Let’s play a little game, Ok? First, take a moment and picture firefighters. What image do you see? What do you think? How do you feel? Most of you probably saw a tall and vigorous man with a friendly face. Next, some thoughts that you probably had were that firefighters are young, good, gallant, skilled, helpful, friendly, kind, brave and the color red. Some emotions that you may have felt include safe, protected, trust, competent, and calm.
Let’s do that again, but this time, let’s replace firefighters with police officers. What image did you probably see this time? Some of you may have seen a middle-aged, heavyset man with a stern, sad, or mad face, shades and the color blue. A few others may have seen someone self-confident, vigilant, poised wearing shades and the color blue. Next, some thoughts that you probably had were that police officers are not to be trusted, crooked, lie to protect each other, bigoted, prejudice, racist, lazy, fat, corrupt and Italian. While some others thought fair, honest, helpful, patient, daring, honest, professional and white. For the win, what do you feel when you think law enforcement officers? I’m sure that some of you experience fear, hate, anger, intimidation and danger. Conversely, I am confident that others of you feel safe, pride, trust and protected. Playing the game served two objectives. The first target was to be a way to share encounters I had with the ten officers from the City of Miami Beach Police Department in the Spring of 2014, October 12th, 2016 and November 23, 2016. The reason why I share my encounters with Miami Beach Police is not to castigate or berate police in general. Nearly all my interactions with police across the US were car related. In most cases, the officer performed his or her duty appropriately and did not harm my thoughts and feelings about law enforcement. A few other experiences with cops were quite odd stories that I recall fondly. In fact, on three separate occasions, the patrolmen were extraordinarily compassionate, understanding, and forgiving of my poor choices that would have destroyed my life if they had not. Those officers worked in Burlington, Vermont, Hartford, Connecticut, and Princeton, New Jersey. I wish I had the opportunity to express my deep appreciation of them. I am sure they could not imagine the impact their acts of compassion had on my life. In short, they made the best choice. From that moment, no thought related to the reasons for them stopping me has ever entered my mind. They transformed me into a very humble, patient, and selfless driver. Miami Beach Police Violate Three Florida Statues Miami Beach Police Violate Fla. Stat. Ann. §812.014--Grand Theft According to Florida law, “a person who knowingly takes or uses another person’s motor vehicle with the intent to deprive the rightful …show more content…
However, the patrolman’s snide remark suggested that this engagement was just beginning. I stepped into my car, started it and began to back out of the parking space. The policeman flashed his lights to stop me. Had the policeman been a traffic warden or a tow truck driver, I would have been allowed to drive away. The reason why I believe is that as long as the parking inspector has not started to write the citation, they permit the driver to leave.
The officer who stopped me did not have time to do anything other than make his comment. The cop asked my six-foot tall, two hundred and fifteen-pound friend, who was returning to the car with our beverages alone if I—at five foot seven, one hundred and forty-five pounds—had kidnapped him. My friend and I sat there for about thirty minutes being asked ridiculous questions.
The story ends with the officer handing me a two-hundred-dollar ticket for parking less than ninety seconds. The citation was for parking in the handicapped spot. In this encounter, the policeman went out of his way to stop me and harass me. Finally, he lied claiming that I parked in a handicapped designated spot. He also violated Florida Statutes. 553.5041 that states, “Only a warning may be issued for illegal parking in a space designated for persons with disabilities if there is no above-grade sign. There were no posted
Let’s do that again, but this time, let’s replace firefighters with police officers. What image did you probably see this time? Some of you may have seen a middle-aged, heavyset man with a stern, sad, or mad face, shades and the color blue. A few others may have seen someone self-confident, vigilant, poised wearing shades and the color blue. Next, some thoughts that you probably had were that police officers are not to be trusted, crooked, lie to protect each other, bigoted, prejudice, racist, lazy, fat, corrupt and Italian. While some others thought fair, honest, helpful, patient, daring, honest, professional and white. For the win, what do you feel when you think law enforcement officers? I’m sure that some of you experience fear, hate, anger, intimidation and danger. Conversely, I am confident that others of you feel safe, pride, trust and protected. Playing the game served two objectives. The first target was to be a way to share encounters I had with the ten officers from the City of Miami Beach Police Department in the Spring of 2014, October 12th, 2016 and November 23, 2016. The reason why I share my encounters with Miami Beach Police is not to castigate or berate police in general. Nearly all my interactions with police across the US were car related. In most cases, the officer performed his or her duty appropriately and did not harm my thoughts and feelings about law enforcement. A few other experiences with cops were quite odd stories that I recall fondly. In fact, on three separate occasions, the patrolmen were extraordinarily compassionate, understanding, and forgiving of my poor choices that would have destroyed my life if they had not. Those officers worked in Burlington, Vermont, Hartford, Connecticut, and Princeton, New Jersey. I wish I had the opportunity to express my deep appreciation of them. I am sure they could not imagine the impact their acts of compassion had on my life. In short, they made the best choice. From that moment, no thought related to the reasons for them stopping me has ever entered my mind. They transformed me into a very humble, patient, and selfless driver. Miami Beach Police Violate Three Florida Statues Miami Beach Police Violate Fla. Stat. Ann. §812.014--Grand Theft According to Florida law, “a person who knowingly takes or uses another person’s motor vehicle with the intent to deprive the rightful …show more content…
However, the patrolman’s snide remark suggested that this engagement was just beginning. I stepped into my car, started it and began to back out of the parking space. The policeman flashed his lights to stop me. Had the policeman been a traffic warden or a tow truck driver, I would have been allowed to drive away. The reason why I believe is that as long as the parking inspector has not started to write the citation, they permit the driver to leave.
The officer who stopped me did not have time to do anything other than make his comment. The cop asked my six-foot tall, two hundred and fifteen-pound friend, who was returning to the car with our beverages alone if I—at five foot seven, one hundred and forty-five pounds—had kidnapped him. My friend and I sat there for about thirty minutes being asked ridiculous questions.
The story ends with the officer handing me a two-hundred-dollar ticket for parking less than ninety seconds. The citation was for parking in the handicapped spot. In this encounter, the policeman went out of his way to stop me and harass me. Finally, he lied claiming that I parked in a handicapped designated spot. He also violated Florida Statutes. 553.5041 that states, “Only a warning may be issued for illegal parking in a space designated for persons with disabilities if there is no above-grade sign. There were no posted