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What I learned from an unfortunate incident with the NYPD

nickfarr.org

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Re: What I learned from an unfortunate incident with the NYPD

#21

Post by chrismcb »

pagekicker wrote: post #14

Another whiny "rules don't apply to me" hipster story. Becoming a tired meme, pls. stop upvoting.

I think you read a different article than I did. He wasn't whining, he wasn't saying the rules didn't apply to him. He was just saying what you should do if you are in that situation.

Re: What I learned from an unfortunate incident with the NYPD

#23

Post by schoen »

pagekicker wrote: post #14

Another whiny "rules don't apply to me" hipster story. Becoming a tired meme, pls. stop upvoting.

The original poster seems to have acknowledged that he broke the curfew law, and also acknowledged that he was treated differently by the police in the other case because of his appearance, and that the police and judges treat poor people and minorities more harshly than they treat him. Is there some other kind of acknowledgement you'd like to see from him? Would you like him not to have been surprised when he saw the criminal justice system treating people badly? Or is there something else you found offensive or annoying about his approach to the situation?

Re: What I learned from an unfortunate incident with the NYPD

#24

Post by nickfarr »

chimeracoder wrote: post #13
rdl wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe it was specifically that he responded with "you can't fucking ask me that" which sent things down the bad path. They shouldn't have asked him at all (but were probably bored?), but "you can't X" to a cop is usually going to provoke them.

I was referring more to what led up to that - how they accosted him, etc. (Also, what was going through their heads when they said this - not that we'll ever know, of course).

Actually, that was precisely it. I was in Times Square where there were tons and tons of cops, and not all that many revelers. (It was a really cold night, IIRC.) I heard the comment, looked around, realized they were cops and completely without thinking said, "You can't fucking ask that." Next thing, they asked for ID and as I began to reach for my wallet was thrown up against something by the three officers. It happened really, really quickly--just like being mugged.

Re: What I learned from an unfortunate incident with the NYPD

#25

Post by nickfarr »

cup wrote: post #12

This has been the third article on HN recently about the police. Historically it has been minority groups that only see this side of police activity. Now that upper middle class white individuals have experienced it though Its interesting to read the comments people are leaving. For the record: I believe his advice is terrible for any person of lower socio economic background and especially for a person of colour. Th…

For the record, as the giver of said advice: I pretty much completely agree.

Re: What I learned from an unfortunate incident with the NYPD

#27

Post by nickfarr »

pagekicker wrote: post #14

Another whiny "rules don't apply to me" hipster story. Becoming a tired meme, pls. stop upvoting.

As said whiny hipster, I'm actually more prone to agree with you. I had no idea this story would resonate nearly as much as it has--and my driving point was that the NYPD is being set up by their superiors to police by quota. Naturally, said policing ends up being taken out on the backs of those least able to push back.

Re: What I learned from an unfortunate incident with the NYPD

#28

Post by nickfarr »

chimeracoder wrote: post #13
rdl wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe it was specifically that he responded with "you can't fucking ask me that" which sent things down the bad path. They shouldn't have asked him at all (but were probably bored?), but "you can't X" to a cop is usually going to provoke them.

I was referring more to what led up to that - how they accosted him, etc. (Also, what was going through their heads when they said this - not that we'll ever know, of course).

I should add that this was on the eve of the Super Bowl, and the NFL had set up quite the party in Times Square.

Re: What I learned from an unfortunate incident with the NYPD

#29

Post by avalaunch »

ph0rque wrote: post #19

Love the idea of a stop and frisk app: http://www.nyclu.org/app A more general "I'm being forced to do something against my will" app would be real handy, I think, especially on the 2nd or 3rd generation of google glass.

I love the idea of the app too.

I found this odd though:

Shaking the phone stops the filming.

That seems like a bad idea given that police brutality might cause the film to stop when you most need it to be filming.

The one really positive thing I could see coming out of google glass is a shift of power from the police force to the citizens.

Re: What I learned from an unfortunate incident with the NYPD

#30

Post by jrockway »

Regarding the beard incident... ah yes, never go outside when there is any major event in NYC. The cops are unusually crazy. They bring in a bunch of auxiliaries who have no business doing crowd control or even wearing a badge, really.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/careers/auxiliary_police.s...

(Regarding the park incident.. to be fair, most parks in the city close at 1AM. I've seen people asked to leave, but I've never seen anyone get a summons. I usually try to get an extra lap around Prospect Park in as it's closing, and haven't had any problems, but I do keep an eye on the time.)

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