They took me to the police station for jogging and not having an ID, can they do that?

Question

There's a park 2 blocks away from my house. I went out to jog. All I was wearing were my pair of tennis shoes, a pair of shorts, and a sleeveless shirt. My roommate was home, so I didn't even take my keys with me.
I was running on the park, when this cop stops me. He asked me for my ID, I tell him I didn't have it with me. He calls another cop. I told him I lived 2 blocks awya that I could go get it.
They take me in the police car to the police station.
Over there, I call my roommate, he brings my ID and some clohtes because I was running clothes.
Somehow, they jsut told me I could leave.


I'm confused!

Is jogging a crime?

Is there a law about having an ID even when I'm wearing clothes with no pockets?

I'm not sure if I'm considered a minority. I am Hispanic, but my hair is naturally blond.

Answer 1

It doesn't matter if you are an albino with blue eyes and are of hispanic descent, you are still a Hispanic. Be proud of who you are!

To Jymistheone:

Don't you think you are being a bit racist with your comment that stopping minorities ONLY is OK. Your thinking is skewed and your heart is in the wrong place. Don't other races and ethinic groups, including caucasians, commit crimes and are suspects for a number of law violations? At least that was the case last time I read the crime stats. Shouldn't they be stopped also if the situation warrants it?

The person who posted this question is Hispanic and you owe him/her an apology.

Answer 2

I can't imagine an officer stopping you without reason. Had a crime just been committed in the area and you matched the description of the suspect? Did you run in front of a car and cause an accident? Did you jaywalk? I'm assuming the park you were jogging in is a public area and not private property.

If he just stopped you with no reason, this is outrageous conduct! I would demand an explanation for why you were stopped while jogging and hauled to the police station.

No, you shouldn't have to carry ID on you when you are jogging. This isn't Communist Russia where you had to show papers all the time. However, it isn't a bad idea to carry some form of ID with you. If you got hit by a car while jogging and were knocked out, you would want some form of identification on you.

Answer 3

Many cities and municipalities have ordinances that state people over 18 are required to carry id at all times. In the case with you, there could have been a complaint, crime committed or even a warrant for someone who fits your description. You were taken to the police station to confirm your identity. It's legal...in the future, pin id on you when you jog. By the way, If you were injured or killed, how would the police have identified you (which is the reason for the ordinance)?

Answer 4

You were not arrested you were detained so you really don't have much to complain about that I am aware of. You can be held for up to 3 days before being charge with a crime so as far as I know they can probably detain you for that amount of time also before having to release you or charge you with something. Failing to provide identification is somewhat of a crime but its not serious. Or at least, I am under the impression it is a crime.
TaxGurl mentions the purpose for you being detained. If you look like the suspect of a crime they are looking for or are unsure what the person looks like but you happen to be in the area of a crime you can be held and questioned, etc. It gives them probably cause to stop you when you fit the description or are in the area of a crime, etc.
How long has the law allowed that procedure of holding someone until they charge you?

Answer 5

The police generally do what they please, within some limits. No, you do not have to have an i.d. on you, and they knew you did not have an i.d. when you were running. I don't know why they screwed with you. I run all of the time and have never had a police even look at me twice. If they had some questions they should have allowed you to go home, or taken you there rather than going to the trouble of taking you to the police station. If your story is complete, perhaps you should speak to a supervisor. Sometimes there are officers who need a career adjustment, and if these did not have a legitimate reason for messing with you they could be a candidate for another job.

Answer 6

I'm a white male.

A few years ago, when I was 34, I was taking a walk about 10 PM at night in my residential neighborhood, when an unmarked police card swerved in a driveway in front of me and stopped me.
Since it was unmarked, I was very hesitantly cooperative. I wasn't sure if it might be some psycho, just pretending to be a cop. I kept a few steps back in the dark and asked to see his badge, and he showed it to me.
Beyond that point I cooperated. He asked me to stay with him while he communicated with other police cars in the area.
It turned out they were doing a sweep for a peeping tom who some woman had seen looking in the window of her home.
Detained, I nervously waited.

About 20 minutes later, a call came over the officer's radio, that another officer had the suspect in custody. And I was free to go.

While I was anxious during this detainment, I knew I wasn't guilty of any crime, and was friendly to the officer, saying I knew he was just doing his job.


A few months later, I had a conversation where it came up, talking to a black co-worker. He was an angry guy, who clearly had hostility toward whites, and a deeply indoctrinated sense of white racism. As I recall, he was going into one of his usual rants about "institutionalized racism" and "white privelege", ad nauseum. He mentioned several incidents that he saw as clear racism, that I saw as open to interpretation.
At that point, I mentioned my detainment one night by police. He hummed and hawed, and said that if I'd been black, I would not have just been detained, I would have been cuffed and put in the police car.
You just can't win.
It's not enough that I'd been detained like any minority suspect would have been. To me, my incident proved that it isn't just minorities that are profiled as suspects.

I trust and respect law enforcement, and I didn't look for an attorney or the ACLU to bemoan my alleged loss of civil liberties or look to sue for harassment.

Sometimes it's just law enforcement doing their job.
But those who want to read racism or victimization or police-state conspiracies into everything will do so, regardless.

Answer 7

first lets address the jogging. Wasit a public park and was it at night? Because of crime, most cities close their parks at dusk and reopen at dawn. This is to protect those who in the simple practice of jogging become victims of violent crimes. The question about the ID. In some states there are laws that require all persons of legal age, basically when you get a driver's lic. (a state ID). to have it on their person in public. The reason being two fold, 1.) it helps to identify those who through one reason or another cannot identify themselves, ie wrecks, violent crimes victims, etc. and also because when those who commit crimes usually don't carry their id's, so if you don't have it on you, until investigations prove otherwise, they (the police) have to be weary. That's why when you were able to properly identify yourself, they chose not to hold you for failure to have ID, and released you. Where i work we charge for being in the park after dark, violent crimes have reduced there by 90 %

Answer 8

No, the the police can not stop you without cause. File a compliant, call a lawyer, call the ACLU, and if necessary get with the media because sometimes the legal system needs a push.
Also check you local laws and codes, usually you can go to your local library or public college law library in your state to get or the net.

Answer 9

By law, they need to tell you what they are arresting you for. Not carrying identification is not a law, unless your town or municipality has a strange law. If for some strange reason it is the law there, then obvoiously they can, but I doubt it. IF not, then they must tell you what they are suspecting you of, and also have probablye cause to believe that you have committed that crime.

Answer 10

Depending on where you were at, yes. In my city, certain sections, if you are caught on property, or near certain property, you can be arrested for not having proper ID on you. If the area you were in, has a problem with gangs or drugs, or both, then definitely yes. Always carry your ID.