bart cops... feedback requested
i was at 12th st yesterday afternoon and some bart cops were dealing with some homeless guy on crutches. it looked like they were about to let him walk (i think it started when he fare evaded) after he went back out and got a ticket (for $3.90, that much i remember lol) yet he couldnt keep his mouth closed and kept saying shit to the officer. eventually it turned into him being arrested. whta i found to be interesting was that one of the officers asked him if he had prior contact with the police, and he told him that "you guys arent the police, you're the bart police."
i know that bart police are sworn police. why is there this sentiment out there that they are somehow inferior to city cops or county sheriffs? and how often do you guys get that "you arent the police" line? or people asking stupid questions, like "do you carry guns?" "can you stop me on the freeway" etc? i think it might get old after a while.
oh and on that note, after that bum said "you arent the police, youre the bart police" the officer geos "oh were not?" then says "well we're gonna take you to jail. how about that?" i found that to be kinda funny.
Allowing for processing
Allowing for processing time, the homeless will receive a complimentary baloney sandwich.
Hopefully, the officer(s) arrested the homeless guy on something other than his utterance, albeit, contempt for police in general. The charge sheet doesn't have a space for mouthing off. If the booking/jailer was observant, he would have likely asked for a medical clearance for the homeless on crutches, so a couple of hours at County Highland and then a ride back down to the Oakland City suites, I mean jail. Still, just in time for the baloney sandwich. HGOC was pretty smart!
Regarding the original
Regarding the original question:
It gets old after a while, but it goes along with the job. I guess because transit policing is different than street policing, people see it as "somehow inferior," but I'm not sure why. As I'm sure everyone on here knows, BART Police are sworn officers with statewide powers of arrest, carry guns, and are the "real" police. It just goes along with the job, people making snide remarks about the job BART Police perform, and the department Officers choose to work with. After a while, you build up a thick skin.
As for the HGOC, I think the Station Agent placed him under a citizen's arrest for breach of peace after he got in an argument with her - but not certain. The HGOC was lucky that the Officer allowed him to go out and purchase a ticket after he allegedly forgot, and not cited him out and ejected him right then and there. Another possibility, bartish, is that when citing him he was found to have warrants or prior contacts with the BART Police, or the "real" police.
Shrapnel
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That should've been on
That should've been on Disorderly Conduct on Tru TV. Well, this is one example of what NOT to do in the BART system and never in the streets.