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When The Suspect Is Smarter Than The Cop

September 29, 2023 / 24:08

This episode covers instances where suspects outsmarted police, featuring Joshua Lloyd, Tom, Quantrell Schwartzlow, Richard McNair, Joel Delgado, and Mac Proctor.

Joshua Lloyd, while geocaching in Phoenix, Arizona, engages in a tense interaction with police who question his presence on what he claims is public property. Despite the officer's aggressive demeanor, Joshua calmly asserts his rights and knowledge of the law.

Tom, another individual, is pulled over after flipping off an officer. He questions the legality of his detention and demonstrates a strong understanding of his rights, ultimately being released after a heated exchange.

Quantrell Schwartzlow escapes police custody, only to be caught hours later. Richard McNair cleverly escapes prison by hiding in a pile of mail, evading capture for 18 months before being apprehended.

Joel Delgado fakes an injury to escape in a wheelchair but is recaptured shortly after. Mac Proctor, a delivery driver, asserts his rights during a parking violation stop, showcasing the importance of knowing the law in interactions with law enforcement.

TLDR

Suspects outsmart police in various encounters, showcasing legal knowledge and clever tactics.

Episode

24:08
00:00:00
there are only a few times in history where suspects managed to beat the cops at their own game from genius fugitives
00:00:05
to civilians who embarrassed cops so bad they had to leave here are five times suspects outsmarted cops promise you I'm
00:00:13
not no damn person escaping You' have done run by now starting with the case of Joshua Lloyd who in July of 2022 was
00:00:20
geocaching Phoenix Arizona geocaching is an activity where people hide physical containers known as Cashes in different
00:00:27
places around the world and others solve puzzles in order to find them Joshua is
00:00:31
currently searching on the side of a public road but it seems somebody wasn't too happy about this oh hold on we got
00:00:39
the cops they're going to run my license plate morning can I help you I know can
00:00:44
we help you do you live here no but this is public correct uh I'm not sure on that could be private property could be
00:00:54
but if there was I do believe there would be a sign posted somewhere right not necessarily is that your car that is
00:01:00
my car okay well if it is public I mean I would figure it's public you have electric access here is there anybody in
00:01:07
the car no just me but if you want to go check go ahead go check okay can I get your permission to do anything else no
00:01:14
do I need your permission you would need my permission to go inside the car no but you just said if you want to go
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check if there's someone else in the car do I oh yeah yeah yeah go check and you
00:01:23
can go look in and see tell me go ahead do I need you to tell me to go ahead to do it or can I do it on my own looks
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like this officer isn't having a good day at the first possible moment he decides to start an argument out of
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nothing he is right that he doesn't need permission to look inside the car but Joshua is just trying to be polite
00:01:40
there's no need whatsoever for the cop to make this difficult this little rant of his seems almost born out of
00:01:46
insecurity and that becomes a pattern as the footage progresses well I mean you could do it on your own you can do a
00:01:52
plain view search like I thought you were under the you had to give me permission I mean would you guys like my
00:01:59
name I'll give you my name you don't have to run the plate for it cuz my name's not on the plate what's your name
00:02:05
my name is Josh Josh mhm Joshua what Lloyd hey Phil josua lyd huh Joshua you're not Towing my car we may have to
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tow it it's not registered to him it's registered to a female it's aband it's left on the roadway running I'm not
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going to leave it here o are you serious not even going to question me on who's who it's registered to would you like
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the insurance registration oh you're not driving it why would I ask for that it seems as though this cop is trying to
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make everything into a bigger deal than it needs to be sure it might seem odd that the car is registered to a
00:02:40
different name next to a guy that appears to have just been staring at a wall for 30 minutes but we know that
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Josh has a reasonable explanation for it just the same as the cops would if they
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bothered to ask but instead the cop just decides that the best idea is to tow the
00:02:55
car and call the owner instead of just talking to the guy that's explicitly saying he can explain everything I'm
00:03:01
going to try and get a hold of the owner see if they know where the car is otherwise she'll tell you that her
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son-in-law has it you're going to let him act like that just because I'm standing over here next to a wall and
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you guys haven't even asked me what I'm doing I even like turned around I gave you the thumbs up he comes out all hard
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why I'm not trying to catch you in anything man asking a simple question the other cop smirk says it all he's
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well aware that his partner's behavior is unre reble and frankly just weird but at the same time he can't badmouth him
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either have you been allowed to use the car I live with her yes and I'm allowed to use the car hence the reason why I
00:03:40
have it okay all right well we're going to do some research find out whose property that is you got your name your
00:03:47
information if it turns out that it is private property then I'll author a report for trespassing I don't think it
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would be private property because what I was doing was a public event so you guys
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never even ask me statement I don't think that's why I'm going to find out for sure whose property okay you go go
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ahead for sure again here's the thing I don't need your permission to check out whose property it is but I appreciate
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you giving me the goad can I have your name and badge number your card 8632 8632 you're you're recording it okay can
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I have your name and badge number please fora 88 all right thank you I greatly appreciate that the way the second cop
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acts after his partner leaves is like he's brought his kid along to work and he's telling Josh to just let him have
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his fun regardless the first officer tells Josh that they're going to head off and do research to make sure this
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isn't private property but even if it was it'd be incredibly hard to convict him of trespassing anyway as you can
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tell from the footage the area of land he was on is directly next to a public sidewalk and there is no signage
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alluding to the fact that the grass is somehow private property however even if it was because of the lack of signage
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Josh would never be made aware that he shouldn't be there meaning it's impossible to claim he knowingly entered
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private property the legal definition of trespassing but before he lets the cops
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go Josh has just one more thing to say to them hey Jos I could do some further research before you go on a property
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find you know you know hold on hold on before before you go and give me the lecture how about this before you come
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up all hard ass on somebody you ask them what they're doing you could ask me simply at the very beginning very nicely
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hey what are you doing do the research and find out whose property you on because you may be breaking the law it's
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public property I can tell you that stating that as a fact I am I'm stating it as a fact because I like [ __ ] with
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you guys well now you're using more profanity I can use profanity it's the first amendment it's the first amendment
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you cannot restrict my speech I can use it to emphasize my sentences one man's curse word is Another Man's Lyric Josh
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articulates everything perfect L and of course is perfectly correct throughout this entire interaction he provided
00:06:05
everything the cops asked for and more remained polite throughout most of the conversation and most importantly knew
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the law down to a te but with all of that said he was still treated badly by this cop who frankly had no idea what he
00:06:20
was talking about he's completely right to explain his Free Speech rides too but
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to explain this further let's take a look at the case of Tom a teenager who managed to totally schooled two cops
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when he was pulled over by cops who also had no idea what the law was you idiot this man was walking down
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the side of a road when a police officer passed him as they drove by the man flipped him off breaking no laws in
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doing so but the cops still got personally offended and decided to do this why you get me the
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fing what what's your problem what why you get me the finger I'm walking away huh am I free to go why
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you giv me the am I free to go no come here for what reason the man who will'll call Tom gets pulled over for allegedly
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flipping off an officer immediately after talking with the officer Tom asks if he's free to go and if he's not why
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he's being detained predictably the officer isn't able to give a great response to either of these completely
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valid questions a problem am I free to go no what do you have a problem no you have a problem no you don't have a
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problem then we I leave why you you giving me the finger when you're walking huh come here I'm free to
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go get over here why because is that a lawful order yeah for what reason because you're giving me the finger
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that's legal no it isn't that's who what's the law what's your name the what's your name old conveniently it
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isn't difficult to find the law on this one perhaps unsurprisingly contempt of cop or police disrespect is an
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incredibly common Catalyst for unlawful arrest however it's very easy to prove that swearing or gesturing at a cop in a
00:08:03
non-threatening way is completely legal across the us freedom of speech is of course protected under the First
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Amendment right and courts have concluded that giving the finger counts as protected speech in fact in 2006 a
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case was open against a man in a very similar position and the court explicitly stated that directing the
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middle finger at an officer is protected expression under the First Amendment meaning that Tom is well within his
00:08:28
rights to flip the officer off but unfortunately the situation begins to escalate and even more words are
00:08:36
exchanged [ __ ] pig whatever [ __ ] you what you afraid of you come here come here get over here what get over here
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I'm not doing anything illegal yeah you are you just cursed me off that's not a crime yes it is says who says me turn
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around come on bro that is not a [ __ ] crime yes it is why you cursing me it's not a crime what's your name it's not a
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crime what's your name help help help at this point the officer turns off his body camera which on top
00:09:06
of being illegal definitely isn't the best thing to do as you're handling a civilian who's screaming for help this
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time the cop cites Tom's more recent expletives as the reason for arrest but once again Tom is completely allowed to
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say what he said the law says the only words not protected by the First Amendment are fighting words intended to
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incite an immediate breach of peace or or in short words that directly threaten someone or imply that the speaker is
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going to physically attack someone obviously what Tom said falls into neither of these categories and as
00:09:40
backup arrives the cop starts to realize that he might be in the wrong you're being detained because you're acting Str
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what that's not legal it is legal he's allowed to detain you until he performs what am I doing though what am I doing
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that made him detain me what legal right time I wrote by him twice he shot me finger so I turned around say well
00:10:00
you're is that a crime then he me no that's not a crime off Pig yeah [ __ ] off pig that's not a crime he's looking at
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you cuz he's like what the [ __ ] you want me to do cuz there it's not a crime I
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know my rights I don't have to say any of that uh you do if you're being detained for what reason what legal
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reason am I being detained for where are you coming from and where are you what legal reason am I being
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detained for I need to know that legally I need to know that now the officers are
00:10:26
telling Tom that he's legally required to identify if himself now that he's being detained despite not being able to
00:10:32
provide a reason for his detention while this is often correct during an arrest in New Jersey a person being detained
00:10:39
not suspected of committing a motor vehicle offense can refuse to give ID but the cops are still way behind on
00:10:46
this now they can't even figure out why they're detaining him why are you shooting me to F why are you is that
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illegal why are youing bir yes it is is causing a public disturbance and a public alarm if you are cursing in
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public single so when you are cursing in public you are causing public disturbance you're being a nuisance to
00:11:01
the public I'd like to see you guys prove it in court what he is doing is he's not saying you're being charged
00:11:05
with anything at that point he's detaining to make sure that there is nothing wrong you're make sure you're
00:11:09
okay what reason does he need to detain me he thought maybe he thought you were signaling him down I'm not sure he knew
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very well that I wasn't signaling to you right I wasn't signaling you bringing attention to yourself you're acting
00:11:20
strange I'm making sure you're okay the officers are desperately trying to make excuses now and now seem to be claiming
00:11:27
that this is a welfare check and Tom's middle finger was a signal for help luckily a case closed in 2013 explored
00:11:35
this very same matter a cop observed a man giving him the finger and pulled him over stating he thought he was trying to
00:11:41
get his attention and was concerned but the court eventually ruled that quote this ancient gesture of insult is not
00:11:49
the basis for a reasonable suspicion of a traffic violation of impending criminal activity so with this in mind
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it's extremely likely that the court would decide that the cop was lying here as well even without the body cam
00:12:02
footage but the best part of this entire investigation is watching the officer's
00:12:07
face as he tries to escape the hole he's dug for himself you cursing and using vulgar gestures is causing a amendment
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is causing a public public disturbance First Amendment for First Amendment is for your freedom of speech okay what
00:12:21
does that have to do with with was I making a c action was I making a cold action was I like threat you in any way
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did I threaten do you understand a call to action is do you understand you're is
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that a call to action am I calling for an action to be done against you list listen listen it's it's it's
00:12:40
Behavior that's out of deep order one was it so what were you doing well I want to know from your perspective on
00:12:45
the scene so you tell me what you were doing bring I play the fth you [ __ ] idiot what has now
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turned into an argument lasts for a few more minutes before Tom finally gives in
00:12:57
and hands his ID over and is told he's free to leave remember he was not legally required to identify himself but
00:13:05
that was the only thing that got the officers to let him go Tom also informed the officers that he intended to pursue
00:13:12
legal action but very little information about this is publicly available or the
00:13:16
fates of these horrifyingly corrupt officers both of these cases have featured people who knew the law
00:13:22
perfectly and managed to defend their own rights from corrupt officers but let's flip the perspective quickly and
00:13:28
look at Criminal criminals who were so smart they managed to escape the cops with crafty techniques and Street smarts
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one such case is that of Quantrell schwartzlow who managed to outsmart cops by escaping custody in just
00:13:43
[Music] seconds Quantrell was brought in for strangling a girl and assaulting her a
00:13:50
crime he clearly didn't want to be convicted of [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh no unfortunately for quantell his
00:14:16
handcuffs were a dead giveaway and he was captured 4 hours later of course this isn't the only example of suspects
00:14:22
escaping police custody in fact Richard McNair's Escape Plan was so smart he managed to stay out of jail for8 18
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months but not without an extremely close call Richard was originally arrested for the shooting of two men
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after he was caught robbing a house in North Dakota one was badly injured and the other died at the scene Richard was
00:14:42
given three life sentences for this but he had absolutely no intention of sticking around for any of this in 2006
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he managed to escape from the prison by burying himself in a pile of mail and being carried straight out the door but
00:14:55
just hours later he was stopped by police while Jo walking away from the prison you live around here bud no where
00:15:02
you live at down the road by uh Pineville pville uh-huh okay do you have any form identification on you no man
00:15:10
what's your name Robert Jones Richard appears calm cool and collected while talking to the cop and gives the
00:15:16
innocent Alias of Robert Jones stating that he's just out jogging around where he's stationed for work that's not the
00:15:22
problem right now where you what's your address I don't have an address I'm at the hotel we're working on uh houses and
00:15:28
stuff I got the roing what is we got an escaping oh [ __ ] where from prison there a prison
00:15:38
here Richard must think that The Jig Is up but he manages to stay calm and play it cool he gives a simple neutral
00:15:44
response and keeps his stance on the loose to avoid looking uneasy the cop then radios in for a detailed
00:15:49
description of The Fugitive and attempts to match it up to Richard how old is your guy you're how old 50 I born in 56
00:15:58
born in 56 58 col you got green well kind of a turquoise blue turquoise blue most
00:16:05
people in this situation would be getting restless and giving short closed off responses because of nerves but
00:16:10
Richard somehow manages to give full answers to everything and even jokes with the officer he's slowly trying to
00:16:16
convince him that he's just a normal guy and that he's absolutely not hiding anything you know the bad thing about it
00:16:22
you're match it up to him that sucks doesn't it yeah I don't even know address we just got got into
00:16:29
town about a week ago and he dropped me off to jog I always jog about 12 mes a day where did he drop you off at up
00:16:35
there on that road by uh there's some construction going on up there houses and he dropped me off he'll be back the
00:16:41
hotel in about probably 10 minutes 15 minutes where are you from uh we're originally Dallas Texas what's your name
00:16:49
again Jimmy Jones this should have been it for Richard he gives a completely different name to his original Alias but
00:16:56
the cop somehow completely missed it and Carries regardless put yourself in my position where's y'all's motel at okay
00:17:03
Walmart's right there go right at Walmart and there's a road 165 that goes south little old tiny Hotel I mean it's
00:17:11
clean but and a it's familyowned little old tiny Hotel yeah you know like a motel deal you park up there um I
00:17:18
promise you I'm not no damn pring escap You' have done run by now you know that yourself did you see anybody or anything
00:17:26
there's some kids up there playing I'm sorry to have to hold you up but hey no I'm just doing my job man I know you are
00:17:32
can you write down your uh phone number your cell phone number so I can have whoever call you just call 911 it's all
00:17:37
you got to do and they'll get a hold to us all right that's our quick line there
00:17:40
have a good day now be careful buddy thank you all right this was the last time Richard McNair was seen for 18
00:17:45
months during his time on the Run he traveled using stolen cars and supplies from Louisiana all the way up to Canada
00:17:52
where apparently he almost bought a property and attempted to settle down in October of 2007 Richard was finally
00:17:59
caught and apprehended in New Brunswick after he was identified driving a stolen
00:18:03
vehicle miles from where it was last reported despite quite literally being a murderer Richard did play this
00:18:10
incredibly well and simply outsmarted the cop and all the others on his tail for a year and a half this cop must have
00:18:17
been humiliated but not as much as the unfortunate officer who had a runin with Joel Delgado who had his Escape planed
00:18:24
for days before it actually took place Joel had been arrested on a myriad of charges including Dr trafficking and
00:18:33
shooting his girlfriend and was looking to go away for a long time but after his
00:18:38
most recent arrest he told police that he'd been badly injured so was taken to court in a wheelchair this is why police
00:18:45
were extremely shocked when this happened [Music] I'mma C you baby I'll put a [ __ ] we're someone confined to a
00:19:07
wheelchair Joel sure can run as just seconds after escaping he completely disappeared see now which way you go
00:19:16
right through the alley and cut that way what you need phone my damn Radio G hold on
00:19:31
damn I tried to come behind you and get him I don't know where he went hey hu the wheelchair dude got up
00:19:40
and ran yeah I couldn't catch his ass and my radio was in mother I had my camera on
00:19:48
though the wheelchair dude I couldn't catch H TS had pulled off yeah I can't remember his name on the
00:20:03
run all right hey he took off man what the wheelchair dude ran he had a n brace on
00:20:11
and all this did he really yeah didn't need that wheelchair very much did he hell no unfortunately for
00:20:21
Joel his freedom was shortlived as just a few hours later he was caught and arrested once more gaining nothing other
00:20:28
than a of felony escape to add to the list it could be argued these last few cops had a simple lapse in judgment or
00:20:35
simply got beaten in the moment but Mac Proctor proved that this cop had no idea
00:20:40
what he was doing in the first place all by knowing the law and standing his ground Mac was parked in a private
00:20:45
parking lot waiting for a takeout order while on his shift as a delivery driver while his vehicle wasn't in a designated
00:20:51
parking spot it wasn't blocking the flow of traffic and he'd only left it there unattended while picking up his food
00:20:57
Upon returning to his vehicle Mac was approached by a police officer stating he was violating parking
00:21:03
rules all right Mr Proctor that is your last thing everything okay do I need to answer any of your
00:21:13
questions you don't have to answer anything okay you don't have to lucky you stand here all day I get paid either
00:21:18
way can you go ahead and finish your job so I can carry on what's with the anger
00:21:23
dude I'm not angry you're not angry you always talk to everybody like that I'm I'm not angry oh okay I just want you to
00:21:29
go ahead and wrap things up please okay of course Mac has every right to stay silent in the face of the officer's
00:21:34
questions especially ones that don't at all pertain to criminal proceedings at no point did he raise his tone or say
00:21:42
anything out of line yet the officer asks why he's being so angry many people think that some police officers are used
00:21:49
to consistently being in command and control on these interactions and it's possible the same as true with this
00:21:54
officer when Mack exercised his rights and just asked for things to be moved along this cop was surprised and took it
00:22:01
as a combative statement all right well you know we give you a break on it but you know what I'm saying this isn't a
00:22:06
parking spot okay dude you're not giving me a break you're harassing me at this point I'd like to leave may I leave now
00:22:12
please well do you understand am I being detained yes you are okay all right so do you understand why I stopped
00:22:20
you do I need to answer anymore your questions you don't have to okay the officer informs Mack that he is being
00:22:26
detained for parking here to wish was Citation for parking violation you must be breaking either local state or
00:22:32
federal law something like parking in a handicap spot without proper documentation hey Mr Proctor can I just
00:22:39
give you your stuff so you can leave can you I can but you're the one I would have let you go a long time ago
00:22:45
what do I need to do for you to hand me my documents so I can leave I'll you right now I just want to know that you
00:22:50
know like you're okay cuz usually I don't get people what do I need to do for you to hand me my documents so I can
00:22:55
be on my way you're okay I don't need to answer any your questions he there we go
00:22:59
again Jesus Christ trying to say that uh you're trying to display your power to me right now I'm concerned about it is
00:23:06
it a proba to be concerned about another human being you have no reason to be concerned about me so it's okay then
00:23:12
you're okay then you can hand me my documents and I can be on my way ins okay you're not going to okay here
00:23:19
I'll tell you what I'm going to take a chance on you all right here Mr Proctor um you're about everything's cool all
00:23:24
right we're blocking traffic here your stuff Mac was allowed to leave without further incident but this interaction
00:23:30
raises questions about why he was met with further difficulties after doing nothing other than exercising his Fifth
00:23:36
Amendment right in fact it's strange that the entire interaction even happened in the first place if the
00:23:41
officer had observed Max's vehicle obstructing traffic the incident could have been avoided by simply asking him
00:23:46
to move his vehicle out of the way and let him go about his day from there instead the officer detained Mac
00:23:52
preventing him from moving his vehicle and keeping it in the very place that's allegedly impeding traffic flow the cop
00:23:58
later found found out that Mack wasn't even a federal agent or officer himself and simply managed to prove just how
00:24:04
valuable it is to know the law

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 70
    Most intense
  • 60
    Most shocking
  • 60
    Best overall
  • 60
    Most surprising

Episode Highlights

  • Richard McNair's Ingenious Escape
    Richard McNair escapes prison by hiding in a pile of mail, evading capture for 18 months.
    “I'm not no damn person escaping!”
    @ 00m 10s
    September 29, 2023
  • Tom's Legal Stand Against Police
    Teenager Tom flips off an officer and stands his ground when confronted, knowing his rights.
    “You could ask me simply at the very beginning very nicely.”
    @ 05m 24s
    September 29, 2023
  • Joshua Lloyd's Encounter with Police
    In July 2022, Joshua Lloyd faces off against police while geocaching, showcasing his knowledge of the law.
    “One man's curse word is another man's lyric.”
    @ 05m 58s
    September 29, 2023
  • Joel Delgado's Shocking Escape
    Confined to a wheelchair, Joel Delgado surprises police by escaping in seconds after his court appearance.
    “I'mma C you baby, I'll put a [ __ ] we're someone confined to a wheelchair!”
    @ 19m 05s
    September 29, 2023
  • The Wheelchair Escape
    A wheelchair user surprises everyone by getting up and running away.
    “The wheelchair dude ran!”
    @ 19m 36s
    September 29, 2023
  • Mac Proctor's Rights
    Mac Proctor stands his ground against an officer's questioning during a parking violation.
    “You don't have to answer anything!”
    @ 21m 14s
    September 29, 2023
  • Detained for Parking
    Mac is detained by police for allegedly violating parking rules, raising questions about the encounter.
    “Why was he met with further difficulties?”
    @ 23m 30s
    September 29, 2023

Episode Quotes

  • I'm not no damn person escaping!
    When The Suspect Is Smarter Than The Cop
  • One man's curse word is another man's lyric.
    When The Suspect Is Smarter Than The Cop
  • This ancient gesture of insult is not the basis for reasonable suspicion.
    When The Suspect Is Smarter Than The Cop
  • Did he really need that wheelchair?
    When The Suspect Is Smarter Than The Cop
  • You're harassing me at this point!
    When The Suspect Is Smarter Than The Cop
  • You have no reason to be concerned about me!
    When The Suspect Is Smarter Than The Cop

Key Moments

  • Geocaching Incident00:17
  • Legal Knowledge06:15
  • Escaping Custody13:39
  • Wheelchair Escape19:10
  • Unexpected Escape19:36
  • Confrontation Begins22:10
  • Rights Asserted23:06
  • Resolution23:28

Tension Over Time

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown