Chicago cop sued for asking woman on a date

The big deal is that if it's not for his position of authority, he never even knows the woman exists. He didn't meet her in a bar and get her name from the bartender.

It's not a great leap to think that the woman could have felt implicit pressure to agree to the date, either to mitigate the existing ticket or to avoid problems in the future. If he knows how to look her up in the DMV database, then he can find her license plate number, etc. Who's to say she doesn't think "If I say no, I'm gonna get pulled over every week."

 

Exactly. Having a cop who's already pulled you over leave a note at your house would be like having your boss show up at your local bar. "Well, I just thought I'd hang out here until you say Yes."

Very creepy.

 

Yeah, the car bit is even creepier than the note.

If he'd found her address via 411 (or any other publicly available service) and mailed her a letter ... still a sloppy pickup attempt, but at least it doesn't give off the "I've been waaaatching you" serial-killer vibe like this move did.

 

Also doesn't see the problem.

 

You run into people every day through the course of work. Could have been a plumber, a cable repairman, an IRS auditor, a financial adviser or anything else. Again, I don't see the big deal. Maybe I have a different view of authority, stalking and harassment, but I'm allowed to hold my opinion. I would have ripped up the note and never thought about it again. Had it continued, though, that'd be different.

OTOH, if some bartender gave out my information, I'd be upset. At the bartender, though. Not the guy.

 

You can fire a plumber who makes untoward advances. Same with a cable repairman (well, sort of, anyway) and a financial adviser, although not an IRS auditor.

That's the difference, to me: Were it any of the ones I listed above, she can make him go away. You can't make the police go away.

 

I dated a girl I covered while she was in high school. But we were in college at the same time, so it was OK.

 

If the cop was smart, he would have found out where she lived and "accidentally" bumped into her. Leaving a note is dumb.

 

Exactly. Also, he broke the law to do this. I don't understand how anybody thinks what this cop did was ok.

 

Wrapped around her finger?

Did he ask her to tea in the Sahara?

 

What law did he break?