So some friends were riding in east county San Diego (Sunrise Hwy area) over the weekend and had a run in with an overzealous park ranger. Pics and story below. It was pretty funny hearing the story.
here’s the story straight from the accused:
this park ranger was on the loudspeaker hassling a car that was waiting
until it was safe to pass us, “You need to not obstruct the road or I’ll
give you a ticket; don’t wait for the cyclists.” So then he pulled the
car over for waiting to pass us. So I stopped when he pulled the car over
and told the driver I would be a witness against the cop in court since I
felt she was driving safely and appropriately. Cop got pissed and told me
to go have a seat and he would “deal with me.” I said “what are your
grounds since I am not violating any laws?” then he pushed me over (I
dramatized a bit and fell on the ground since Pat was taking pictures) and
cuffed me. So then he cooled down and let me go after a stern lecture.
He didn’t take my name down though and I think that with my pictures and
lack of documentation on his part I could have quite a case against him.
I don’t think I will do anything because I don’t feel like the hassle, but
I do feel I was assaulted by him.
Just look up the supervisor, then forward this thread to them. It does not always take a lawsuit to get someone fired. My guess is the supervisor will know this guy from the picture, and probably just from the story. I bet this is not the first time. They know who the good cops are, and the bad ones. And they know what a liability it is to have someone like this on the payroll.
im with everyone else- i think you need to report this guy:
-his advice about the driver was absurd
-he actually pushed you over, which was absurd
-he cuffed you. Are you freaking kidding me? on what grounds?
hmmm…seems like something is missing here. Im sure there is more to this story, I am sure whatever the motorist was doing was not safe, but then again maybe it was safe. I was not there.
But let me get this straight…all the cop did was tell the car to move along? And you felt it necessary to ride up to the motorist and tell them you would be a witness against the cop? A witness of what!? Big fuckin whoopdy do…so a cop told a car to move along!!!
As far as what he did to you…with the sound of your attitude Im sure you deserved it. You even said yourself you acted a bit (good one). Im a cop by the way…if someone walked up on me when I was on a car stop and gave me attitude, I can guarantee I would have done a lot worse to you. You probably would have been leaving in the back of my car and not your bike. Bottom line would be I dont know you, and would have no idea as to what you were doing.
I can guarantee you that nothing will come of this if you complain…you sound like an idiot who got involved when you shouldnt have. So the lesson you should get out of this is when a cop/park ranger/fireman or whatever is doing an enforcement type action stay out of it…granted some encounters call for intervention, but this one was clearly not one of them.
I said “what are your
grounds since I am not violating any laws?” then he pushed me over
Look up PC 148
more to the story:
cop was hassling the driver telling her to pass in an unsafe area. Oncoming traffic, no shoulder, and cyclists were riding single file, rolling about 20mph. Yet he was on the loudspeaker telling her, “Pass immediately or I will give you a ticket.” Absolutely unsafe to pass at this point. She waits til the cars pass, then pulls out and passes like she is supposed to. After she passes he pulls her over. Would you just ride by her, knowing that she was about to get a ticket because she was treating you with deference and safety?
I believe the OP was relaying a story that was told to him…
I’m curious how you would define “doing something a lot worse to him”. Arrest? Taser? What? Maybe according to PC148, you would be justified in arresting the cyclist for making a comment. I don’t know. That statute seems like it provides blanket authority requiring the discretion of the officer on the scene. However, how a cyclist in bike shoes could or would “willfully resist, delay, or obstruct” the ranger in question is a mystery to me.
In your normal course of duty, I’m sure you have to err on the side of caution and could cite me a hundred examples of how the cyclist was a threat. But to guarantee that you would do something worse seems excessive to me.
Frankly, you tossing around words like “idiot” and threats like “I woulda done worse to you” is exactly why people have problems with cops. Your attitude here is outrageously violent and I’d feel violated and unsafe around anyone who spoke that way to a citizen (and carries a gun). Cops have the authority to enforce the law, not to act above it while doing so.
Like I said before I cant say for certain what the motorist was doing was safe or not…but once the cop pulls the car over…it is now an ENTIRE DIFFERENT BALL GAME. The moment the OP walked up to the car and decided to give his .2 cents he is now in violation of PC 148. Basically he is interfering with the cop.
If I was alone (like the ranger was) and there was a pedestrain ( like the op) interfering with one of my traffic stops who I dont know, I would have put the guy on his face. Not only do I have to worry about the driver and any other passsengers of the car I stopped, now I have to worry about the idiot who decided to involve himself on my traffic stop.
He has no grounds to complain, and frankly is lucky he was not arrested. Better luck next time.
First, I am relaying this from a good friend who we do a fair bit of business with. I guess I left out the other details. The road is a narrow two lane back country road with no shoulder and no bike lane, a very popular riding route. They were riding single file. There was a fair bit of traffic coming the other way so for a car to pass from behind would have either had to push the cyclists into the gutter or veer into the other lane and risk a head on collision. It escalated because the officer clearly wanted traffic to move ahead, but my friend recognized how dangerous it would have been for that to happen. He’s no idiot, and as our other friend who was there said “once I told the officer hes a doctor who works with kids, he cooled down, uncuffed him, and we went on our way”.
I’m not condoning anything on this, just relaying an incident that we found to be funny. He’s not going to pursue any action on this. Although he’ll probably read this posting later tonight…
I would contact Internal Affairs. As a retired law enforcement officer, there are many options on how to handle a “call” like that. 911bravo, chill out man. Where the hell do you work? Plus, being retired for several years, I can see why the public has such poor perception of the police. They treat people like crap, and are very offensive. Almost makes ashamed that I put 15 years of my life into that profession. Relax, there are a lot of good people out there too…
Im not saying your freind wasn’t right about the safety issue…
But people in general have to understand is that we want to go home to our families at the end of the day. So if we come off as harsh sometimes, I apologize. The main point I was trying to get across is …If someone/anyone walks up on me, or any cop for that matter, when I am contacting a citizen or am on a car stop I can guarantee that most of us will react the same. If I tell the citizen to leave and stop interfering, and they don’t thats when I would resort to “Hands on” I dont want to use harsh words since its offending some St’ers.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought the OP was acting like a weenie…Why people feel the need to mouth off to a cop like a 4th grader to their teacher I will never understand…I think the spandex and leg shaving is really started to get to some of you…
Which is why you talk to I.A.B. (Internal Affairs) after the incident. Get it noted on his record. Yeah, the OP might have been a bit out of line, but the officer was just as out of line if not more so.
I’ve learned it’s just not worth dealing with police officers when they act like that. Just be polite and then report them.
You can try and report it to IA but I can guarantee you nothing will happen. The IA investigator will ask what happened. Then he will say “well a cop pulled over a lady for doing nothing wrong, and I walked up on him.” Cop will say " An unknown citizen appraoched me when I was on a traffic stop and I felt for my safety" End of IA right there. Cop gets a pat on the back.
The lady who got pulled over might have a better complaint, but I can promise you nothing will happen. He won’t get disciplined in any manner. If anything they may say “Good job” I am not trying to be a dick, but it is just the reality of this career.
Is there really an “internal affairs” dept. for Park Rangers!? I really don’t know. I would have never done that as I’m the utmost in politeness since I try to see the peace officer’s point of view/training. But, it does sound like this guy was being a prick.
