In fact, I would argue quite the opposite - of all the cops I’ve had to deal with, ever, only one has been anything but a model of politeness and professionalism. The one that wasn’t, I wrote a letter about and heard from the department practically immediately. Now, it’s true, I’ve heard some awful things about the DC cops, and my experience is with South Carolina and Georgia county and city forces and the occasional highway patrolman, but generally speaking I’m not sure how you can lift that brush, as broad as it is.
Actually it sounds like you would argue the same thing I did. One of us is confused…
Speaking as a newspaper editor, I would say if you went to the police with this and nothing was done, or if there were any repercussions for you, then, yes, I would definitely want to hear about it, and I would possibly put one of my reporters on it.
As a reporter and editor I have, in my time dealt with probably thousands of cops. The vast majority have been pretty honest. However, I have known dirty cops. I have helped bring down a couple of corrupt departments. (I have also helped bring down two corrupt school administrations).
The ball is now in your court. If you don’t go to his department and tell them, you are basically condoning the wrong doing by the policeman you saw.
Sorry, the opposite of the post you were responding to. Sometimes I forget that when you quote a quote the quoted quote doesn’t quote.
Can I quote you?
I would go to the news media in your area with your pics, and go to the Hyattsville City Council, the mayor, and the county prosecutors.
He is a DC cop, but he committed his crime in Hyattsville. Trust me, though, the news media is your friend here…
I would look into a civil rights attorney (ACLU) who would take it federal " Depravation of rights under the color of law" as he used his flashing lights to prevent you from a legal activity…shopping…
Cops like this need to be put in line.
That’s the stu[checks forum]…That’s certainly a novel legal theory.
Well here’s one way you can handle things:
(1) It’s “deprivation.”
(2) Here is the relevant section from the US Code. Perhaps you could explain how this law might be applied in this situation. Of which particular “rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States” was the OP deprived? You seem to allege that “shopping” would be the relevant one; perhaps you could (a) point us to where shopping is enumerated as a right, privilege, or immunity secured by the Constitution or by law, and (b) show us how the OP was prevented from shopping by the police car being parked where it was.
As a resident of DC, I have to say that you are not likely to get much satisfaction from DC police on this.
I’d like to share one of my favorite life in DC stories: a friend was annoyed that a neighbor on his block had a huge boat and trailer parked on the street, taking up two spaces and extending into a yello marked curb, plus blocking the intersection so one couldn’t see oncoming traffic from the corner. He complained to the police who came to his house and said “that boat belongs to a cop, didn’t you know that?” Then the police went from my friends house to the cop/boat owners house and had a beer on the front porch (in uniform) giving my friend dirty looks.
Are you serious? This doesn’t pass the gut test.
Crime? Really? I must be reading a different thread. Damn internet keeps screwing up.
OK maybe an infraction and certainly a violation of department policy concerning the use of department vehicles for personal use, not that jt had a valid point to begin with of course, just sayin’. It was at the very least, tacky. I doubt the ACLU would be interested though…
If anyone knows about corrupt cops, dear, it’s you.
:dubious:
No, I wasn’t serious about federal charges, but the city of Hyattsville should issue a parking citation if it can be proven.
Sorry for making you think I was serious, and I forgot the smileys, and I misread that he had his hazard lights, instead of his emergency police lights. If he had his emergency lights flashing, that sounds like some silly twisting that the ACLU would do…
If that complaint has anything to do with what I strongly suspect it does, I would say that whoever “they” are, “they” did you a biiiiig favor by letting it die.
I’m no great apologist for Cops Gone Bad, but this strikes me as a pretty non-serious abuse of police authority. As such, I doubt you’ll get much in the way of response from any of the major local news outlets, but the Washington City Paper might be interested in this kind of thing, as they’ve shown a willingness in the past to risk embarrassing the local boys in blue.
Few cops are actually truely corrupt. They do take care of their own, fer sure.
For a minor complaint like this, I seriously suggest skipping it. Might be more trouble than it’s worth. 
However, I strongly support blowing the whistle on any real Police corruption.
It’s in the emanations and penumbras section.
Seriously.