TheAgitator.com
Loud and Clear
Monday, January 26th, 2009Agitator pal Pete Eyre reports an Arlington, Virginia police officer parked in a no parking zone. The officer then follows Eyre as he walks home. Incidentally, it’s perfectly legal to open carry in Virginia. So the officer’s claim that that’s why he was following Eyre doesn’t fly.
Via J.D. Tuccille, who notes a couple other recent examples of police getting special treatment.
This just exemplifies the failure of the “Most cops are good cops and they will somehow keep the bad ones in line.” concept.
The bad cop here is the one with the gym outfit and bag, who was probably heading to the gym, or he could be heading to work, or wherever. Clearly he was off duty at the time and felt it was his special right to park wherever he damn well pleased.
And he was right, it was his special right… because the other cop wasn’t about to give him a ticket.
And look at the smug look while he was talking to the Gym bag cop later, the cop said “That issue has been resolved” when he really means:
“Word up, scrub! I can park wherever the fuck I want, and do pretty much whatever the fuck I want, because my fellow cops aren’t going to hold me accountable unless they absolutely have to.”
The big question for me is “Why was the motorcycle cop so willing to make himself look like a weenie on camera?”
Answer; Because he’s a hell of a lot more concerned what the police culture can do to him if he steps off the blue line than he is about what some civilian with a camera will think.
And of course… the cop followed him for blocks… how creepy was that? Was he gunna get a CI to find drugs in his garage later?
At the beginning of the video I thought Eyre was being somewhat silly. He did not know if there was some emergency that caused the officer to park in whatever space was available. If I had seen the vehicle parked that way, I would have probably assumed that was the case and moved on. When Eyre stayed at the scene and saw the officer in shorts and a T-shirt (btw, how warm is VA in January), obviously off duty, strolling along without a care in the world I had to give Eyre his props. I would have never had the patience to stand around waiting for that to happen.
What happens next is absurd. This police officer is little more than a thug. the whole, smile and say, “I’m just going for a walk on a beautiful day.” routine reminds me of a cheesy movie gangster. It says, I’m lying, you know I’m lying but you can’t do anything about it because I’m connected. Imagine how pathetic this little man is without his “gang”.
Recall when that kid from (?Missouri) videotaped a cop threatening to make up any charge to pin to him for parking in a dark parking lot. The cop was dismissed, but then the kid had the cops monitoring him for at least several weeks thereafter.
Any updates on that case, Radley?
Another one.
Man, that tiny little bald dude is creepy as hell. Look at his eyes during the up-close “interview.” He keeps his eyes darting around (looking for witnesses?) and mutters some vague, nonsensical “justification” for trying to intimidate a citizen who is not suspected of any crime, then continues to follow him after he is confronted on camera. He clearly has no fear of any kind of reprisal, and seems amused that this citizen thinks his badge doesn’t give him special rights.
After watching the link to the nopd video I believe the officers that were chasing would have opened fire on a civilian who hit them with a truck they should be suspended w/out pay as well.
A project I’ve been involved with about the issue of “perks” like de-facto free parking. Parking is … a hot issue in NYC.
http://nyc.uncivilservants.org/
LOL. I lived in that apartment complex at the end of Cleveland St, when I was at GU in the mid 90′s.
APD were always ticket-writing ballbusters up and down that street, especially since the complex is way short of parking for tenants.
If you got back late in the evening or night you would end up having to be “creative” with parking and rush out early A.M. in hopes they didn’t nail you.
Good show, Pete!
Thanks for the support guys.
Bob, you noted that the “bad cop” was the “one with the gym outfit and bag” but doesn’t the other officer also warrant some condemnation due to his statement that he’d ticket a civilian but not a fellow officer?
Rick Caldwell,
I made the comment about the girl trying to defend the lazy cop’s parking abilities! And, I learned I am stupid as heck when it comes to PETA! That was my one thing I learned today!
Once, I parked next to a van parked like that. (had a Geo) then the guy jumped me because I was “too close”. ???????? He was mad that I did not just park partially in the empty handicap space on the other side! But, I don’t park in handicap spots! Crazy world, ain’t it!
@Mike #9,
I had a guy yell at me once under the same circumstances. I told him that I parked between the lines, because he would likely leave before me, and I didn’t want to be left looking like the idiot who parked catty-wompus.
That ended the conversation.
The smart thing to do would have been to give him a fake ticket. Oops, did I say “smart.”
Well, now we know that Mr. Eyre can walk for 30 minutes without spitting on the sidewalk or jaywalking! Were I Mr. Eyre, I would not buy a billiard bar in Manassas Park. Who wants to give me odds that Mr. Eyre gets a “moving violation” within the next two weeks?
“Bob, you noted that the “bad cop” was the “one with the gym outfit and bag” but doesn’t the other officer also warrant some condemnation due to his statement that he’d ticket a civilian but not a fellow officer?”
You gotta look at the motivation. The other officer was just being honest, he was literally stuck between a rock and a hard place… the dirt bag thing for him to do would have been to lie, like “Yes, I’d ticket an officer, but not this time because… (enter crap excuse)”. Instead, he very honestly answered the question.
Neither of the cops had, at that moment, any direct control over the reality of their world. A reality that taints their reasoning because of an overarching “Police Culture” they are both a part of.
The ‘Bad Cop’ was bad because he fully embraced the protection the Police Culture afforded him. There was no reason for him to be a prick, he was just doing it because he could.
The ‘Other Cop’ was a non-player because he was forced to forgo accountability in order to ‘get along’ with the Police Culture. Had he tried to be a ‘Good Cop’ and write a ticket, the repercussions could eventually cost him his standing on the force.
It’s the ‘Police Culture’ that’s the problem here. The solution would have to start at the top and work down… but that would fly in the face of the political power of groups like Police Unions, who would rally against Police Chiefs or Prosecutors that tried to enforce the same levels of accountability for police and civilians.
Bravo. Fuck authority.
Heh. The cops’ attitudes on being able to do what civilians cannot reminded me of something I saw on Friday.
While driving, the light a ways in front of me turned red. The car in front of me made it to that light about 2 seconds after it turned red, but just kept going, making a right turn (without stopping).
As the car turned, I could see what was written on its side: D.A.R.E.
That’s almost a twofer.
When I lived in Chicago, I always said that the police should be *required* to park in the no-parking zones, to preserve the legal spots for the rest of us…
Mr. Eyre, you were fortunate that you realized this cop was following you. The cop was following for two reasons, the first being to intimidate, and the second to find out where you lived.
If your friend had not been able to pick you up without him (cop) knowing, he would have certainly been watching your house, writing some tickets of his own, continuing his intimidation tactics, and worst of all applying for a no-knock warrant so the SWAT could send you a real message.
The pretense that the cop followed Eyre because he was suspicious about the gun was such a farce. There is no way he didn’t know that was totally legal.
Meanwhile, how hard would it be to catch a cop carrying a gun, on duty or off? I’m betting it wouldn’t be much of a challenge.
MacK, I imagine it would be pretty easy for the cop to get Mr. Eyre’s address, since he gave his name and all. I would be tempted to have cameras logging who visits my home for a while after this…
The best protection he had in that situation was his camera. Otherwise, you can expect he would be facing some trumped up charge, and the media reporting (if any) would be “Police have charged Ayres with… [and, much later] Ayres claims…” and likely no mention of the parking issue that started the whole thing.
I’m not so sure it would be easy to locate him, from him telling the other cop his name. It sounded like the motorcycle cop pronounced his name “Airan”
I do believe this was why he was following even after Pete caught him by the dumpsters, he really fell back, but wanted to follow Pete to his home.
I think this is just one more despicable case of Joe Public treating officers as if they were ordinary little people like the rest of us, having to pay attention to the same laws, and fear the same repercussions when they violate the law. The nerve! The correct thing to do would have been to wash the cop’s car as a gesture of appreciation for being a member of “America’s Finest”.
I think we should all be impressed with the officer’s perseverance at following Mr. Eyre to find out where he lived so that a future drug raid and pet shooting could be administered as a lesson in understanding the American class structure and respect for those in the community of the privelidged class.
Rick,
He was probably freaked out by your use of the word “catty-wampus.”
Like Officer “Hair Club for Men”, I too have been known to take walks around my neighborhood. I have taken 1,000 walks. Not once have I felt it necessary to carry my “gym bag” on a walk. In fact, the gym bag kinda screws up the walk–but maybe that’s just me. If I am with my gym bag when my urge to walk cannot be resisted, I would leave my gym bag in my police car–unless my gym bag had my gun in it.
Call me silly, but, when Officer Hair Club said “I’m just walking around,” I don’t think he was telling the truth. I think Officer Hair Club was “on the phone” with his best friend on the force. I think Officer Hair Club was arranging witnesses.
You are before a judge. You agree that, at the time of arrest, you were open carrying. You say your gun was i) in plain view and ii) never “brandished.” Three cops say you gun was not in plain view and was “brandished”.
Be careful, Mr. Eyre. That cop is spookie.
The cops were wrong. No argument there.
But it takes a special kind of stupid to provoke that kind of encounter while carrying a gun. I know it’s legal; that isn’t the point. Responsible gun ownership requires avoiding confrontations, not provoking them. Eyre showed bad judgment.
Maybe he was on the phone to his psychiatrist who was desperately trying to talk him down from a testosterone induced rage triggered by the disrespectful questioning of his superiority by a mere commoner. He was probably only a hair’s breadth away from pulling a sawed-off shotgun from his bag, but in his ear was a frantic voice saying, “Don’t do it, Hair Club! Don’t do it! You are a professional. Professionals wait until there are no cameras and lots of friendly witnesses”.
Damn that cop was creepy…
I actually liked the motorcycle cop. I know you guys will judge me for that but he showed:
- Respect (Giving him a card, answering questions etc)
- Honesty
- Wisdom (handling the situation carefully)
But that guy that was following him home while on his phone with that insanely creepy smile just scared the crap out of me. I wouldn’t want him to know where I lived either.