Batavia Police acting on a tip of suspicious activity responded the Kwik Fill at Jackson and Ellicott streets just before 5 p.m. and conducted an extensive search of a red Chevy sedan parked next to a gas pump.
It turns out, there was nothing found and no arrest. The driver was cited for allegedly operating on a suspended license. That's it.
Is this news? Well, if you drove by between 5 and 5:30 p.m. and saw all of this police activity, you might be wondering what it was about. Now you know.
how bogus
how bogus
I don't have the details on
I don't have the details on who provided the tip, Frank. I think a call came into dispatch.
That said -- I'm not a lawyer, but I play one in comments -- I think that to accuse the tipster of any sort of crime, there would need to be reasonable proof that the tipster knew the tip was false.
For every 911 call, a name
For every 911 call, a name and phone number is taken, so they do know an assumed name and the persons phone number.
The implication of your
The implication of your comment Anthony is that the person who called dispatch purposefully misled the police. There is nothing in my post to suggest -- and no indication from police -- that a caller perpetrated a hoax. Further, I wouldn't assume that the information that led police to take a closer look came from a caller.
Also, the concern about who the caller might or might not be seems to assume that if a person calls in a report that turns out not to be true, that person should be in some way investigated. That's a very dangerous line of thinking because it could lead to people feeling hesitant about reporting their suspicions of criminal activity to police.
In police work, as in journalism, not every tip is going to pan out. That's just a fact of life. It doesn't mean people are playing a hoax or lying or in any way trying to deceive. Witnesses just don't always understand what they see or don't have all the information.
something about this just
something about this just doesnt seem right. did the owner of the vehicle give permission to have there car searched, if not dont the cops need more then just a tip to perform a search. what was the suspicious activity
Jason, do you think these
Jason, do you think these cops would search a car without permission or adequate probable cause?
FWIW: I saw the driver of the car signing paperwork prior to the search being conducted. The logical conclusion is he consented. The search began as soon as he signed.
Howard, accuse me of a
Howard, accuse me of a crime,
Frank, we've seen charges
Frank, we've seen charges filed before false reports. I'm pretty sure if the police believe somebody was making a report in order to get another person in trouble or as a hoax, there would be charges leveled for false reporting. If police felt they could prove the case.
Howard, disputing the
Howard, disputing the discretion of the police.
I think that the person who
I think that the person who called in the "tip", knew that the driver was operating the vehicle with a suspended license, and therefore that was the Real Reason for the tip.
If that were the case, a
If that were the case, a simple "operating without a license" tip would suffice.
Further, from what I've been able to pick up, the tip wasn't about the driver, but activity.
Maybe they felt if the
Maybe they felt if the reported tip was "operating without a license" then the person would know the probability of who reported them. Maybe a family member.
The report in the Batavian say's "Police acting on a tip of suspicious activity" responded, etc.
Now what if the article said "Police acting on a tip someone was "operating without a license" etc??
So then they reported something different knowing that the Officers would probably ask to see their license. Hmmm...I guess that's all we can do...guess.
You know, this was really a
You know, this was really a very minor incident. It was routine police work, and it worked out like much of routine police work does -- meaning, not much.
I only posted about it because it was a lot of activity at a busy intersection at a busy time of day and I just happened to be there (before the call even started, I was heading there for gas anyway).
Knowing our readers, there's a high degree of chance that somebody will ask me, "what was going on at Jackson and Ellicott?" Or even more so in this case, "I saw you taking pictures at Jackson and Ellicott -- what was going on?"
So to preempt those questions, I posted about it. There's a surprising amount of conjecture, speculation and reading between the lines for something that really didn't amount to much. And that's just the way it is. Again, things happen. People say things. Tips don't pan out. It happens. That's mostly what police work is.
Ya your right, but it was
Ya your right, but it was thought-provoking Howard.
Had to put my PI instincts to work :-) lol.
I understand that :)
I understand that :)
so is two people talking in a
so is two people talking in a car or a person standing outside a car talking to the driver probable cause, hell if thats the case next time somebody cuts me off driving ill just say i saw suspicious activity and have alot of there time wasted lol.