a bit on the road and aPeterboroughpolice officer pulled him over. The officer accused him of using drugs and the man told him that he was just tired and hungry from working so long. The man then told the officer that he had an unloaded gun locked in his glove compartment. The officer then harangued him about the gun, telling him he needed a permit to have the gun. The man stated that he did, in fact, have a conceal carry permit issued inFlorida. The officer kept harassing the man over the gun. The officer then ordered the man out of his car and then proceeded to tear it apart with the consent of the man. He was released without further detainment or arrest.
After I heard the man say he consented to the search because “I had nothing to hide”, I recoiled and told him that he should never, ever consent without knowing his rights. I then told him about knowing your rights and to google knowing your rights. I had a brain-dead moment and should have told him about www.flexyourrights.org! (Thanks to Julia for helping me with remembering this site!) He stated nonchalantly that he would think about it. I told him that he should learn this for himself and then pass it on to everyone he knows. He shrugged and said he would think about it.
On another note, Sunday evening after PorcFest, I gave a potential mover a tour ofPeterborough. He and I discussed the police inPeterborough. He stated that he heard glowing remarks about my fair city’s police department. I have never, in the little over 4 months that I have lived there, had any run-ins or even interactions with the police. I mainly see them at night and at festivals. I have only seen the police at traffic accidents, not one pull over yet, in Peterborough, at least.
Dublin police are another story altogether! Yesterday on my way home, I was talking to my mom on my cell phone. I had my speaker ear buds in and was holding my phone in one hand. As I passed the rotary in the heart of Dublin(which is an uber tiny town), a police officer noticed me and jumped in behind the car directly behind me. The officer then proceeded to follow me to the Peterborough town line, where he slinked back to his lair! LOL! I have noticed over the last few months, that, outside of Keene, I see the most cops in Dublin, NH. It seems this tiny town needs a lot of revenue to support it.