— By Zach Perkins |
I may be an entitled self-righteous cracker, but I'd rather be that than this shit eating honky.
I had originally hoped for this to be a post of the “awww, see? the po-po ain't so bad!” variety. Sadly, that was not the result.
Just before going to bed I noticed the flash of red and blue lights from outside my window. In the center lane of Geary Blvd was an asian woman standing next to a dead VW Beetle. The lights were off, engine cut, hood popped, and a squad car was parked behind. As traffic diverted around; cued in by the flashing lights of not one but two SFPD patrol cars, the officers approached her with portable car battery jumper kit. I had my “awww” moment, and grabbed my phone to take a picture in case I later deemed the event 'bloggable'.
My positive feelings and good will toward the law enforcement officers of the world hit their peak as the car was resurrected and an ethnic officer explained to the woman that she needed to keep driving to make sure the battery recharged fully. She then put her hands together, made a bowing motion toward the police and said something with an accent that lead me to believe that english was not her first language. That's when all my sentimental feelings came to a screeching halt.
The only white officer, a short sleeved turd donning a shit-eating grin and the car jumper kit, said (very loudly) “WHO YO FRIENDS?” in the most offensive imitation of an asian accent I've ever heard.
“WHO YO FRIENDS? POLICE IS YO FRIENDS! REMEMBER WHO YO FRIENDS!”
I really, really wanted to feel good about the SFPD and cops in general, and for a split second I did. I guess that was naive of me. Fuck you honky.
UPDATE: 5 minutes later the same two squad cars pulled over a vehicle in the exact same spot. I now recognize the hispanic officer as the same cop who acted as a plain clothes decoy on my block last week. He, along with about 8 motorcycle cop buddies, were running a scam in which he would walk directly into traffic at an intersection without a traffic light or stop sign (AT 8AM DURING THE MORNING COMMUTE YOU FUCKING FUCKS) so they could ticket anyone and everyone who didn't slam on their breaks and get rear ended the second he started jay walking.
Fuck the police and their ability to alienate everyday people and be complete dicks even when they're supposedly doing something positive. They are equally responsible for the bullshit 'us v them' climate of opposition between cop and citizen.
Comments (18)
http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd257/mdub5000/DealWithIt.gif
I’m not a cop booster, and I’m not an expert in all traffic laws, but I think I remember once learning that in California, pedestrians actually have the right of way at ALL intersections, whether there is a stop sign/light or not. It’s crazy, I know, but that’s how it is. From the Driver’s Handbook:
“Respect the right-of-way of pedestrians. Always stop for any pedestrian crossing at corners or other crosswalks, even if the crosswalk is in the middle of the block and at corners with or without traffic lights, whether or not the crosswalks are marked by painted lines.”
Hold on,
look at VC 21954. (a)Every pedestrian upon a roadway at any point other than within a marked crosswalk or within an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection shall yield the right-of-way to all vehicles upon the roadway so near as to constitute an immediate hazard. (b) The provisions of this section shall not relieve the driver of a vehicle from the duty to exercise due care for the safety of any pedestrian upon a roadway.
So they don’t have the right of way to vehicles if they are not in a marked or unmarked crosswalk. But the driver will still be at fault if they don’t exercise care for the ped? uh?
I don’t think “jaywalking” means what you think it means.
Pedestrians always have the right of way. There’s plenty of shit to bitch about the SFPD for, as illustrated above, but don’t get pissed off because you’re among those too retarded to know how to fucking drive.
You are both correct. He entered a designated cross walk and had right of way.
I still find it insidious that a police officer would wait for the last few cars in a group of traffic to approach and would then walk directly in their path with the intent of scoring tickets for his friends hiding around the corner. In several cases drivers who passed through the intersection before he even made it to their side of the street were ticketed as he shouted “Yeah! Get him!!” to his friends on motorcycles.
Once across the street, the undercover officer would wait for the next group of traffic and entered their path again. In the 15 minutes I observed this, not a single group of cars made it through the intersection without at least one vehicle being pulled over.
All the cars that I witnessed being pulled over were driving normally at the speed of other traffic around them. They had the misfortune of being targeted simply because they were at the end of a group of cars. With the constant turnover rate, this felt like it was a lot more about the SFPD making money than it was about enforcing safety.
critical fail.
I respect your opinion on the jay-walking part of the story and wanted to offer up another one. (And, of course, I agree, the first part is completely fucked up. But not ALL cops are bad cops OR good cops.)
I live on Geary as well and in my hood (near 22nd ave) the crosswalks are incredibly dangerous. Cars NEVER stop for pedestrians. If a pedestrian is in the crosswalk, cars must stop. That’s the law. I’ve watched these stings happen many, many times. They’ve been doing it for the past couple years, that I know of. From what I’ve witnessed, I don’t believe it’s ever been a game for them - “scoring tickets for their friends.” I’ve seen so many elderly people on my block just waiting and waiting to cross. I usually end up crossing into the street and waving my arms like a crazy person so the cars will stop and then I wait around until the elderly or slow are finished crossing. I am very grateful for this “scam”. In my opinion, it’s a great sting and I hope they continue doing it. I can’t even begin to tell you how many people have flicked me off or honked at me for crossing the street. It’s such bullshit. Anyway, there ya go.
What catherine said. Some “prevention” stings are bullshit, but drivers (and even non-drivers) don’t know shit about how to deal with pedestrians. We have to get places, too, fuckers. Plus, in general, I have no sympathy for any able-bodied person who whines about how haaaaaard and unfaaaaaaair it is to have a car in the city.
BTW, thanks, Zach, for responding. I bet that weenie KevMo wouldn’t have the balls to do that. :D
One other thing - the cops do these things because citizens ASK THEM TO. I’ve been to the Richmond District community meetings before and people ASK the police to do something about the crosswalks. It’s not like they just woke up one day and said, let’s go be dicks! whee! There is a demand. I’ve even told them thank you as these stings are happening. I’ve watched other neighbors do the same.
For the record, I drive because I commute to the East Bay every morning. In SF (for the most part) I walk and take public transportation.
Also, the intersection before and after this one have lights. You are not trapped. People need to be able to cross, but drivers also need to be able to have certain streets where you can drive from point A to point B quickly, especially in an area of the city where there is no freeway. With three lanes going either direction, Geary is that street. As a driver and a pedestrian, I know the frustrations of both. Which why I realize that it’s just better for everyone if I walk an extra hundred feet to cross at the light.
Catherine, you are obviously a good person for helping the elderly in your neighborhood, and I commend you for that and respect your difference of opinion. I am also sincerely thrilled how civil this debate has been. Seriously.
Sell the car!
I think the real concern here should be, “what the fuck are we gonna do bout all these roads when we get flying cars?”
so the woman was asian, and the cop was ethnic? I should visit Ethnia sometime, a lot of people seem to be from there.
Wait, so pedestrians need to walk a full block out of the way and back, which (based on 3 lanes either way I’m thinking J-Town?) can take 10 minutes so drivers don’t have to wait like, 33 seconds? The word “entitled” is WAY overused by pompous blog commenters, but dude.
And I disagree that “it’s better for everyone” for pedestrians to defer to vehicle traffic*. We need to get places in a reasonable amount of time, too. I cross Duboce every day at Duboce Park and if I waited for car traffic to clear, I’d be on the corner for 10 minutes of what should be a 30 minute walk to work. Also, if pedestrians assert their right-of-way more often, maybe drivers would get the hint (not to mention state law) and stop getting their fool selves busted in stings like this (and, y’know, squishing people).
*-Not always. I usually will wait at four-way stops for a natural break in traffic. If they play nice, I play nice. But if someone’s being a dick, I’m under no obligation to make their day any easier.
yes the issue we should focus on is the jaywalking and not a cop mocking someone b/c they are “different” looking.
The dipshit cop is not here. The guy who disagrees with crosswalks is.
Not surprised to hear some white SFPD cop was insulting an Asian lady. I heard a white SFPD cop speak some fucked up Cantonese to an elderly Asian lady once. Betcha the only time these cops encounter people of color is when they’re at work. I wonder if Asian SFPD cops think it’s funny when their white buddies make fun of other Asians?