I’m calling BS Donna.
This law was not in urgent need of being enforced - and it was before 11 pm anyway, so they were not enforcing the law, they were flouting their authority - and as such, had no right to demand ID, nor did the victim have a duty to produce it.
The cops were out of line - WAAAAAAAAAAY out of line - clearly shown by the city dropping the charges. The city should be sued, the cops should be sued - and not for just a little bit, for big, huge, city bankrupting, ex-police soup line, piles of cash.
My problem is with:
The cops who broke the law while claiming to enforce it. The park didn’t close until 11, it wasn’t yet 11.
The cops for spinning up what at most should have been (if legit) a minor citation for unintended trespass, and really should have been, “I see you’re charging your car. You know, the park closes at 11, including this parking lot - but we’ll stick around to make sure you get your car charged ok and are on your way home safely.” See, that is serving and protecting - and these cops have gotten that so mixed up, they believe it is OUR job to serve THEIR magnificent uniforms and to protect THEIR overblown egos.
The city for having such a stupid law that would close the chargers, just because the rest of the park was closed - why have them there if the people who need them can’t use them when they need them? The signs are not prominent, and the law is stupid, so people will unintentionally violate it (first clue of a bad law) - and remember, the guy was not violating any law when he was accosted.
The city for having such idiots, armed and in uniform, bullying its citizens. Dimes to donuts this wasn’t the first time they strutted around on some trumped up pretense in order to DEMAND that they respected. Their jobs should likely have never gone this long, and should definitely have ended when they brought the guy in.
You have to remember, sometimes the person to blame is someone else. In this case it is. This only required minimal human decency to go right. These cops had a wonderful chance to do the right thing, foster good relations with a citizen and burnish the reputations of themselves, the department and the city....so what did they do? They chose to take the opportunity to harass a citizen, knock him around and throw him in jail. Because he dared to be charging his car in a parking lot that was going to be closing in a few minutes!! Brilliant move, you fools!
So bottom line - you want cops to decide which laws to enforce, just not all of the laws.
You trust cops more than I do.
Giles, you are so right. They actually knock this man out with their heavy handedness, send him to the hospital and WHY??? He wasn’t breaking the law, he wasn’t doing anything, and apparently he needed his car charged.
sheesh. what beasts.
Little thing called common sense ,some not all people have it .