[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Question for cops... (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 12/11/2006 3:56:24 PM EDT
|
...specifically NJ state troopers if any read this. I go to NY Jets games. In the smoking area (the ramps that spiral up to the three levels of the stadium), people congregate at half time to get their cigarette fix in. I dont smoke, but I usually like to grab a coffee and go for a walk at half time, and I usually go up the spirals to the upper deck to take in the view of NYC. Pretty much every time, for over ten years, there are always several people smoking weed out there. Its absolutely obvious...can smell it from a distance, and the people smoking arent going to any great lengths to conceal what they are doing. That said, there are usually a couple of NJ troopers hanging around at the landings at each level. After all these years, I cant believe that they arent aware of what is going on around them. So I got wondering last night....do they not care, do they not want the hassle of the paperwork, or do they simply have other directives while on duty at the game. I considered asking one of them last night, but frankly, what other people smoke is none of my business, and it isnt my job to tell the police how to do their job. Still, Im curious...if weed is still illegal, what is with the lax enforcement at the Meadowlands? Frankly, I dont really care one way or another, I just find it interesting that people seem to have special dispensation at the games. Any LEO's care to chime in with opinions on this? |
Because after the game they are going to get into a motor vehicle, drive away onto a highway, and create a danger to the public. Granted I am assuming that they didnt take the bus, or have a designated driver...but I see these people and I think, "there is an MVA waiting to happen". |
Yeah but there are about 40,000 people at the stadium getting drunk, should we bust everyone? |
|
I'm not a cop, but I have a relevant story. When I was 19 I went to see White Zombie play at the Palace in Auburn Hills MI (same place that the Detroit Pistons play). For the concert, they had the entire floor of the arena baricaded off and it was designated as the Mosh Pit. People who had Mosh Pit tickets could get in there. There were a couple thousand people in the Mosh Pit section. The Ramones opened up for the show and in between acts the lights came up. I was in the Mosh Pit and I saw about 10 feet away from me a couple of people smoking a joint. There was an Oakland County Sheriff's Deputy standing 3 feet away from them looking at everything and everyone except for the people who were smoking the joint. For a little reference, a couple years earlier Metallica played a show at Pine Knob's outdoor music theater (also in Oakland County). They had these huge 35 foot TV sceens set up on either side of the stage, and there were several chicks who took off their shirts (no bras) when the camera men panned the crowd. The police arrested one of the girls and it damn near started a full blown riot. From what I have seen, the police at these events are more interested in making sure that no riots break out and that no acts of terrorism are commited. A couple of dumbasses with a joint = alot of paperwork on a Sunday afternoon. |
Quite an ASSumption you are making that these folks all drive home. Maybe they are getting a ride. Why are pot smokers not given the benefit of the doubt that they will not indulge to the point of being dangerous on the road, while the other 50,000 people drinking beer are given this the benefit of the doubt? |
Generally speaking LEO's working ball games is a voluntary. They work the ball game and go home. Busting pot heads and drunks at the ball game is not good for business. LEO's work ball games in case someone wants to fight, not chasing down drunks and pot heads. ETA: Just my opinion. |
I am not giving the benefit of the doubt to the folks who are drinking either....they are all irresponsible assholes as well. I really dont care if people get high, or drunk. The point of my post was to see why the police selectively enforce the law. Smoke'm if ya got'em  I would agree that there more important things for the cops to be doing. I couldnt really care less if some guys are getting loaded....I would much rather have the police looking for violent criminals. Still, I didnt know they got to decide which laws to enforce. |
Im guessing it could get political...as in, the stadium personnel want you to turn a blind eye to a lot of stuff so that the paying customer has a positive experience. I suppose you work for them at that point. Interesting point. |
| When working a LARGE crowd, I found its best to make them throw away the drugs (if anything at all) and stay on post. If you get tied up with an arrest, you area goes uncovered. If your area is uncovered and something truley bad happens, you put fellow officer and the public at risk. |
Unlike drinking, which is legal, the pot smokers are law breakers the minute they light up, or possess it. Drunks broke no laws until they get behind the wheel. |
I've never worked a college or pro football game. From the officers I have talked to about working those types of games they are there to keep order and security. Not hooking up drunks and pot heads. |
Not totally true. PI will get you busted. Yet if you busted every drunk you came across at a ballgame for PI, you are going to need busses. |
Warm up the busses then! Have had too many drunks puke on me, or in my direction, at college games. |
The police are their to take care of serious problems and crowd control. Just because they happen to watch the game or concert occasionally does not mean they aren't doing their jobs. And I happen to agree with everything the LEOs have posted in this thread. |
Possession of alcohol for 21+ isnt a crime. Possession of a controlled substance like MJ, is. See how that works? 
|
While I might not agree on the blow-off statement, the SOP is the sound. Like stated, officers have to be ready for fights, assaults and crowd control at games and events. A BS dope infraction (and the associated paperwork) would be frowned upon by your partners and admin. Officers are at the games to protect people and insure they have a safe enviornment while they are at the event. No officer I know condones toking up around kids, families or even Joe Footballgame... but anything above a verbal warning is highly unlikely. YMMV |
| I have worked major events. You may have a 30 man detail working an event with 20,000 people or more in attendence. That being said, the detail is spread out around the event. It maybe you and a partner having to deal with a situation that might get out of control quickly. You have to use a little restraint in dealing with stuff in a large crowd. I would more likely issue a summons in that situation. Besides your pretty busy dealing with fights and other problems. I end up having to run all over the place when working these events. |
The above is a contradiction. Believe me, weed doesn't hurt anyone, and many cops know it. Much less harmful than alcohol. You sound like you need to relax. |
Have you seen the behavior of some of the heros? |
Were they smoking bowls on the field? Or are you trying to excuse the behavior of the potheads in the public area of the stadium? |
I sure as hell hope my kids don't idolize Michael Irvin, for starters. |
You want to get back on track? If not start another thread. |
It does have a correlation, but back to the main event . . . |
+ 1, And generally having bigger fish to fry than the misdemeanor possesson case. |
|
Last year before I got my season tickets I go to the Jets game with both of my sons. I bought the tickets on the Jets web site thru a deal where ticket holders sell their tickets to people on the wait list. We are on the Jets side of the field in the end zone with our backs to the concrete wall. We are there early and eating our lunch when these two fat shitbags sit down two rows in front of us and light up a huge joint. I say out loud "you must be kidding me if you think you are going to smoke that shit in front of my kids". They turn to me and tell me to shut the fuck up because they are ticket holders for years and will go what they want. So I stand up and scream on the top of my lungs while pointing to these two "their doing drugs, their smoking dope, right here these guys have drugs" The NJ Troopers arrive. The shitbags are searched and arrested. The Jets lost. Mike. |
CoC prevents me from saying what I really want to say right now. Damn shame. |
How about you make a new years resolution to stay the fuck out of cop threads. Each reply you post in them makes you look more and more like a fool, not that we need any more evidence of it. mike103 did exactly what a lot of folks would have done. Should he have backed down and let his kids sit and smell pot the whole game? You really are a * insert your favorite CoC prohibited word here* aren't ya? |
MINOR misdemeanor. |
Once again, CoC prevents me from responding in an appropriate manner. Damn shame, too. I guess I can say that I'm pleased that it is not up to you where and if I respond to a thread. I love cop threads. This is about the only place where the average joe gets their fair share. In the street, you're the ones with sticks and guns, and we are the ones defenseless. |
|
mike103 wasn't the cop in this instance, was he? My comment was directed at how upset you were at mike103 for trying to protect his kids without hauling off and slugging those two guys. You might think it's ok for someone to smoke pot, and that's your opinion, but when it's brought into a public arena and pushed in someone's face who doesn't share that opinion, don't expect them to sit back and take it. You put your stupid first comment in this thread for nothing other than to troll. Nothing added to the discussion except your dislike or contempt for a man you don't know, trying to protect his kids in a situation you weren't there to understand. Keep up the keyboard commando act, you're awfully good at it. ETA: I'm not the only one on this website who's told you to grow up and think before you post replies. I was just the first one.
|
If you think it is your place to dictate the actions of another individual in a public place, you need to get a dictionary and look up "ethics." All the whining in the world is not going to shield your kids from the reality that is adult society. You sound a lot like my step mother. She has two adult children that will likely be 35 years old before they move out of the house. And to answer your first question in the above post, he should have kept his nose out of it. MYOB comes to mind. Smelling pot won't kill you. If you think my first comment was trolling, you've got something coming. The drug war is exactly why I could never be a street cop. Nothing has stolen so much of our liberty, caused so much violence on individual citizens on behalf of the government, nor cost the citizens of this country so much money as the drug war, with the possible exception of the civil war. I think you fail to see sometimes how disgusted someone like me is with some aspects of modern society. I look at the drug war as a repulsive waste of my tax dollars and a loss of liberty that our servicemen fight for. Nothing to me can be more repulsive than the loss of life, liberty, or property from Americans who DESERVE these things. |
Oh jeez, and YOU'RE complaining about whining? You're disgusted? Fine. His comment was quite appropriate for this thread. You calling him out on it, wasn't. So I returned the favor to you. Don't like it? then don't stick your nose into it. You wouldn't say a fraction of the things to people in person that you say via your keyboard. If you want to continue your diatribe about why you don't like me, take it to the pit and start another thread. You've hijacked this one enough. |
There are a hell of a lot more reasons you will never be a street cop than your disgust with the "drug war". You'd never get past the psych exam. You have been told, quite politely I think, by well over a dozen people that essentially, your posts are clueless at best and actively harmful at worst. You still persist where a more rational person would sit back and think a bit. That points out an amazing lack of maturity and ethical behaviour. As for the COC, don't hide behind that, there are always IM's. You've sent me several already. It is not your place to critique the actions a father would take in this situation. |
|
Its called "Officer's Discretion" They are there to provide security, to make sure Dad and his son enjoys the game along with the drunks, punks, bangers, and everybody else. A police officer operating as security at the event is not going to waste 2 hours of paperwork and several hours of admininstrative time just for a Class 1 Petty Offense, that in CO, carries a max $100 fine. I applaud that guy for pointing out the dopers at the game. The dopers deserved it. If you smoke grass in your own home, that's your business. Bring it out in public, but don't be indignant if you're cited for it. Same applies to the more than moderate drinkers at the game. Don't be shoked when you're busted for DUI. |