Trying not to be too specific about locations but it is in Michigan.
I was not arrested or ticketed but I like to eat lunch at the park if it's nice outside because I work full time and go to school part time. There are days where I leave at 6AM and don't get back from school until 10:30 or 11:00PM. So getting outside to see the sun and read or do homework is a huge up point in my day which is otherwise spent on the computer or driving.
The park is part of an interconnected set of parks with running/biking paths that join them. I was sitting at a picnic table on the other side of a parking lot from a baseball field. Further down the running path is a soccer field and basketball courts. I was writing down notes from a lecture that I had recorded.
A police car came into the parking lot and turned around. Then they came down the running path and stopped next to me. The officer got out and approached me with his hand on his gun and asked me what I was doing in the park. I told him I was doing some homework and that I was going to turn off my phone and take my earbuds out. He started asking me why I was watching kids playing. I pointed to the empty baseball field and said kids haven't been here since I showed up. He asked how often I come to the park and I said during the summer it might be a couple times a week depending on the weather. He asked me why I go to the park and I said to get out of the office and see the sun during my lunch break.
Then the officer says he needs my ID so he can write a report saying that I was watching kids in the park. The alarm bells went off in my head, I was. I told the officer I wasn't required to ID unless I had committed a crime. He told me I was required because of investigatory. I reaffirmed again that I was not required to ID myself. He then said if that's the way I want to play it I can be arrested for failure to ID. He then asked me why I didn't want to ID myself. I told him because I wasn't required to and he just said I was watching kids in a park which I wasn't. He told me to come over to the car and asked me if I had any weapons and I told him I had a pocket knife, he took out and patted me down. He then asked me since it's not a big deal why not give him my ID. I told him I wasn't required to. He told me he could take me down to the station if I wanted to continue giving him a hard time. I asked if he had something to show me that I had to give him my ID and he asked me to sit in the back of the car, which I did. He kept saying it's not a big deal, why make such a hassle, you could already be out of here so why not just show it to him. I stopped answering because it was the same question over and over but finally the I said "Where I am from being in the backseat of a police car is a big deal." He then got out of the car and let me out and said it's just not that big of a deal but you understand how a man in a park where kids can play looks. Then proceeds to tell me if I come back again they will arrest me. He asked if I drove and I said no. He pointed to the running path leading to the road and told me to get out of there and not come back. I told him I needed to get my stuff from the picnic table and then I would leave. He said fine. He then proceeded to follow me through the city for a bit until I went into a commercial park.
I was thinking about contacting the PD to talk to somebody but the first thing they want is your name for an appointment and I don't want my name on the report saying I was looking at children when I wasn't. I don't want to sue the department. I wasn't ticketed so I don't need help fighting that. Is there a way I should approach this about being able to go back to the park again? I don't want to go to the park and get arrested and then have to go through all the legal drama. Any advice for how approach would be appreciated.
Written By: milegalqthrowaway
Source: http://bit.ly/2W8MD2c
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