JY> I'm one of the many 'lurkers' here.  I read the messages in this echo
 JY> just about every day but almost never reply to any of them or post an
 JY> original one.  This is an exception. I just wanted to tell you that
 JY> your messages are a cut above many of those I see in here (from
 JY> law enforcement personnel and those in other occupations as well).
Hi, James. Lurking is a good hobby, but I'm glad you jumped in with a
message. Thanks for the compliments.
I don't know the extent of the problem with parks in your city, and I don't
know about the law in your city to deal with those parks. Our city has gone
through cycles of various problems in our parks, and I bet your city has
experienced many of the same problems. The most common problems have been: 1)
taking over the park; 2) human wastes; 3) broken glass; 4) garbage; 5)
fights; and etc. Taking over the park is the big problem that most residents
complain about. Many will quickly tell you the parks are for children and
families to use.
Most cities have laws to protect their parks for the intended use. My city
does not permit drinking in city parks, and the parks are closed usually from
midnight to 0600 A.M. If your wife and kids went to the park and found most
of the above problems, it wouldn't take you long to call and complain. Your
complaint would be justified. The officers are stuck between a rock and a
hard place many times in what they can and can't do with the drunks,
homeless, transients, hobos, street people, or whatever label fits. Many of
these folks gain adverse attention by various abuses of the park or residents
wishing to use the park. In other words, many of them cause their own
problems.
 JY> there are a few officers who seem to delight in harassing them and
 JY> will even arrest them and lie about what they were doing.  During
 JY> the summer, there is a concerted effort to drive they out of the
 JY> parks (pressure from the nearby merchants).
I can't speak for or against your police department, and I don't know what
your laws are that regard city parks. Here, the drunks you refer to would be
in violation of several laws, and there would be no need to lie about what
they were doing. Depending on the circumstances, I really wouldn't blame the
nearby merchants or the residents of the area wanting to drive them out of
the parks. Some might wish to argue that the drunks should be able to drink
where they want, use the bathroom where they want, sleep where they want,
fight where they want, use whatever language they want, and otherwise
exercise these and other freedoms when and where they want to. These
activities take away the freedoms of others and are usually against the law
because of the same word, "freedom". Many officers do try to look the other
way with some of these folks, especially if they have some respect for the
rights of others. Some of these same officers get in trouble for looking the
other way if the neglect causes some brown stuff to hit the fan. The officer
can and will be criticized regardless.
Tom Rightmer - A Victims' Rights Advocate
... UFO's are for real: the Air Force doesn't exist.
--- Blue Wave/DOS v2.30
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