timothy connolly <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: "now the question that springs
to my mind is this: is it necessary for the police to park on the sidewalk
when they are stopping for coffee?"
This is one of dozens of the "darned if we do, darned if we don't" kind of
questions: If we park at a meter, it is practically a given that the mayor,
the chief, and the precinct front desk officer (really makes his day) are
called with a complaint from a citizen who couldn't find a place to park and
why is a squad parked there? If we park in a "No Parking" zone so as to
keep meter and lot space free for citizens, the mayor, chief, and precinct
front desk officer (now his week is fulfilled) are called with the complaint
from a citizen that "If I can't park there, cops shouldn't either!" If we
drive through a park on the grass because of a supicious person call and the
suspicious person is GOA, the mayor, chief, the precinct front desk officer
("If I had a nickel for every time...") and Park Board Commissioner are
called with the complaint from a citizen that we're tearing up the grass.
If we park on the sidewalk of a narrow street so as not to block traffic,
the mayor, chief, and precinct front desk officer ("Can all my planets AND
the moon be so propitiously aligned?") ------ well, I guess being called
arrogant for these parking conundrums isn't so bad in the grand scheme of
things.
Further: "these ought to be indicators of a systemic problem with the police
and their relation to and function within the greater society."
I welcome any suggestions as to how we can end our department's systemic
parking abuse.
CPS Luther Krueger 673-2923 mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Minneapolis Police Department, Downtown Command SAFE
Lyndale, 8th Ward
