Discretion is the name of the game.

Discretion should have been the name of the game before this started happening. I don't live in NYC, in fact I only visit once or twice a year, but somehow the only negative interactions I've had with LEOs in my entire lifetime have been in NYC and with the NYPD.

One time my friends and I were visiting the city for the weekend; it was like 4am and we were on a completely empty subway car heading back to Brooklyn after spending the night in Manhattan. Two of my friends had fallen asleep and were laying down on the subway seat, but still had their feet on the floor of the subway car. Myself and another friend stayed awake so we wouldn't miss our stop. Our subway car pulled into a fairly sketchy subway station in Brooklyn, and as soon as the doors to our car opened we were startled by several people angrily screaming "off the train! off the train!" at us. We turned to see a half dozen NYPD officers boarding our car. We looked around the car, there wasn't a single other soul on it. We looked at each other, absolutely confused. Half asleep, and without asking any questions, we all stood up and started shuffling off the train assuming it was some sort of drill or perhaps even a real emergency. Immediately one of the officers jumps in my way and starts shouting at myself and my other friend who had stayed awake with me that we're not to get off the train. I explain that we're all together and not from the city at which point he pauses for a moment and then allows us to exit with our friends. As soon as we're off the train one of the officers signals to the train operator, and the train promptly leaves the station. There's literally nobody in this station aside from myself, my three friends, and the half dozen officers. We're all asked to present ID. We all present ID without putting up any sort of protest, but at this point we're starting to inquire about why we were pulled off the train and if we're in any trouble. No response. Nothing. We wait in silence for the better part of 10 minutes while the officers run our IDs over the radio. A fat Dominican officer approached us and explained that we had all (even though only two of us were originally asked to get off the train) violated an "obstruction of seating" ordinance, hands us all a $20 summons, and chortles while sarcastically telling us to enjoy the rest of our trip. He then rounded up his posse and they all left the station. We waited another hour for the next train to show up and then finally arrived back at a friends place (who wasn't with us) in Brooklyn.

Another time, and on another trip that occurred directly after the subway incident, a friend and I were stopped immediately after getting off a bus in the Port Authority terminal. The officers asked for ID. We explained that we would rather not present it and were threatened with arrest. We knew the law was on our side, but rather than sticking to our guns and possibly facing arrest if the officer wanted to simply lie, we caved and just presented our ID so we could quickly be on our way. The officer ran our IDs, handed them back, and then gave us a bunch of grief about not handing over our IDs immediately. He went off on a rant and explained to us that he thought we were runaways (we're both in our mid 20's and look it) and that he doesn't appreciate "know-it-all-lawyer-wannabes" telling him how to do his job.

Now, I don't support people shooting NYPD officers any more than I support a rabid dog mauling a child that is poking it with a stick, but I understand why it's happening. If I'm a clean cut white kid who only visits NYC once or twice a year and I've had this many poor experiences with the NYPD, I can't imagine how much disdain people who live in the poorer neighborhoods of NYC 365 days a year must have for the NYPD.