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'Robin Hoods' who feed parking meters are hit with lawsuit in New Hampshire
NBC News ^ | May 18, 2013 | Erin McClam

Posted on 05/18/2013 3:52:34 AM PDT by billorites

A group of self-styled Robin Hoods who scamper around the streets of a New Hampshire city and feed expired parking meters for strangers has been hit with a harassment lawsuit.

The city of Keene says its three parking inspectors have been taunted, insulted and followed by the group — to the point that one of them says he has suffered heart palpitations and is thinking about quitting his job.

In its lawsuit, the city is asking a court to order the group not to come within 50 feet of the parking inspectors.

The suit names six defendants, most of them bloggers for Free Keene, which describes itself on its Facebook page as “your connection to the liberty activism movement in New Hampshire.”

One of the six, Ian Freeman, told NBC News that “The Robin Hooders have always been courteous in my experience” and pointed out that the city has not charged them criminally with harassment.

“The city is upset because they are losing revenue and are coming up with anything they can to try to stop it,” he said.

He also noted that the city’s job description for parking inspectors, included as part of the lawsuit, requires that inspectors “endure verbal and mental abuse when confronted with the hostile views and opinions of the public.”

The city attorney in Keene did not immediately respond to a call for comment from NBC News.

After they feed a meter, members of the group place a card on the windshield of the car that says: “We saved you from the king’s tariffs. Robin Hood and his Merry Men. Please consider paying it forward.” The card features the Disney depiction of Robin Hood as a fox.

The group has fans in Keene, a city of about 23,000 near the Massachusetts state line.

“My husband had it a few weeks ago,” Pam Stetzer told NBC affiliate WHDH in Boston. “He was just running a little late in one of the stores … and when he came back he had the little card there saying they had put a little extra money in for him. It definitely saved him.”

Another member of the group, James Cleaveland, told The New Hampshire Union Leader newspaper that the group has stopped the inspectors from writing about 4,000 tickets.

The three parking inspectors, in affidavits filed with the lawsuits, say that the taunts from the group have ranged from accusations of racism to basic trash-talk.

One of the inspectors, Linda Desruisseaux, said that one of the six liked to taunt her by saying, “Linda, guess what you’re not going to do today — write tickets.”


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: New Hampshire
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To: billorites

"Don't follow leaders/Watch your parking meters"

21 posted on 05/18/2013 5:06:03 AM PDT by dfwgator
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To: Fzob

My thoughts exactly.


22 posted on 05/18/2013 5:06:52 AM PDT by Ray76 (Do you reject Obama? And all his works? And all his empty promises?)
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To: billorites

Recently there was a thread about shortened yellow-lights, to induce tickets from red-light cameras.

Are these parking meters digital? If they are do they keep accurate time or do they run fast?


23 posted on 05/18/2013 5:08:29 AM PDT by Ray76 (Do you reject Obama? And all his works? And all his empty promises?)
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To: billorites
members of the group place a card on the windshield of the car .....The card features the Disney depiction of Robin Hood as a fox.

this is the part that will really get them in trouble. wait til disney hears about it.

24 posted on 05/18/2013 5:10:53 AM PDT by ZinGirl (kids in college....can't afford a tagline right now)
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To: billorites

Parking meters = parking tax collected with the same zeal as the IRS targets conservatives for audit.

I got a 20 dollar ticket at 6:00pm for being at one of them. The meters are supposed to stop at 5:00 when people got out of work, but they found that keeping some until 6 would nab a nice cash shot because most of us have no idea that they would have done something like this.


25 posted on 05/18/2013 5:11:41 AM PDT by VanDeKoik
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To: billorites
If they want to plunk quarters and make people smile I'm all for it.

The fact that they think they are Robin Hood is hilarious. These left wing blogger morons vote for Prince John and the Sheriff of Nottingham every election.

As for the hatred of parking meters I'm ambivalent. Should we tax everyone or just people who can't tell time?

26 posted on 05/18/2013 5:12:25 AM PDT by Pan_Yan (I believe in God. All else is dubious.)
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To: Conspiracy Guy

27 posted on 05/18/2013 5:15:08 AM PDT by Bratch
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To: billorites

These Robin Hood guys are RACIST!


28 posted on 05/18/2013 5:23:06 AM PDT by rsobin
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To: Pan_Yan
As for the hatred of parking meters I'm ambivalent.

Consider, though: if there were no parking meters, how hard would it be to find a place to park?

29 posted on 05/18/2013 5:28:15 AM PDT by Mr Ramsbotham (Laws against sodomy are honored in the breech.)
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To: billorites

These are refugees from the ‘Free State Project’...Keene is their ‘headquarters’ for all intents and purposes, since the influx of rude/arrogant New Yorkers (spit) has muted their influence in the rest of the state. ‘Free State’, my *ss...more government regulation in Red Hampshire than I have seen anywhere.


30 posted on 05/18/2013 5:34:57 AM PDT by who knows what evil? (G-d saved more animals than people on the ark...www.siameserescue.org.)
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To: AdaGray
Also, if anybody is written a ticket and found not guilty, they still pay a fine
called a fee. It is a fine because if you do not pay it, you go to jail with a
gun pointed at you. And if you resist further the police can kill your dog and possibly you.

This is Communism folks. Backwards reasoning to confuse citizens.
Maybe Americans are so uneducated that they have no idea what Communism even is.
Most Americans have been told that anybody using the word Communism are Nuts, Loons,
and Crazy insane political hacks who are dangerous and must be ignored or stopped.
They are being told this in Schools, Colleges and in the biased Media.

31 posted on 05/18/2013 5:35:35 AM PDT by MaxMax (Conservatism needs a re-awakening plan for the American public)
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To: rsobin

Keene is a communist out post in Western NH. There is an ongoing war between the commies at Keene State and the local politburo in City Gov and a fairly large Libertarian population.


32 posted on 05/18/2013 5:39:25 AM PDT by Little Bill (A)
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To: wonkowasright
...meter maids...

Now, now...can't damage the self-esteem of your haughty and arrogant New England government overlords...they are 'parking inspectors'. ROTFLMAOPIMP!

33 posted on 05/18/2013 5:40:56 AM PDT by who knows what evil? (G-d saved more animals than people on the ark...www.siameserescue.org.)
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To: Bratch

What we have here, is failure, to communicate.


34 posted on 05/18/2013 5:41:21 AM PDT by Conspiracy Guy (I voted Republican, no Conservative was on the ballot. 969 yall.)
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To: Conspiracy Guy

failure to communicate.....


35 posted on 05/18/2013 5:43:14 AM PDT by Vaquero (Don't pick a fight with an old guy. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.)
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To: AdaGray

Three full time ticket writers for a city of only 23,000? That seems excessive! Each one must clear his cost in tickets each year. That is an insane amount of tribute collected from only 23000 people . No wonder they’re revolting!


36 posted on 05/18/2013 5:47:58 AM PDT by Red Boots
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To: dfwgator
watch yer parking meters....

try this version

37 posted on 05/18/2013 5:48:21 AM PDT by Vaquero (Don't pick a fight with an old guy. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.)
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To: MaxMax

Sounds like jist ol fashion Thugery to me.

the criminals are in control.


38 posted on 05/18/2013 5:49:25 AM PDT by Gasshog (Welcome to the United States of Stupidos!)
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To: billorites

I haven’t gotten a parking ticket in probably 8 years or so, but that’s only because I got so many of them so consistently that I decided I just HAD to make sure I had plenty of quarters in my pocket whenever I had a job in the grinding, traffic-clogged burg of FT. LEE, NEW JERSEY, which was very often , since I had a bunch of regular customers who had various Real Estate there. There would be one scrawny little 60ish woman who would visit and re-visit cars along the business district strip, and make sure to get there THE MINUTE the meter expired. There are ALWAYS meters that don’t work, that swallow your quarters, and happen also to be the only vacant meters in the immediate area,leaving you with the choice of just taking your chances or driving around for ten minutes until you can find another meter reasonably close to where you have to go. This is in a town
which built a VAST public parking lot, using taxpayer dollars, in the middle of the business district, manned by automatic machines that require you to punch in your parking space number, feed the appropriate # of quarters, receive your little ticket, and place it in your windshield where the meter maid can see it. In best Big Gov tradition, your tax dollars are being used directly to punish, fine and MAKE YOU PAY AND PAY AGAIN. A self-enclosed circle of futility for the taxpayer, which is enough to make anyone crazy, and very very pissed off over time, because there is NOTHING behind it except extortion, and the funding of more and more
“projects” like this, which serve as successful examples of
the stranglehold they have citizens in.


39 posted on 05/18/2013 5:50:55 AM PDT by supremedoctrine
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To: billorites

“We saved you from the king’s tariffs. Robin Hood and his Merry Men. “

THIS is why the town is mad. They HATE it when we stop being sheep.


40 posted on 05/18/2013 5:56:54 AM PDT by I want the USA back (Pi$$ed off yet?)
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