Sunday, July 12, 2009

What cops are doing in the subway these days

From John Byron Kuhner:

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.


Then there is the woman who got harassed and ultimately arrested by a cop because she was carrying her dog under her arm instead of in the bag it got sick in.

Then back on street level, from the NY Post:

The Maine resident, who has been visiting the city for two weeks, said the two had dressed up as the super heroes for laughs.

"We were just having a good time," Frisoli said.

Their comic-book adventure went awry when cops approached the dynamic duo on 43rd Street to see whether they had the required license to perform in costume in public, Frisoli said.


You need a license to wear a costume in public?

Are these wastes of officer time and manpower supposed to prove that Bloomberg's crime numbers are not bogus?

Photo from the Daily News

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello, it is the begining of a new month and those cops are trying to make bllomturd some money. As usual, he always hits the ones who can't afford to pay fines. I doubt they do that on Eastend ave. in the city, they have the N.Y.P.D. driving around in a yellow cab to nab anyone who ,makes less than $100,000. a year for merely walking down the street in that part of the city. It only goes to show that we must get rid of that blooming idiot of a mayor in november...

Taxpayer said...

And some wonder why he's called the Commissar?

Show me your papers!

Dump this turtle-faced prick! Take this city back on September 15.

Does anybody believe that Tony Avella would pull this stuff? A license to wear a costume?

This Commissar is a freak!

Anonymous said...

Some of these stories are pretty bad, but no sympathy for the man taking two seats and putting filth from his shoes for other people to sit in and ruin their clothes with.

People have to remember their manners. Once on a Long Island Railroad train a man who had 4 bags in empty seats hassled me when I sat down in the 5th empty seat while he went to the bathroom.

God forbid he remove one of his illegally placed bags and sit in the seat. A crippled, fair-paying passenger should stand so that he is not inconvenienced by putting his bags in the overhead as required by law.

Next time, mind your manners.

Anonymous said...

Cops suck dick...each others...or anyone else they can corner in the precincts' tea rooms!

Anonymous said...

Seriously, this should not be going on. I hate the guy with his shoes on the seat as much as the next person, but should he be hauled off the train and lined up? Can't they give him a ticket on the train? That would get the message across to other riders better.

Sounds like there are no consequences for officers who enjoy intimidating people.

Anonymous said...

Make up your minds folks. Do you want the cops to enforce the quality of life laws, or do you NOT want toem to enforce the quality of life laws. If you do, then don't complain when you get stopped and summonsed for a quality of life violation. If you don't want this type of enforcement, then don't complain that the cops should do something about the guy laying across four seats on the subway, or the guy holding the doors open, making you late for work etc. The poor cops in this city are damned if they do, damned if they don't! No wonder they are leaving in droves!

Queens Crapper said...

How about they bother the guy taking up 4 seats when there are actually more than 10 people in the car? Like during rush hour?

Anonymous said...

Good point Crapper, but rules are rules. What is good for one is good for all.

Anonymous said...

What do you expect from a police force made up of a large number of Italians and Irish people? They're extremely incompetent, racist, and most are megalomaniacs. The Irish and Italians should have never been able to immigrate to this wonderful city.

Taxpayer said...

Anonymous said:
"What do you expect from a police force made up of a large number of Italians and Irish people? They're extremely incompetent, racist, and most are megalomaniacs. The Irish and Italians should have never been able to immigrate to this wonderful city."

- - -

So, you're the one who is leading the protest against illegal aliens? You want them all deported to the nations of their natural citizenship?

Happy to know the protest is gaining ground!

Anonymous said...

The vast majority of cops are American citizens. In fact, I'm not even sure the department takes green card holders.

Anonymous said...

The point here is that the cops, even when enforcing quality of life offenses, should do so without acting like Bloomturd's private gestapo.

panzer65 said...

If any Super Hero's decide to fight crime in New York they better think twice...they are the criminal!!

Batman said...

Damn! And I just brought my cape and tights into the cleaners to get ready to clean your city of crime and corruption. Sorry Gotham, you're on your own!

Anonymous said...

The Laws should be employed with common sense, you should get a ticket if there is a crowded train..at 5 am on an empty train is just a way to harrass people and make money on Tickets.

Anonymous said...

The Laws should be employed with common sense, you should get a ticket if there is a crowded train..at 5 am on an empty train is just a way to harrass people and make money on Tickets.
-----------------------------------
Ok, so now the cops should only enforce certain laws at certain times. While we are at it, what times should cops go after muggers? Or rapists? Or burglars? And since we are targeting certain times, how about targeting certain types of people, or certain neighborhoods?
It is easy for us to say the cops should use more comon sense when enforcing laws, but then we complain when it seems to us that they are being selective in their enforcement. We can't have it both ways people.

Anonymous said...

"Ok, so now the cops should only enforce certain laws at certain times. While we are at it, what times should cops go after muggers? Or rapists? Or burglars?"

At 5am, it's more likely that rapists and muggers are out on the streets and in the subways and dopey ticket blitzes should not be practiced while the populace is at higher risk for these crimes. This is damn insulting.

PizzaBagel said...

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.

Good thing that they vacated the bench quickly. Otherwise, they would have been cited for obstruction of justice. CPR: Courtesy, Professionalism, Respect -- not!

You need a license to wear a costume in public?

Next thing you know, you'll need a license to author a blog.

Anonymous said...

keep your damn dirty feet off the seats of the subway ... no one should have to sit in whatever's been on the bottom of your shoe. i'm glad that cop hassled you. you deserved it. end of story.

PizzaBagel said...

When I descended to the uptown IRT platform at the Brooklyn Bridge station yesterday morning, I saw several cops standing over two well-dressed businessmen whom they had -- er -- "benched." I don't know what grievous infraction they had violated. I didn't want to get too close to the action, for fear that they'd nab me for interfering. (Word of warning: Don't walk between cars, even if the train is in the station. It's a major no-no.) Keep in mind that our great city is facing a major budget shortfall. It's the duty of each of us to just suck it up and do our part to help make ends meet.

Anyway, I'm of the opinion that a cop can find a reason to stop anybody at anytime for something or other. Then if you were to legitimately complain -- not forcefully, mind you -- you could get slapped with resisting arrest on top of it. Bottom line: Try to keep your cool while you assume the position.