Bob Dylan picked up by police after officer fails to recognise him

[oberliner]

The 22-year-old officer was dispatched after residents in the New Jersey town of Long Branch had phoned to complain that a man in the Latin quarter was acting suspiciously.

When the officer asked the man for identification papers, he did not have a driving licence or other form of ID to prove his identity.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/bob-dylan/6030978/Bob-Dylan-picked-up-by-police-after-officer-fails-to-recognise-him.html

[stray cat]

1. Bob Dylan is white - how could this happen?

:sarcasm:

[graywarrior]

3. I'm surprised he wasn't wearing his hoodie.

He's such a gangsta.

[oberliner]

7. I think he was wearing that

Other articles have indicated that he was hooded.

[graywarrior]

8. And rapping, I'm sure.

[mucifer]

2. The article doesn't say what his "suspicious" behavior was.

That's annoying. I want to know.

[madaboutharry]

4. I read in another article that there was a

"For Sale" sign in front of a vacant house and he walked up to it and looked in through the window.

He was being nosey! :rofl:

[vadawg]

11. yup that wouold do it, wearing a hoodie looking in windows of houses

thats enough right there to make me suspicious enough to want to talk to you, then if you told me you were bob dylan and had no id then im detaining you until i can make a positive id. as i stated in another thread every week i arrest famous people without id and then we find they are just bob smith or jane doe but have warrants on them. looking at the report i dont thin k the officer did anything wrong, and going back to an earlier story about a rapist who frequented a car park and why no one stopped him, we are damned if we do and damned if we dont, most times we just have to use our best judgement.

[Ocotillo]

5. Bob, ya gotta drive your Cadillac

Then, no problem!

[-..__...]

6. What's so surprising about a 22 year old...

not recognizing Bob Dylan?

I'd be surprised if the cop even heard of Dylan.

FWIW... if he looked anything like the pic in the linked article, I wouldn't have recognized him either.

[rrneck]

9. Good. Fame isn't a free pass.

Of course it sounds like somebody over reacted by calling the cops to start with. I guess they didn't recognize him either. :)

[oberliner]

10. Is it illegal to go for a walk in the rain?

Can a cop ask anyone for their ID at any time even if they are not suspected of any crime?

[rrneck]

12. You're right.

Unless I read it wrong, like I said somebody over reacted. And that somebody didn't recognize Dylan either.

[vadawg]

14. going by the report, he was acting suspiciously, so yes a cop can ask you to id yourself

and then if you give a name that dosent ring true or cant produce id, we then have to positively id you, imagine if this wasnt bob dylan but a rapist looking in peoples houses, and he was stopped by the cops and then let go without being id'd. I am sure there would be outrage, sometimes we have to do stuff that might not make people happy but we have to do it nonetheless.

[oberliner]

15. What was the suspicious behavior?

You've seen the police report?

[Arkansas Granny]

16. To me, an old rainsoaked man wandering around in my yard would be suspicious behavior.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/Story?id=8331830&page=1

[oberliner]

17. The article says that he left the yard and was followed by a resident of the home

It says that one of the home's occupants followed Dylan as he continued down the street.

[vadawg]

18. yup that sounds suspicious and if i got that call then im not letting you walk away without id

and getting to know why you were in someones yard.

[oberliner]

19. Thanks - I appreciate your perspective

It does seem like the police have a good deal of leeway when determining what is or is not suspicious behavior.

[vadawg]

21. yup we have a lot of discretion in some areas, not so much in others

ive had calls for elderly dudes wandering into other peoples property, some times its a mental issue, sometimes criminal, sometimes people just get distracted, the reason all depends on whether i take you to jail, call mental health, call family, or shoot the breeze with you before sending you on your way, though i do get the homeowners crying out for arrest when i dont feel the need, nothing worse than a CSI fan telling you the dude who just wandered trying to find the path to the bus stop needs to go to jail due to (insert law here). happy to give a cops perspective anytime..

[asdjrocky]

13. I guess for that 22 year old Bob Dylan was-

"...a complete unknown..." C'mon people, sing it with me...

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

20. Wait'll the cops discover that's not even his real name....

:evilgrin: