Q: Does the law state if/for how long that a police officer can follow you in their car while I'm walking without consent
I was just getting off the bus and my connection bus was about 8 min from arrival. I wanted to buy some cigarettes and there was a CVS and Walgreens across the street. I couldn't remember which of the two stores stop selling tobacco so I went to the nearest one, CVS. Just as I was entering the store, a local HPD officer entered with me. I quickly glanced at the back cashier counter to see no cigarettes or cashier, so I left. I walked 500ft to Walgreens to buy my cigarettes and as I am wrapping up, I notice the same officer park his vehicle and wait inside the store with me. As I began to leave, he asks,"You got a minute, Sir?" I replied, "What's going on?" He said,"I noticed you left the other store just now and came to this one. Is everything ok with you?" I quickly stated that I came here because CVS doesnt sell tobacco anymore, looked at his badge and left. He then followed me in his car 5 miles across town and waited until I came from inside a cell phone store to pay my bill
A:
That sounds annoying but it does not seem like a crime. Perhaps if it happened multiple times it could be viewed as the offense of Stalking (Texas Penal Code Sec. 42.072), but I doubt any prosecutor would go after anyone for Stalking if the behavior was limited to public places where he had a legal right to be.
Just because something is not illegal doesn't mean it is OK under the department's code of conduct. In other words, the particular law enforcement agency might have some method for citizens to complain about an officer's unprofessional conduct, even if the conduct was not illegal.
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