I wasn't going to wade in on this but here goes. Cops do not get paid lunch breaks or coffee breaks or even potty breaks. Therefore, they are not guaranteed that they will get fed or coffee ( pottying is a out of their hands, so to speak, but not getting coffee cuts down on this ). Therefore, they work these things in between their calls whenever possible. Sometimes, things are quiet and getting a break isn't a problem. Sometimes, you gotta tell the dispatcher that if she doesn't let up, you're going to have to change your slacks (being a female has its own, unique problems concerning gun belts, size of bathrooms, etc., which I'm sure no one's interested in ). Cops usually frequent the same spots because, 1)they don't mind having you there and even enjoy your presence 2) they are quick 3) if you have to run out and can't pay they don't get mad 4) if you have to run out and pay or not they will pack a doggie bag or keep it warm for you 5) if you're female, they have a nice bathroom 6)you can be pretty sure the kitchen help/waitperson won't spit on or put something in your food (yes, that happens).
Cops sometimes park in no parking zones because 1) they need to be close to their cars 2) they need to have them in sight, if possible, so the cars don't get get vandalized, broken into, or have their POLICE plates stolen 3) they can and, if the restaurant has limited parking (as in the case of the Lotus) this leaves the legal spots for the public. Now I am sure after this posting that some of you will probably still complain because you 1) got one or more parking tickets in your life 2) just don't like cops and will find fault with them no matter what 3) realize, if you haven't before that I am (gasp) a retired cop. I have lived in Mpls all my life, minus a stint in the Army, as do many police, both retired and active (there goes the crap about caring more if you live here). We don't come out of the closet because we want to have a life off duty as well as on. By the way, the one exception to parking in a no parking zone that I would mark a rookie down on when I was still on patrol, was parking in a Handicap Zone. That was always a no no with me UNLESS the call was an emergency. Then you just park wherever you can. By the way, did anyone ever complain about the City Council members and the mayor having their own parking spaces around City Hall when there wasn't even a handicapped space there. Is this still the case? Does the President of the City Council still have a specially marked space as well as the mayor and council? We always found that strange seeing as how the city owned so many parking ramps and that few council people (as in none) were ever seen running out of the bldg to an emergency whatever (lunch)???? Anne McCandless Jordan TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
