September 6, 2006
Officials Officially Cross the Line
When a Capitol Hill reader sent us photos of illegally parked private cars belonging to MPDC officers, we decided to let it slide after a hearty debate in the comments. "Everyone's job has some sort of perk. Get mad if they're driving at unsafe speeds for no good reason, but parking? Seems needlessly quarrelsome," summed up one commenter.
When we came across a blog devoted entirely to exposing the daily traffic violations of Arlington's "jack-booted" traffic enforcement officers, we laughed it off as funny, and a little overzealous.
Today, however, a reader sent us some photos that we're pretty sure cross the line into, "Dude. That's messed up."
Here we have a D.C. Metro Police cruiser parked in a handicapped space at the Harris Teeter in Pentagon Row. We know it is a crowded parking lot, but the handicapped spot? What kind of grocery emergency could warrant that, especially when the fire lane and loading zone were wide open? Our tipster failed to mention any ambulances or fire trucks outside or apparent emergency inside, so we can only conclude there was some sort of horrible noodle incident in the dry goods aisle. We hope it turned out alright...
Humorous municipal irony aside, we understand that first responders need to quickly find a place to park in an emergency. But still. For the sake of our collective grandmother with the bad hip and glaucoma, unless there are no other options, stay out of the handicapped spot.
|
I'm inclined to give DC cops a lot of leeway with parking if it is in any way related to their job, but unfortunately they've abused parking for years now. Here on the Hill they routinely double park to pick up their drycleaning (actually blocking an entire lane of traffic on East Capitol St), go to the store for a soda, etc.
Ironically, the only time I ever see them out of their cars is when they are running personal errands for themselves.
Most egregious example ever - several years ago. Chief Ramsey was having lunch at Old Ebbitt Grill. His posse, including several officers in cars, blocked off an entire lane of 15th ST NW so the Chief could park there.
Just like they do third-rate police states.
Pentagon Row? They could have at least found a accessible spot in the right jurisdiction..
Why stop at the police? Members of the DC Council REGULARLY and FREQUENTLY park illegally. Indeed, I've seen a few members of the Council park illegally in spots directly in front of a location where they were attending a meeting when there were legal, only slightly-less-convenient spots available on the same block!
For the sake of our collective grandmother with the bad hip and glaucoma, unless there are no other options, stay out of the handicapped spot.
Should grandma really be driving if she's that banged up?
BTW.. I hope Granny isn't driving with glaucoma..
i was walking down C st SE by 3rd and two cops gunned it past me after the stop sign and yelled something, then I heard laughing. Classy. and very high school.
"Pentagon Row? They could have at least found a accessible spot in the right jurisdiction.."
Wait, isn't that really an important point? Isn't it extremely unlikely that a DC cop is responding to an emergency in a Virginia supermarket?
C'mon, guys. Parking privileges will always be abused so long as there are parking restrictions. I'm not particularly Frrennnnnch or anything, but it seems relevant that the rest of the world gets along just fine without the draconian regulation of vehicle parking. Just fine!
That is an important point, Reid. I bet the DC cop's Arlington bretheren would not take to kindly to him abusing THEIR illegal parking privileges. Arlington handicapped spaces are for Arlington cops... Got it, MPDC?!?
You are totally right Kriston. We should be like the rest of the world in respect to cars.
1. No drivers license until you are 18. And then they should cost several hundred dollars and involve thousands of dollars worth of training.
2. We should eliminate all street parking (like for instance, they do in Japan). And then only let you register your car when you can prove that you have access to your own personal parking space.
3. We should make gasoline like $6 a gallon through taxes.
4. We should create congestion taxing zones.
Anything else I've missed?
Um, Kriston, I believe the rest of what people call the advanced industrialized world all have parking regulations at least as restrictive as the US. I think it's ludicrous to think we could somehow do away with parking restrictions and the situation wouldn't turn into complete chaos, much less get better. And if you're referring only to handicapped parking, I guess the handicapped don't count in your 'rest of the world [getting] along just fine.'
I'd say it's pretty much guaranteed that the officer wasn't there for an emergency. My understanding is that there are fairly rigorous rules for when DC officers can act as police in other states.
DC1974, sounds like a good world to me. More public transit usage, less pollution, fewer unsafe teenage drivers, less money going to Arabs that want to blow us all up. What's not to love?
less money going to Arabs that want to blow us all up. What's not to love?
Thinly veiled racism?
Oh Jesus, here we go.
No, Hill Rat, just a statement of fact. I'm sorry if my pointing it out rankles the PC police.
less money going to Arabs that want to blow us all up. What's not to love?
Thinly veiled racism?
Blah-di-blah-blah...I find your reponse offensive. ;)
Don't you have a job? Or is your job winding up other posters to increase dcist.com traffic?
--ibc
I believe the rest of what people call the advanced industrialized world all have parking regulations at least as restrictive as the US.
If by "advanced industrialized world," you mean places where English is the dominant language—maybe. But why restrict the consideration to this group?
Each of DC1974's items would take some tweaking to implement here, but they all sound preferable to the legalistic way we view driving in America. Who has ever received a parking ticket and thought, "This is the price of admission to America's excelsior parking organization system?" Nobody, because parking tickets are obnoxious and exist primarily as a self-selecting, alternative form of taxation.
I don't drive, and I guess I don't mind if drivers want to fund county courts via the imaginative parking traps in cities and towns across the land. But as so many outraged commenters have noted on DCist, people with the power violate the rules anyway&mdahs;and yet, and yet!, society plods on. If parking were demonstrably better here than in auto-anarcho societies, maybe I'd buy in, but they're not. Except insofar as Americans drive really slowly.
Some DC officers (higher ranks, special units, etc) get "take home cars" which they are permitted to use for non-official business. That is probably the case here. However, there is no reason to park in a handicapped space.
By the way, Chief Ramsey has a take home car, clearly marked as "Cruiser One" which is usually parked (legally) on G St SW near his townhouse. However, I have seen it parked illegally a few times and once and it did have a ticket on its windshield.
Maybe the cop really needed to take a leek. And some potatoes and basil. Hey-o!
Not your best work, Andrew.
Kriston, I think I love you. Anyone who can work "excelsior" as an adjective into a sentence deserves adoration and respect.
No, Hill Rat, just a statement of fact. I'm sorry if my pointing it out rankles the PC police.
What you, and every other dummy that equates Arabs with terrorism, fail to realize is that "Arab" covers a lot of ground. There are Christian Arabs, there are Jewish Arabs, and there are Muslim Arabs that agree with you and I that Osama is batshit crazy and needed to be killed yesterday. Even within a country like Saudi Arabia, that is allegedly ethnically and religiously homogenous, there are ethnic groups (like Bedouins) that hate the House of Saud and Wahhabi Islam and wish them both destroyed.
Pick up a book and educate yourself before you start making stupid statements in public. It's a damn shame that thinking people have allowed themselves to be bullied into not calling out various -isms for fear of being labled PC by needle dicks like you and Rush Limbuagh.
Well played, Hill Rat. I bet you a shiny quarter that as of this moment, my nimrod namesake thinks that Iranians are "Arabs", as well.
I wish someone would police the comments. If there ever was a place that needed a little head cracking, this is it.
I wish someone would police the comments. If there ever was a place that needed a little head cracking, this is it.
What fun would that be? Besides, I don't want someone rejecting my post for calling someone a needle dick. I'm not down for censorship, people should be able to say what they want to say; it's the price of living in a free society.
Ditto, Hill Rat. It's little wonder that most of the world thinks we are ignorant and ill-informed. A little more "calling people out" in this country is certainly warranted. Now, how can we get these clowns to quit stacking up in the doors of the Metro?
Get some reading comprehension skills, Hill Rat and DCist Jason. I did not say that all Arabs want to blow us up. I said the draconian restrictions on driving that DC1974 suggested would reduce the amount of $$ we give to Arabs that do want to blow us up. What, pray tell, is factually incorrect about that statement? Are you denying that there are Arabs who want to blow us up? Are you denying that the Arabs have oil? Are you denying that the money we spend on gas and oil due to our petroleum addiction goes to some of our enemies?
Note the difference between: "less money going to Arabs that want to blow us all up" and "less money going to THE Arabs, who want to blow us all up."
I mean, I don't really see the meaning of my statement as too hard to glean here. Unless, of course, you're just saying it's impolite to point out that all isn't sweetness and light in the Arab psyche. Because, if you are, well, I don't give a rat's ass.
Now, can we talk about something more interesting like hermaphrodite fish?
(Oh, and btw DCistJ, I'm under no illusions about the fact that most Iranians (something around 60%, if memory serves) are Persians, although don't discount the large Arab minority in the southwest of the country. I was actually good friends with an Iranian guy in college. He was fascinated by gay sex, but that's a story for another time....)
Everyone leave alone Jason, who has professed his love for me.
Thank you, snoogyboogoms.
Hey Kriston,
Not sure what an example of an auto-anarcho society would be. Could you provide an example(s)?
Not picking a fight, I just want to understand what you're saying.
You said (in part):
"If parking were demonstrably better here than in auto-anarcho societies, maybe I'd buy in, but they're not."
If you're trying to say that we should just let the free market take care of the parking situation, then we're probably approaching the irreconcilable differences zone.
Oh, and big-up to Hill Rat for the smackdown/tutorial administered to the commenter equating Arabs with terrorists. By his logic we should treat all white people like terrorists because of Tim McVeigh and Eric Rudolph. Doesn't make sense, does it?
You said: "Unless, of course, you're just saying it's impolite to point out that all isn't sweetness and light in the Arab psyche."
I wonder what this is based on? If it's 9/11, well, it's illogical to apply the mindset of a few to a larger population. If it's based on something else, I'd love to hear it. Maybe you could enlighten us all. Perhaps there was a link on the Drudge report? Perhaps Hannity was doling out some kernels of wisdom?
Jason -- You tool.
>Note the difference between: "less money going to Arabs that want to blow us all up" and "less money going to THE Arabs, who want to blow us all up."
>I mean, I don't really see the meaning of my statement as too hard to glean here. Unless, of course, you're just saying it's impolite to point out that all isn't sweetness and light in [THE] Arab psyche."
Emphasis mine.
Actually, j_flo, do a little digging for some of the things people on this site have said in other threads about: a) Virginians; b) "Southerners" (presumably white); c) Republicans; d) white people in general. Of course, no one really gets too upset about that.
Cut the double standard crap.
Oh, and in what alternate universe do thinking people quail with fright at the thought of being called PC? I must have slept through that.
Note the difference between: "less money going to Arabs that want to blow us all up" and "less money going to THE Arabs, who want to blow us all up."
A distinction without a difference IMHO, but you responded in coherent fashion so I'll accept what you're saying at face value. But what am I supposed to make of the fact that you go on to make reference to "the Arab psyche?"
I actually like the new prevailing term in the Bush43 administration: Islamo-fascists. Concise and accurate.
I was curious--if it's a given that "not all is sweetness and light" within "the Arab Psyche," then how exactly is that distinct from the "psyches" of any other human being that's ever walked the face of the earth since the beginning of recorded time?
I would posit that "not all is sweetness and light" within the psyches of CUDDLY WOODLAND CREATURES.
Jason, can I get an answer to this question, or must I wait until nightfall to activate the Captain Obvious Signal?
I'm sure that many beavers also have psychic problems. It's quite probable that there are fundamentally unhealthy psychic patterns prevalent in beaver society. But I don't believe we're currently buying oil from them, which was the whole point of my comment.
Oh, and by using the term "beavers," I mean absolutely no disrespect to the lesbian community. Now can we please be done with this?
Oh, and thank you, Hill Rat, for your coherent response as well.
Jason -- No, we're not done. It's fun watching you construct ridiculous arguments. Please continue!
Oh, and by using the term "beavers," I mean absolutely no disrespect to the lesbian community. Now can we please be done with this?
That was pretty funny, consider the topic closed on this end.
On the topic of DC Council members and parking illegally (re: #3 above), they exempted themselves from the parking laws a couple of years back, so they're legally allowed to park wherever the heck they want without repurcussions.
Jason (the tool, not DCist) said:
"Actually, j_flo, do a little digging for some of the things people on this site have said in other threads about: a) Virginians; b) "Southerners" (presumably white); c) Republicans; d) white people in general. Of course, no one really gets too upset about that.
Cut the double standard crap."
We must be confused about the rules governing posting comments here. I was under the impression that we could all express our opinions freely without being held to the standards of others. Apparently, since I'm pointing out the idiocy of some (presumably white) rethuglican, I'm supposed to do research on what others have said about white Virginians (or southerners in general) and realize that since no one criticized such mean, mean comments, I shouldn't critize poor Jason. Somehow I've created a double standard.
Unfortunately, I don't give a damn about or am bound by what others have and have not said on here.
I'm with Politburo, Jason should stay just for entertainment value. If he wants the last word, he's welcome to it.
If you're trying to say that we should just let the free market take care of the parking situation, then we're probably approaching the irreconcilable differences zone.
Not a free marketeer! Merely a free parkateer.
The noodle incident should not be taken so lightly.
"Rethuglican"? You have GOT to be kidding me.... See, this is why Democrats have trouble winning elections.....
And, for the record, I've voted for a Republican all of twice in my life, and one of those times was Michael Bloomberg, who just doesn't count.
Democrats have problems winning elections because of.. posts on message boards? Somehow, I don't think that's it.
No, more like demonizing anyone who disagrees with you as an enemy.
Oh, and having a screen name that celebrates the Soviet Union, which caused more deaths than Hitler, is also a nice touch, too. Classy.
Wait.. democrats demonizing people who disagrees as enemies? I suppose it is the Democrats who are running around calling people appeasers, traitors and cowards. And I also suppose the words of one person on a message board are representative of the party as a whole.
What fucking planet are you on? There are obviously reasons why democrats are not winning elections, but what you've mentioned is done equally or moreso by the other side.
As for my nick, it's always amusing to watch people make assumptions. And a Hitler reference, to boot. What a fine day this is!
"No, more like demonizing anyone who disagrees with you as an enemy."
Thus continues the ever expanding dialectic betwixt the pot and the kettle. Comment 47 neatly and without fuss completes the convoluted logical reacharound begun on comment 13. And it comes with a violationg of Godwin's law to boot. Commentariat perfection.
Ok, you two... Either shake hands and make up, or please take this offline and settle it the way we used to in the old days. Staring contest!
Seriously, enough already.
Thanks
Hill Rat:
Needle dick?
As President of the Needle Dicks of America, Mid-Atlantic Chapter, Reformed, I hereby formally lodge my protest of your careless use of the term needle dick. Those of us with needle dicks are proud of our appendage or lack thereof and consider ourselves special and consider our appendage attributes sacred.
You'll be hearing from our army of needle dick lawyers.
Just remember - you other lads may have the girth, but us needle dicks can rest easy knowing we'll never pass out from excessive sudden hardon-induced blood flow to our needle dicks causing us to black out.....
Hey, at least I built good roads.
I've seen this situation so many times it's not surprising at all.