How cops should interact with the public
Here is an all-too-typical example of Stupid Government Police Tricks.
The Watonga offices appear similarly ignorant. One threatens to arrest and jail Sexton for failing to identify himself, "because I've identified that you've been walking around here at 5:30 in the morning."
"Yeah, we do that," Sexton replied.
"No, you're not. Give me your ID," the officer demanded.
Sexton said he left his ID at his house and repeated, correctly, that Oklahoma doesn't require him to identify himself.
One of the officers then tried to detain Sexton, who pulled away and attempted to record the incident with his cellphone. The officer then grabbed Sexton and swung him to the ground while Sexton's young son started wailing.
Sexton was briefly detained before being released without being charged. He has since filed a complaint with the Watonga Police Department, and the release of body camera footage of the incident has outraged residents.
The most obvious question is, why did the cops think there was anything suspicious about a man and 6 year old boy walking down the sidewalk at 5:30 in the morning?
Was the boy struggling to get away?
Was the man dragging him by his feet or arms or hair?
Did the man have the boy slung over his shoulder?
Was the man choking the boy?
Absent any of that, what the heck were they suspicious of that required stopping them and asking for ID?
But supposing they had some vague reason, such as a recent rash of car robberies in the morning in that neighborhood, and the man was carrying a bag which might have contained stolen goods. There's a much better way to handle this.
Cops stop, apologize for stopping them, explain there have been some car robberies in the neighborhood recently, and would he mind showing them what is in the bag?
The man might refuse, in which case they'd have to choose whether to press on, ultimately leading to a formal arrest as a possible suspect, or to go on their way after taking note of the time, taking their pictures, and filing a report.
More likely, especially knowing what’s likely to happen next, the man would say, "No problem,", open the bag so they could see inside, and the cops would thank them and hand over a coupon for ice cream as their way of apologizing for the interruption and thanking them for their assistance.
That coupon is the key. Maybe it's just a coupon for ice cream down at the police station. Remember, this is routine in this world, not a once in a million surprise. Especially this kid, who the father says used to look up to cops, he'd be so damn eager to claim his ice cream, the father would be happy, and the cops at the station would be thrilled to show some six-year old around a little.
That kind of public relations is hopeless with monopoly government. Their minds just don't think that way. Obey! or be thrown to the ground for contempt of cop.