It must be my face, because whenever I come into the proximity of law enforcement, they must needs hassle me.

I pulled into the commuter lot this morning, as I do everyday, to await my fellow commutron, JTA's arrival. As I do everyday when it's my turn to drive, I didn't park in a space, but rather pulled off to the side on the far end of the parking lot under an overhanging tree (it saves me the trouble of having to back out). Some days I arrive at the lot before JTA, other days JTA arrives before me. Today, I was the early one.

As I pulled in, there was a white Ford Explorer either just arriving or just leaving. The SUV was parked laterally across 4 parking spots and had the reverse lights on. After I parked and turned off the car, I see that the SUV driver is actually a K-9 cop who is ostensibly going to play ball with his dog in the grassy area adjacent to the parking lot. This goes on for about 7 minutes, and he eventually goes back to his vehicle. After another 5 minutes, I see the Ford pull out of its parking spaces and notice that, lo, the vehicle is now parked beside me with the passenger window down. I turn off my radio so I can hear what the cop has to say. 


  law abiding citizen: oh. hello.

              asshole: You waitin' for someone?

  law abiding citizen: yeah.

              asshole: Someone on a train?

  law abiding citizen: no.

              asshole: ...

  law abiding citizen: ...

              asshole: ...

  law abiding citizen: It's a guy I commute to work with.

              asshole: Commuting? Ok. I gotta ask.

  law abiding citizen: <turns away from asshole and turns radio back on>

              asshole: ...

  law abiding citizen: <jams to desert sessions vol 3&4 track 3>

              asshole: ...

  law abiding citizen: <figures this is when the hard core hassle will begin>

              asshole: <drives away>

Not only does the asshole not "gotta ask", but in the absence of any probable cause, his asking is a violation of my privacy. If he really had any reason to suspect I was up to no good, then the appropriate thing to do would have been to stay in the parking lot and watch what I was up to.

Let's say for the sake of argument, I was the author of a nefarious plot. I'm going to "attack the train tracks" adjacent to the parking lot or something equally devious and terroristy. In what way did the asking deter me. His asking did exactly as much for security as the questions you are asked by ticket agents at airport check-in. The cop knew I wasn't up to anything, but still thought he needed to hassle a citizen lest he not uphold the stereotype of cops as blazing pricks with an inferiority complex.