I was watching this video. The video is pretty long, but basically it is alleged that a guy keeps harrassing a men that is eating in a restaurant (calling him repeatedly, etc.). The man calls the police, the police shows up, and nothing happens.
So I got curious why the police didn't ask his ID, and read the stop and identify statues wikipedia page.
I don't know in which US State the incident in the Youtube video occurred, but some things from the Wikipedia page are not clear to me. For example:
In 12 states (Alabama, Delaware, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Utah, Wisconsin), police "may demand" identifying information. Of note, though, in New Hampshire for example (RSA 594:2), statutory language authorizing a 'demand' for identity does not establish a legal requirement to provide documentation of identity (ID), or even a requirement to respond in the first place.
So in New Hampshire a police officer may DEMAND my identification from me, and I may simply ignore him/her without committing a crime? Is my understanding correct? How does these statutes work out in general?
If my understanding is correct, suppose I am a gentlemen being harrassed, and Mr. X is doing the harrassment to me: he is outside my door, he is calling my phone number repeatedly, he is repeatedly knocking on my door, he is repeatedly shouting my name out, he is repeatedly calling me a child molester, he is repeatedly shouting that my mum does a job not to be proud of, etc.
I call the police. The police shows up. I tell the police I want to file charges for harrassment against the guy in front of me (Mr. X, but I don't yet know his name). The police asks Mr. X for his identification. Mr. X will repond that "statutory language [...] does not establish a legal requirement to provide documentation of identity (ID)".
End of it. End of my charges.
Is that correct?
