Do as I say, not as I do
When we take back the Grove, you know, as our own city, the first thing to go after we kick the MPA to the curb is get a new police force, one which shows some respect. It's not so much they are parking on the sidewalk, which is really not right, but Saturday night, a well known lady in the Grove, was put in cuffs and almost taken off to jail for parking her Smart Car the wrong way on the street!
She actually wasn't even parked, she stopped for a moment and she was just "standing." The cop came down the street, siren on, lights flashing, as if it was one of the recent drug busts, but it was a little Smart Car facing east and not west, as it should have been.
The lady had two licenses, one old, one new and for some reason, the cop really got upset at this, I guess the Miami PD is now going to regulate what ID's you can now carry in your wallet.
Anyway, the lady called everyone in town, including me, and luckily, her attorney was reached, he said something to the cop on the phone, probably like, "If you don't wanna end up with a lawsuit on your hands, you better let her go." He let the lady go.
But the point is, why can the cops park on the sidewalk which really looks bad, and a lady in her car is almost arrested for a slight traffic infraction -- it was a non-moving violation?
The lady was driving one of those little "toy-looking" smart cards. NOT a green electric car that looks like a golf cart.
posted by Tom Falco at 10:00 AM
YOU MAY NOT LIFT THE PHOTOS & TEXT. IT'S COPYRIGHTED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. YOU CAN HOWEVER SHARE A STORY ON SOCIAL MEDIA BY USING THE LINKS HERE.
For linking to this one story, just click on the time it was posted & just this story will open for sharing - only through social media. Not copying and pasting.
18 Comments:
Let's incorporate and get rid of the MPA!
A well respected resident of Coconut Grove and a good customer of Focaccia was needlessly intimidated and harassed by one of Miami’s Finest on Saturday night with minimal provable cause. Some police and parking meter readers are hurting the Grove. The Grapevine, BID, CGVC and Chamber needs to address this issue and help improve the Grove. If we want more customers then we need less intimidating police and parking meter folks. We need more police walking and meeting our residence and visitors. We need more police on bikes (that we paid for long ago). Instead of a Police Force we need a Please Force. We need police and parking meter folks to better serve and protect us. They could even answer tourist questions regarding directions and even offer recommendations of restaurants and shopping. Let them practice curtsey and politeness. They could say please move your car or please don't J-walk. They can offer warnings and advise. They need not try so hard to help justify their overpaid salaries and lifetime pensions by generating so many tickets. They can’t possibly ticket that much. Let’s stop driving folks away from the Grove and encourage them to visit us with friendlier police and parking meter folks.
Harry Emilio Gottlieb
Grape or anyone else please explain --Something does not make sense - If she was just for a moment "standing" facing the wrong way - she either drove down the street on the wrong side - or crossed over to the other side facing oncoming traffic --both stupid - or entered the street from an alley or parking lot going the wrong way - stupid -dangerous and oh yes - against the law ! There is no "just a moment" if you run a red light and get into an accident buy running the red light "for just a moment".
Agree with you if you mean infraction for having 2 licenses - but sorry grape - something still seems wrong - and I disagree with you
if you mean the parking-stopping-standing-on the wrong side is a "slight traffic infraction" she drove "moving" to get there- it's stupid, dangerous ,illegal AND of course self - centered and we are all against people who think rules apply only to others.
JKH? Were you there?
I think Grape has the menatlity of the "Grove" a small village. And when you are in a small village everyone knows each other. The cops, the politicians, the postman, and even the pets of everyone.
I would agree with him.
The cops literally call out my name on their bullhorn as I walk by their cars. It is a small village and people should be treated as such.
And JKH, good question, were you there during the incident? I didn't see you.
JKH has a point. In order to park facing the wrong way on the street, you have to have traveled at least some distance in the wrong direction on the street, both getting in and to get out of the space. Don't need to be there to figure that out.
Regardless, the cops here seem more interested in hassling and trying to find reasons to arrest decent citzens, than simply solving problems. All it would have taken is a "you can't do that, move your car now." Instead, I'm sure he blocked the entire lane with a cruiser with lights flashign for 40 minutes, making a scene can causing a bigger disturbance.
Last week a cop was parked on my neighbors driveway setting up a speed trap for anyone that blows through the stop sign. The neighbors were away and I kept staring at him wondering why he was parked on private property. Eventually a city car drove up and after another ten minutes of them sitting there with their engines running, yelling to each other out their windows, the two cars drove off.
It would be sort of funny if the Commodore Cop came back to his car to find a mocked-up ticket. Perhaps a Gomer Pyle citizen's arrest?
What a great idea! Maybe our artist in residence, Harry Emilio Gottlieb could make up a "Citizen's Citation" and post a .pdf. That way we could download the form and "ticket" officials that take advantage of illegal parking. What do you think?
I don't know who the new vs old police force is & I cannot vouch for the rookies. But Grove Officers Joe Guell and Leo Carillo are curteous and professional. I recommend Grovites carry their cell # (get it from the NET office)Next time there is an issue... these gentlemen might just be the citizen advocates you need.
Dear Judi Kregg;
Your brilliant idea for a Citizen's Traffic Citation was the inspiration for The Old Grove and me to come up with something that may be of use to all of us Grovites. Please check out http://oldgrover.blogharbor.com and let us know what you think. All good ideas that will help improve Coconut Grove will be most appreciated.
Harry Emilio Gottlieb hgplace@bellsouth.net
http://oldgrover.blogharbor.com
Some of the locals in Coconut Grove have requested a suitable note available for placement on vehicles whose owners can't quite get the hang of parking or driving in a reasonable or courteous manner, notably municipal employees who regularly park hither and yon in a manner that would get mere civilians ticketed in an instant. Herewith a possible candidate:
Thanks for the plug, Harry and Tom alike. Careful where you use these things.
While I appreciate the humor in Harry's original suggested ticket...to be taken seriously, the list of 'violations' should be written professionally. Making fun of them isn't really the best way of making a point, it'll just make us look immature.
OMG! That "Citizen's Traffic Citation" is a riot. I downloaded and printed a bunch. Can't wait for an opportunity to put one to good use! Thanks, guys you really made my day!
Funny, when my car was totaled by a taxi speeding backwards (against the direction of traffic in his lane) he was given a ticket for "improper backing." While I was taken to the hospital in an ambulance, he was not carted off to jail in handcuffs, but sent away with his minor ticket, to be dealt with by his company's ticket lawyer so he could be running around like an idiot in the Grove the next day.
It aint fun if it aint funny.
Cant wait to use these and see what they tell me.
On a more serious note, folks could post online the exact date and time when city-owned autos are parked illegally. I'll bet money that half the illegal parking occurs when the driver is off the clock on personal time.
Post a Comment
<< Home