ARLINGTON, VA – A couple of hours ago I walked to the nearby CVS to get a couple of things. On the way there I spotted a car parked in a no parking zone. Not a big deal, right? Well, what if that car happened to have been parked there by someone who swore an oath to uphold the law? Someone who is supposed to embody the character trait of integrity?
Such actions are unsurprising since the provision of law enforcement is a “good or service” that relies on a monopoly and therefore has no real incentive to be accountable. To clarify: the Arlington County Police Department does not have to provide a quality good or service to attract customers because they, like all government agencies, are sheltered from competition. They lack the signals inherent in a truly free market. And they rely on force to fill their coffers – whether through tax money, asset forfeiture or corruption.
For more on this, check out Anarchy and the Law edited by Ed Stringham, the “The Public Sector III: Police, Law and the Court” by Murray Rothbard in For a New Liberty, Bruce Benson’s The Enterprise of Law and the overview of Public Choice Theory.
Back to this particular interaction – Much like public speaking or a job interview, after I have encounters with known gang members I reflect and try to determine how I could have done better. In this situation I should have gotten badge numbers and names from all individuals. I should not have allowed them to brush me off allowing them to move the vehicle only when they were ready. Other suggestions?
Great job Pete, don’t sweat lack of response or action from them. You can’t expect them to do what’s right. May I suggest finding the chief’s email address and just sending him a link to this. That should be available on their website.
Otherwise stellar job. It’s encouraging to see these vids, of people standing up for what’s right, that hopefully will get those officers to think twice. While encouraging others to use the camera to hold those with badges accountable.
Aziza and I were in the DMV today for hours during which time an officer came in to take care of some personal business unrelated to his job, yet he was in uniform on the clock and wanted to skip the line. He got a bit of a break but I think that was because he was the only person in there with a gun.
[...] friend Pete Eyre confronts another Northern Virginia cop who parked right in front of a no parking [...]
That took serious guts! Good work.
what seaneal said tenfoldtimes!
The most telling part of this video is the demeanor of the officers — that subtle snickering and eye-rolling that shows exactly how seriously they take stuff like this. Obviously a parking offense is relatively minor, and not nearly equivalent to the routine abuses of civilian liberty we see from police all over the country. But the flippant response to someone pointing out their infraction is still pretty insulting.
Of course, the work you and so many others are doing — recording police interactions, asking relevant questions, maintaining your rights during the subsequent conversations — is the only way to turn the tide here. Please keep up the good work.
Confronting them might not have been the best approach.
Maybe next time call the non-emergency police number to report a illegally parked car obstructing traffic and causing a danger to pedestrians, and asking if they could send someone to ticket the car?
“Other suggestions?”
Yeah, a bullet-proof vest and body armor. You are pushing your luck, son.
I am an anarchist, and I have to tell you, what you’re doing is dangerous and futile. The system cannot be overturned by direct confrontation. All that can happen is you getting hurt. No one wants to see that happen.
As morally valid as anarchism is, it is completely impotent against the power of the State. Don’t be a martyr, there’s better ways to live.
/sorry for butting in
THE SOURCE OF NEW JOBS!
New jobs begin with pebble droppers, not gang members. People making waves and wakes, the entrepreneurs start business ventures. The “soil” must nurture them, not discourage them. Pebble droppers must be saved and admired for the service they provide. Instead, they are envied by the few, taxed and punished by government whose only purpose is to protect all people against injustice. SAVE PEBBLE DROPPERS & PROSPERITY defines a pebble dropper and the environment that is best to encourage their success. Today’s politicians are dismantling the American ideal of a prosperous, free nation. The 2008 election did seek “change,” but made community interests superior to individual interests. What has happened to the voices who believe in the importance of the individual? That is why America differs from the rest of the world. If “change” is inevitable, will we lose that which sets us apart from the Old World. Claysamerica.com
argled is clever, but it is an aside to what Peter said he was attempting accomplish: ‘Letting the officers know’ that they too should abide by the law for the purpose of being the change they want to see. Otherwise known as ‘setting a good example’. Of course Peter is performing with this objective in mind and shows viewers that the officers themselves do not seek, or are not motivated to set a good example. It’s possible they lack critical thinking skills and have never thought that this should be an inherent principle to be practiced. Maybe both are applicable in this case.
I think the officer’s should have written a ticket. If police don’t want to pay, abide by the law. Maybe the act of writing up fellow officers, and obeying the rules that the public is expected to follow will encourage the tax-eaters to think more critically about their own job.
Might wanna file a ticket, (handwritten), with the court. Describe situation factually, license plate, location, exact time, just like they do against us. (In this case add officers standing around chatting, non-emergency, not active on a call – although, to make their stats look better, they likely haven’t told dispatch that yet). Courts can slap these thugs around, rarely if never do, but who knows. Its happened in Portland, OR where a citizen filed ticket against officer and judge ruled against the officer in the case. Key is to catch them in a lie, get a smaller camera, don’t mention the camera until officer has written out his defense of the complaint. Also, DON’T hold ANYTHING (including camera) in your hands, (they will use that as the reason when they blow your brains all over the sidewalk – officer safety and all that). Also be prepared for retaliatory citations as well. Good idea to stop driving because that is main excuse they use to tax, harass, and kill those who don’t tow the line.
In The Peoples Republic of Massachusetts, it’s been ruled that video of police officers taken without their knowledge cannot be used as evidence against them. Theoretically, it works both ways although I am skeptical.
It would also be good to get the license plate or car number of the police car on camera as a way of proving who was doing it. There has to be a record of which officer had that car with the police somewhere.
Mebbe you shoulda just kilt their dog?
Dang!!! I meant ‘dawg’.
If you really want to see illegally parked cop cars, head over to Arlington courthouse midday.
I worked there and fondly remember one specific illegally parked cop car that was actually blocking the crosswalk on a daily basis while he was buying his coffeee.
TONS of illegally parked cop cars AND meter maids handing out tickets as fast as they can, but not to the cop cars of course.
Ever see American Grafitti? While these guys were chewing the fat, slip under the left side of the car and chain it to the street light. Oh well, one can dream:)
Wow, how can you stand living in the People’s Republic of Arlington, where the Tejada’s, the Zimmerman’s, the Fissette’s, the Hynes’ and the Favola’s give you no choice other than to live by the Arlington Way, aka communal facism.
I must say though, that the police in Arlington are not nearly as bad as their brethren elsewhere in Northern VA. Wait and see. Take barricade situations for example.
Someone who flips out is as good as dead if he is in Alexandria, but the cops in Arlington will wait him out.
Cheers from a fellow resident (because of the three things that count — location, location and location).
That is badass, Pete. I see cops do the same kind of thing all the time here in Los Angeles, and I take camphone pics of it. Next time, I might look for the cop who parked the vehicle, and ask him on camera to please ticket that vehicle for illegally parking. I bet his reaction would be YouTube worthy.
I am surprised they didn’t try to arrest you.
[...] the goal is rather simple; to hold officers accountable by using pictures and videos. Cop Block will then post this on its blog, push it out using FB and Twitter, and hopefully with [...]
[...] in January Pete Eyre, who blogs at Liberty is My Homie, posted this video of his encounter with Law Enforcement in Arlington, VA. This is exactly the content that Cop Block [...]