Gates-Type Encounters with Police Happen Every Day, Irregardless of Race
Some cops just abuse power, and make up rules as they go along.
Gordon Haire, a former newspaper reporter and former police officer, was sitting at a table on the campus of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston when he snapped a photo of a university police officer strolling towards him.
Officer Tim Wilson then came up to him and told him he was not allowed to photograph the Galveston National Library, which apparently is so top secret that only a Google search will reveal its true appearance.
Wilson told him it was against the law to photograph the building because it is a security threat.
Haire, 66, told Wilson he did not believe him.
Sensing the impending terrorist threat, Wilson asked for Haire's identification.
But having lost his drivers license, Haire was only able to produce a Medicare card (he had arrived by bus for a doctor's appointment).
The cop then asked for his full name and date of birth, then relayed that information to a dispatcher through his collar microphone.
"He's giving me a hard time," the cop said to the dispatcher, according to Haire.
The cop finally left, but not before informing Haire that it was illegal to even photograph the sidewalk.
