ever been harassed by police?

[b i o n i c]

there are stories about it almost every day in nyc. the police are out of control. even the one hasidic cop in all of new york got caught up manhandling a woman and calling her names. i wouldve though he'd be one of the few straight and narrow ones.

ive had a couple of ok experiences with cops, but the bad ones were enough to just hate them all. my sister dated a cop in training and i threatened to disown her if she married him. thankfully she dumped the fucker.

i actually gave a tiny bit of thought to becoming a cop once, in the young idealistic sort of way that makes you think you can make a difference. and im sure there are some of those in there, but for the most part they're a bag of dicks

[Randetica]

i have a few bad police experiences but only cause my dad is a cop

[hpdrifter]

I got hassled last week for jaywalking. Not sure why he picked me out of the 5 or 6 people crossing against the light. Ass.

Anyway, around here sometimes they can be cool but sometimes they are total dicks.

[Rock]

..around here sometimes they can be cool but sometimes they are total dicks.

i think that is how it goes pretty much everywhere.

There are officers of the law, and then there are pigs. I've met both.

[Echewta]

Im glad to be a firefighter. We don't write tickets.

[funk63]

I got hassled last week for jaywalking. Not sure why he picked me out of the 5 or 6 people crossing against the light. Ass.





He was probably trying to hit on you.


I've had alot of bad experiences with cops. This one time this pig slammed me into his car, granted, I had crawled down an open manhole. I've also been stopped on the street while I was walking around, apparently he thought I was a highschooler who was ditching class which actually makes sense because I look young for my age, but he was just a total dick about it even though I was being polite as humanly possible. This other time I was driving to go to a job interview and this asshole pulled me over because he said there had been break-ins around this area. I was wearing khakis and a nice shirt and it was clear I was going in for a job interview and I explained this to him and the guy still called ANOTHER cop and he was shining a flashlight in my face and shit. Degrading as fuck. After a while he let me go after the fucker made me late for the interview.
Fucking cops thinkin' they gods because they have a badge on. Bet they all have baby penises.

[b i o n i c]

Im glad to be a firefighter. We don't write tickets.

firefighters are a whole other breed - the real thing (y)

[ericlee]

I have given being a cop thoughts quite a few times and it's not the easiest of thinking. For one, I'm so tired of my nowhere job with no benefits and as the days go by, my job wants us to act as cops.

I blame myself for giving me a background in which the only jobs I can get are security related and I'm getting to the point of age as to where I really haven't any other options.

I do have the advantage of being in hostile environments and I don't sweat the small stuff. I'd be the same level headed person I am now at work and I always put people's needs before mine.

The worst cops are the rookies who have never had any other type of security or law enforcement type jobs previously. They walk around as if they're trying to prove something or they freak the fuck out when it's totally unnecessary.

At work, I've spent some time with the cops that hang around the area and most of them are seasoned. They just hang around, texting on their phones and don't bother anybody. They pretty much look at it like this- trouble will find itself, they don't go around looking for it.

Do I honestly want to be one? No. I don't want to cuff a guy because he's smoking pot, I fucking enjoy pot myself. I want to be one to kick in the face of some dickwad who's beating on his girl, or someone who has robbed or raped someone, or some drunk ass driver who's threatening all of the motorists who are on the road with him.

Another thing that's stopping me is the rep that the NYPD already has, hence this thread.

[-T-]

The problem in my area that i live is that there are ridiculous amounts of cops and nothing for them to do. An area 25 miles away is crime ridden and police are being laid off and the area i'm in they have added more this year. You drive around at night on a regular basis you get pulled over and harassed. Then 4 more fellow officers will show up and if you dont know the law well your in for a fun time (n).

[destructo]

I want to be one to kick in the face of some dickwad who's beating on his girl, or someone who has robbed or raped someone, or some drunk ass driver who's threatening all of the motorists who are on the road with him.

I'm with you on that one. Beating these kind of people would be very rewarding.

I grew up in a town of $19,000 people and the cops there harassed the shit out of us skateboarding and biking. We couldn't out run them on skateboards so they always got us. They would do the usual annoying shit like shinning the flashlight in our face, keeping their hand on their gun so could draw it on us real fast and writing tickets for trespassing and damaging property. I remember 6 squad cars for 4 kids which came out to 12 cops for 4 kids on skateboards.

When were on bikes, we could out run the cops and have some fun with them. That was a blast.

[sjp]

nope i'm cool with cops if stopped by one hell i was pulled over blew a .1 should of been arrested and the cop drove me home and didn't ticket me, let me off with a warning and told me never do it again.

[Dorothy Wood]

I've never been harassed by police in chicago. I know this one kid who is half puerto rican and half white (he basically looks white and like a hippie) who put a puerto rican flag in his car and suddenly started getting pulled over all the time though.


I did see some cops purposely drive fast through a puddle to splash some black kids waiting for a bus. that was weird. kinda funny, but I was like, "whoa, did they really just do that? what the fuck?"

I also used to work with a black dude who would go out and smoke in the back of the store inside a gate and cops would roll by and ask him what he was doing there, and he'd be like, "I work here, motherfuckers, fuck you".

[Bob]

nope i'm cool with cops if stopped by one hell i was pulled over blew a .1 should of been arrested and the cop drove me home and didn't ticket me, let me off with a warning and told me never do it again.

did you ever do it again?

[ericlee]

I'm with you on that one. Beating these kind of people would be very rewarding.

I grew up in a town of $19,000 people and the cops there harassed the shit out of us skateboarding and biking. We couldn't out run them on skateboards so they always got us. They would do the usual annoying shit like shinning the flashlight in our face, keeping their hand on their gun so could draw it on us real fast and writing tickets for trespassing and damaging property. I remember 6 squad cars for 4 kids which came out to 12 cops for 4 kids on skateboards.

When were on bikes, we could out run the cops and have some fun with them. That was a blast.

yeah, I was a skater too in a small town. For years, all of us skaters went to city council meetings over and over to try to get a skatepark built in free area of the park we had. It always got declined and they kept getting more strict on skating laws.

We found an abandoned warehouse and built a half and a few quarter pipes in there and kept it clean and the cops came in and arrested a few of us for trespassing and we couldn't go back and get the ramps and we were threatened to be arrested if we ever came back.

Then finally, after all of the skaters grew up and most of them quit skating, they built the fucking park and there's very few skaters there till this day.

[Brother McDuff]

not that i have much frame of reference, but yeah, I think chicago cops are pretty chill. as long as you're not doing some stupid shit in plain sight they seem to not sweat the small stuff. besides, the crooked politicians in chicago and illinois make some of the douchiest officers look like mother teresa.

[sjp]

did you ever do it again?

nope taxi or stay at a friends place ever since

[b i o n i c]

the cops become robbers


http://www.johnbyronkuhner.com/?p=905


The purpose of despotic government…

… is revenue, saith Tom Paine. Here’s the latest adventure in this realm.

I’m wrapping up a nine-day stay in the City, and have some time at long last to record a few of the many, many impressions. The Friday after Michael Jackson died I met some friends at a Soho apartment and we listened to a little Michael before heading out to meet others at a bar; and from there we went to a rooftop party in the East Village where people were dancing on the rooftop, New York skyline in the background, to the King of Pop. There was a tremendous sense all through the City of an individual moment unfolding that would never return: an evening of joy and love being offered back to a man that we all felt had somehow earned it in our hearts. I left around 5 a.m., and walked to the F train in the morning light. It was a slow and thoughtful walk and then a long wait before the train actually came. I was tired, and curled up in one of the two-seat benches that jut perpendicular to the others. The train was nearly empty, but, this being New York, not entirely so: about ten people were on the train.

At Roosevelt Avenue a man got on the train and motioned me and the other nearby people off the train; I was sleepy and couldn’t quite understand what was happening. I didn’t see the problem that he was attempting to solve, and was slightly confused. He then flashed a badge and told us to get off the train. I thought perhaps there was some dangerous gunman on the train, and got off, along with the other sleepy men in the car. As we looked back, however, we saw that he left three women on the train, and took only the seven men. We were received by a group of police officers, six in all, four in plain clothes and two in uniform, who demanded our IDs and said they were going to run a check on us. To all seven of us – three could not speak English, of course – this seemed astonishing and strange. They brought us over to a platform bench and told the three people sitting on it to get off it, as they needed it for law enforcement purposes. We were ordered to sit, though one man had no seat and was told to stand next to the bench. All of us in our own way asked what we had done wrong. I was told that I had my feet up on the seat in front of me – which was true – and now they were checking to see if I had any outstanding violations. If I did, I would get arrested. If I did not, I would get a summons.

It took forever for these six cops to get our names through to their computer, and the entire time all seven of us became more and more annoyed and difficult. The non-English speakers, two Hispanics and an Israeli, kept asking us natives what was happening. I began to harangue the officers.

“This is ridiculous. The Law is for the resolution of grievances between citizens. There is no grievance here. No one did anything wrong. This is not what the Law is for and you know it. This is a shameless revenue grab, and that’s why you, officer, won’t look me in the eye or even respond. You’re just doing what you’ve been told to do, and you know it’s wrong.”

“Excuse me sir, can you be quiet? I’m trying to work.”

“And I’m a human being, and I am appealing to your sense of what’s right and wrong, which is more important than your work. I know you didn’t make these rules. But look at these guys. These two guys here have been working in a pizzeria all night and you’re robbing them of their entire night’s pay. That’s wrong. That’s clearly wrong. That’s not what government is for and you know it. No one’s ever heard of getting a ticket on the subway train. How are we supposed to know that this is going to happen?”

“Sir, you can request a copy of the rules and regulations at the token booth when you enter the subway.”

“And what’s the punishment? How much do you want to bet that the punishment is not going to fit the crime? Am I going to have a criminal record for this?”

“No. You won’t. This is a civil violation. It’s not a crime.”

“And how much will it cost?”

He looked down at his pad.

“How much will it cost?”

“Sir, can you be quiet?”

“You know how much, and I have a right to know the law.”

“Fifty dollars.”

At this everyone on the bench exploded into gesticulations and recriminations. One guy said, “What did I do?”

“You want to know what you did?”

“Yes.”

“You were taking up two seats.”

“I was leaning over to hear what you were saying. You got on the train and were motioning us to get off, and I leaned over to hear.”

“It’s against the rules.”

Another said, “How come you didn’t take any of the women off the train?” Which they did not, though one woman had about four bags and was certainly taking up more than one seat (though on an empty subway train at 6 a.m. on a Saturday how can this really be a violation?).

Another interrupted here though and said, “What did I do?”

“You were stretched out on the seats asleep.” Which he was.

“That’s a lie!” he said. “I didn’t do nothing!”

“How do I challenge this?” I asked.

“That information is on the summons.”

“Can I get the summons and leave now?”

“We have to wait to see if you have any outstanding violations.”

“Aren’t we going to get a summons regardless of whether we have any previous record?”

“No. If you have an outstanding violation you will get arrested.”

“Can’t you just write up the summons and rip it up if you need to arrest me?”

“No. You know you really do have to shut up.” This guy was getting very annoyed at me by now. It was mutual. I began repeating myself about the purpose of the Law and how they knew they were just out for money, not for the enforcement of the rules. Eventually our records cleared and they began writing up the summonses. Mine indicated that I was observed with my feet on a seat. Others indicated that they were seen taking up more than one seat. I will challenge the penalty, although of all the men there I have the worst case. Putting feet on seats is contrary to social custom, though I’ll admit I do it in polite company and even in restaurants. But I’ve also done it on the subway for thirty years and have never received even so much as a warning before. It’s one of the reasons you use those perpendicular benches late at night, to get a more comfortable position to sleep, read, or write.

But I wish I could challenge the tickets of the other men. It was so clearly wrong, and the cops who did it – six cops! – clearly were operating with such guilty consciences that I felt sorry for them. But I did fire a parting shot as I got my summons, telling them that bad people did only fifty percent of the world’s evil, but another fifty percent was done by good people who acted contrary to their own sense of right and wrong but followed orders nonetheless. “Go back and tell your superiors you won’t do this again. Go back and tell them you think it’s wrong and it’s not police work and not what governments are supposed to do. Because you know what I’m saying is true.” I then walked off and waited for the next train. It was about forty minutes out of my morning. I arrived back home at 7:30 a.m.

And I’ll reiterate, it really was wrong. Entirely contrary to the spirit of the city. When people tell me they like Bloomberg, I can hardly believe it. The virtue of Midas is no virtue for a man.

I’ll note also that they did this in Jackson Heights, where the peons live. So clearly wrong. Poor Paine! Poor Jefferson! My indignation is the unworthy incense I will offer to them this Independence Day.

this same type of thing has happened to me except i was asleep, my feet were on the ground and i wasnt taking up two seats.. my head was against the window. i woke up to the sight of a cop putting a ticket in my lap, he had take my fucking wallet out of my pocket (it was new years eve and it was late) - in other words, it was bullshit