[kmkkid]

Ok, now that i've recovered from my weekly binge I can rant. I got arrested and fined the other night for being 'intoxicated in a public place'. This is what happened : I left the bar WITH a friend which was helping me walk to another friends where I was going to stay the night. Me and my friend turn the corner, I slip on the ice, and down I go. Next thing I know 3 cops are approcahing me and then I get cuffs slapped on me. To me this is complete BS. I wasnt being rowdy, I was in good company and I was headed home(friends). WHY THE HELL SHOULD I GET FINED?!?! I was doing the resposible thing, I was going home with a friend, yet there are hoodlums out there robbing people/stores, and they go uncaptured cause of these ****wit cops wasting their time with me, and right before X-Mas, well happy ****ing holidays to all the pigs out there, you sure helped me!

Well at least I wasn't charged, I would have spent christmas in jail till court resumed.

[tooki]

Because going after real criminals takes time, whereas catching easy prey like the ostensibly-drunk is, well, easy, so the cops can meet their arrest quotas and whatnot.

tooki

[kmkkid]

Thats what my parents said, they probably needed to meet a quota.

[ghporter]

First off you WERE intoxicated in a public place. Second, you fell down-can you honestly say that someone who wasn't drunk would have fallen on the same piece of ice?-which made you look completely poluted. Third, in finding you on the ground, the police did what they were supposed to do: take care of a citizen. In your case that meant figuring out you were pretty soused and getting you indoors. This could have kept you from slipping on more ice in front of a car and getting run over... Since you weren't charged, they did you a favor. Keep that in mind.

And the street cops who arrested you (for a very minor offense that winds up being equivalent to a traffic ticket) are NOT the people who are responding to robberies, investigating assaults and so on. THEY WERE DOING THEIR JOB. It was your mutual bad luck that you fell down while drunk in the area covered by police officers who HAD TO WORK ON CHRISTMAS EVE. Think about it from their point of view: in hauling you in they had to do a LOT more work than if they'd just brushed you off and sent you on their way, but there's this thing about duty and honoring an oath and such...

You now have a "colorful" story to tell about being arrested on Christmas Eve, you have a tiny smudge on a (hopefully) otherwise spotless criminal record, and you're otherwise none the worse for wear.

I have to disagree with tooki about this being a quota thing-see my paragraph above about who does what. Street cops like those I've seen (in both the U.S. and Canada) are more interested in what's refered to as "public order." They usually don't have anything to do with quotas or similar "expectations," but they are instead responsible for making sure that there aren't any big fights, that sloppy drunks don't cross in front of busses, and so on. It's a very unpleasant job.

[kmkkid]

Originally Posted by ghporter

First off you WERE intoxicated in a public place. Second, you fell down-can you honestly say that someone who wasn't drunk would have fallen on the same piece of ice?-which made you look completely poluted. Third, in finding you on the ground, the police did what they were supposed to do: take care of a citizen. In your case that meant figuring out you were pretty soused and getting you indoors. This could have kept you from slipping on more ice in front of a car and getting run over... Since you weren't charged, they did you a favor. Keep that in mind.

And the street cops who arrested you (for a very minor offense that winds up being equivalent to a traffic ticket) are NOT the people who are responding to robberies, investigating assaults and so on. THEY WERE DOING THEIR JOB. It was your mutual bad luck that you fell down while drunk in the area covered by police officers who HAD TO WORK ON CHRISTMAS EVE. Think about it from their point of view: in hauling you in they had to do a LOT more work than if they'd just brushed you off and sent you on their way, but there's this thing about duty and honoring an oath and such...

You now have a "colorful" story to tell about being arrested on Christmas Eve, you have a tiny smudge on a (hopefully) otherwise spotless criminal record, and you're otherwise none the worse for wear.

I have to disagree with tooki about this being a quota thing-see my paragraph above about who does what. Street cops like those I've seen (in both the U.S. and Canada) are more interested in what's refered to as "public order." They usually don't have anything to do with quotas or similar "expectations," but they are instead responsible for making sure that there aren't any big fights, that sloppy drunks don't cross in front of busses, and so on. It's a very unpleasant job.

Christmas Eve Eve I agree I was drunk, but I had a friend helping me to a safe place. And yes, anyone could have slipped on the ice in that spot, maybe not landed in the bushes, but they certainly could have slipped.

As for the fine, I guess it is the equivelent to a parking ticket, so it doesnt even go on record as long as I pay the fine within the 15 days alloted to me. I just needed to bitch, cause the cops were pretty rude and cocky with me. Not to mention they accused me of being on drugs then proceeded to search me up and down looking for said drugs.

[Maflynn]

Um if you were drunk and falling down outside, sounds like they were already watching you if they just pounced upon you. Breaking the law is breaking the law.

Perhaps next time you'll act a little more responsibly and not get falling down drunk.

[kmkkid]

Originally Posted by Maflynn

Um if you were drunk and falling down outside, sounds like they were already watching you if they just pounced upon you. Breaking the law is breaking the law.

Perhaps next time you'll act a little more responsibly and not get falling down drunk.

They were actually at the bar across the street on a disturbance call. I just happened to slip where they could see me. I wasn't staggering, nor was I falling down drunk. If I ever get to the point where I'm falling down drunk, I usually don't get very far (this happened after a good 20 minutes of walking, so obviously I wasnt THAT drunk if I could walk that far without incident )

[Rolling Bones]

They push the "drinking no driving" thing so much and then bust people for walking home drunk from the bar. I've seen it happen.

Go figure?

Next time drive and if you get busted tell them you were too drunk to walk.

[kmkkid]

Originally Posted by Rolling Bones

They push the "drinking no driving" thing so much and then bust people for walking home drunk from the bar. I've seen it happen.

Go figure?

Next time drive and if you get busted tell them you were too drunk to walk.

That'll work I don't drive anyways

Most cops are lazy bastards who don't care about the "law" any more than you or me. They enforce the laws that are a) easy to enforce b) fun to enforce c) make it look like they are doing their job.

Public intoxication laws exist to prevent people who are totally smashed from being a threat to the public or themselves (i.e. hurting other people, jumping off a bridge, etc). These laws were not made so cops could arrest people who chose to be responsible and walk home with some friends rather than drive.

[James L]

Originally Posted by Nick

Most cops are lazy bastards who don't care about the "law" any more than you or me. They enforce the laws that are a) easy to enforce b) fun to enforce c) make it look like they are doing their job.

Your ignorance is staggering.

[James L]

Originally Posted by kmkkid

Ok, now that i've recovered from my weekly binge I can rant. I got arrested and fined the other night for being 'intoxicated in a public place'. This is what happened : I left the bar WITH a friend which was helping me walk to another friends where I was going to stay the night. Me and my friend turn the corner, I slip on the ice, and down I go. Next thing I know 3 cops are approcahing me and then I get cuffs slapped on me. To me this is complete BS. I wasnt being rowdy, I was in good company and I was headed home(friends). WHY THE HELL SHOULD I GET FINED?!?! I was doing the resposible thing, I was going home with a friend, yet there are hoodlums out there robbing people/stores, and they go uncaptured cause of these ****wit cops wasting their time with me, and right before X-Mas, well happy ****ing holidays to all the pigs out there, you sure helped me!

Well at least I wasn't charged, I would have spent christmas in jail till court resumed.

Well, now we have one side of the story.

[James L]

Originally Posted by tooki

Because going after real criminals takes time, whereas catching easy prey like the ostensibly-drunk is, well, easy, so the cops can meet their arrest quotas and whatnot.

tooki

Arrest quotas?

Umm....no.

[James L]

Originally Posted by ghporter

First off you WERE intoxicated in a public place. Second, you fell down-can you honestly say that someone who wasn't drunk would have fallen on the same piece of ice?-which made you look completely poluted. Third, in finding you on the ground, the police did what they were supposed to do: take care of a citizen. In your case that meant figuring out you were pretty soused and getting you indoors. This could have kept you from slipping on more ice in front of a car and getting run over... Since you weren't charged, they did you a favor. Keep that in mind.

And the street cops who arrested you (for a very minor offense that winds up being equivalent to a traffic ticket) are NOT the people who are responding to robberies, investigating assaults and so on. THEY WERE DOING THEIR JOB. It was your mutual bad luck that you fell down while drunk in the area covered by police officers who HAD TO WORK ON CHRISTMAS EVE. Think about it from their point of view: in hauling you in they had to do a LOT more work than if they'd just brushed you off and sent you on their way, but there's this thing about duty and honoring an oath and such...

You now have a "colorful" story to tell about being arrested on Christmas Eve, you have a tiny smudge on a (hopefully) otherwise spotless criminal record, and you're otherwise none the worse for wear.

I have to disagree with tooki about this being a quota thing-see my paragraph above about who does what. Street cops like those I've seen (in both the U.S. and Canada) are more interested in what's refered to as "public order." They usually don't have anything to do with quotas or similar "expectations," but they are instead responsible for making sure that there aren't any big fights, that sloppy drunks don't cross in front of busses, and so on. It's a very unpleasant job.

Hey, the voice of reason!

[kmkkid]

Originally Posted by James L

Well, now we have one side of the story.

And my friend who was sober has the other side, which oddly enough matches my story. Honestly I admit I was drunk (not THAT drunk though), but I dont think I was the bad guy here. I was being responsible, at least I thought I was.

Originally Posted by James L

Your ignorance is staggering.

Nah. Every person I have met who is training to become a cop or has become one is/was neither law abiding nor a do-gooder prior to making that career choice.

[sek929]

Saying that the cop did this "for his own good" is garbage.

What a waste of taxpayer money, there is plenty of real crime out there, but it takes more effort so I guess that explains it all.

[sek929]

Originally Posted by kmkkid

And my friend who was sober has the other side, which oddly enough matches my story. Honestly I admit I was drunk (not THAT drunk though), but I dont think I was the bad guy here. I was being responsible, at least I thought I was.

You did exaclty what you should have.

You had a friend with you, you weren't driving, and you weren't being rowdy and/or destroying property.

Other than just not drinking you couldn't have been more responsible. I bet the cop just wasn't gettin any and he needed to take out his frustration on an easy target.

[kmkkid]

Originally Posted by sek929

You did exaclty what you should have.

You had a friend with you, you weren't driving, and you weren't being rowdy and/or destroying property.

Other than just not drinking you couldn't have been more responsible. I bet the cop just wasn't gettin any and he needed to take out his frustration on an easy target.

Thats what I figure. Hey sure they could have gave me a ride home for my own good, but whats the charge for when I wasnt even being obnoxious. I was perfectly compliant till they brought me home, then a few words may have been exchanged after they took the cuffs off

[James L]

Originally Posted by sek929

Saying that the cop did this "for his own good" is garbage.

What a waste of taxpayer money, there is plenty of real crime out there, but it takes more effort so I guess that explains it all.

LOL... the "real crime" argument is so completely lame it does not require a reply. To think that an officer was detaining a drunk because it is easier to do than to run out and catch a home invader, serial rapist, drunk driver, etc is pathetic. Police officers are assigned duties, based on divisional assignment, area of deployment, etc. Some officers are homicide investigators, others are on general duties. For those on general duties, dealing with intoxication in public IS one of their responsibilities. If you don't like it, lobby for legal change.

Having said that....

A police officer's role in society is not simply to enforce violations of the criminal code, the motor vehicle act, etc.

I work with cops on a daily (and nightly) basis. I speak from over a decade of street experience with them. A common call that I do with the cops is the intoxicated person in public.

While slightly different in nature from the original poster's situation....

Last night, for example, we were called to assist the police with a call for an intoxicated male who had fallen down while walking past some people at a bus stop. They phoned 911 on their cell phones. After a medical assessment, we cleared the male from requiring transport to medical aid. The male, who was extremely intoxicated, had a car nearby that the officer did not want him getting into. He did have keys to his home, but no way of getting there besides stumbling through traffic, and in this particular case no one at home who could watch him. He wanted to walk, or get a ride, home, and sleep it off.

There is no way the officers can leave this man. He cannot be left to stagger through the streets. He cannot be given a ride home, only to be alone and choke to death on his own vomit. This man was taken to cells to sleep it off. Had he been more aggressive, rude, etc he probably would have ended up with a fine or more.

Like it or not, this type of situation occurs daily, and it is for the safety of this man, for the safety of those around him, so someone doesn't hit him as he stumbles into traffic, etc.

A waste of taxpayer's money would have been to allow this man to continue on drunk down the street, only to kill someone, get killed by someone, get rolled and assaulted, or hit by a car, and either have the situation result in a lengthy trial or a long term medical bill.

Remember, when you read the original poster's story, you WERE NOT THERE. You have no idea what occurred, short of one side of the story. Maybe the OP met an overzealous cop. Maybe he was more aggressive than his story implies. Maybe he deserved to be locked up for the night. Maybe he doesn't remember the situation completely due to the alcohol. Or, maybe he has a great lawsuit now against the city.

I wasn't there, so I can't say. I am not stupid enough to condemn the cops over the situation though without having a lot more info than just the story above.

sek929, here is a direct question to you. What is YOUR current occupation, and what experience do YOU have working on the streets in the emergency services?

[James L]

Originally Posted by kmkkid

And my friend who was sober has the other side, which oddly enough matches my story. Honestly I admit I was drunk (not THAT drunk though), but I dont think I was the bad guy here. I was being responsible, at least I thought I was.

Hey, I am not condemning you at all. There is usually two sides to every story, and the armchair quarterbacks that jump to their conclusions over one side of a story just always crack me up.

I hope the hangover wasn't bad, and that you had a great Christmas!

[kmkkid]

Well, unfortunatly one of my downfalls is that I remember everything I do when drunk/high whatever. So I know exactly what happened. I left out a few facts such as them hitting my head off the car, slamming the door in my face 3 times (another friend was there at this point and can verify these things happened) and searching me for supposed drug possession etc..

Only reason I'm not going to press charges is because this is a small town and I may have to deal with the same idiots again. Better to just let it go I suppose. Plus 2 of them refused to give me their badge numbers, so I only got the one on the ticket.

And yes, the hangover was bad.I always get bad hangovers

Originally Posted by James L

LOL... the "real crime" argument is so completely lame it does not require a reply. To think that an officer was detaining a drunk because it is easier to do than to run out and catch a home invader, serial rapist, drunk driver, etc is pathetic. Police officers are assigned duties, based on divisional assignment, area of deployment, etc. Some officers are homicide investigators, others are on general duties. For those on general duties, dealing with intoxication in public IS one of their responsibilities.

No, the point is there are too many cops assigned to useless tasks such as making people's lives miserable because some minivan-driving-neighborhood-watch-geeks lobby the government for this kind of crap.

Originally Posted by James L

A police officer's role in society is not simply to enforce violations of the criminal code, the motor vehicle act, etc.

It should be. And they shouldn't go looking for trouble, they should come when they are called -- like any other emergency service.

The rest of your story has nothing to do with the kmkkid's. The person in your story was alone. It made sense to take them somewhere else. (Though they could just as easily choke to death on their own vomit or get beat up in a cell.)

In the case of kmkkid, he was with a friend. A friend can look after a drunk much better than a security guard and some cellmates.

[freudling]

I agree with the last Canadian's comments. I haven't read them all, but I advocate less force and intervention on behalf of the cops. Why should someone be handcuffed in that situation? The ambulance, not the cops, should have handled it. A refresh of the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms will remind us that in such a case, his rights may have been violated.

[kmkkid]

I should also mention that my health card has a nice square chunk out of it now(which invalidates it), the cops are the only ones who handled my card. Perhaps I should go after them.

[Gamoe]

James L, the correct way to deal with a non-aggressive intoxicated person is not by using force, threats and violence (as police officers are trained to do, much to the detriment of society often).

It seems to me that police officers are not trained nor equipped to treat people humanely when they are in need. Why not drive the fellow home, or, if he really couldn't take care of himself for the night, why not give the fellow a regular room/bed instead of locking him up in a cell or take him somewhere (like a shelter, hospital, etc.) where he could rest under supervision?

Instead, everybody is treated like a criminal, regardless of the supposed "crime".

And kmkkid, if your story is accurate and honest, you did nothing wrong. Why do people go to bars? I often wonder how happy many police officers would be if they were treated the same way they treat others. Glad it didn't turn out worse, though.

[teknopimp]

Originally Posted by Nick

Most cops are lazy bastards who don't care about the "law" any more than you or me. They enforce the laws that are a) easy to enforce b) fun to enforce c) make it look like they are doing their job.

tru dat.

[Athens]

Originally Posted by kmkkid

Ok, now that i've recovered from my weekly binge I can rant. I got arrested and fined the other night for being 'intoxicated in a public place'. This is what happened : I left the bar WITH a friend which was helping me walk to another friends where I was going to stay the night. Me and my friend turn the corner, I slip on the ice, and down I go. Next thing I know 3 cops are approcahing me and then I get cuffs slapped on me. To me this is complete BS. I wasnt being rowdy, I was in good company and I was headed home(friends). WHY THE HELL SHOULD I GET FINED?!?! I was doing the resposible thing, I was going home with a friend, yet there are hoodlums out there robbing people/stores, and they go uncaptured cause of these ****wit cops wasting their time with me, and right before X-Mas, well happy ****ing holidays to all the pigs out there, you sure helped me!

Well at least I wasn't charged, I would have spent christmas in jail till court resumed.

They are not wasting there time on you, I work downtown Van and every Friday and Saturday night I see the results of people to drunk. Next time dont drink so much while at a public place.

[Athens]

Originally Posted by tooki

Because going after real criminals takes time, whereas catching easy prey like the ostensibly-drunk is, well, easy, so the cops can meet their arrest quotas and whatnot.

tooki

Don't know how it works there but in BC, cops don't get any money from tickets they write out, and there is a lot of paper work with every arrest making it more of a pain to go after easy targets then real ones. I see about 40 picked up to be put in the drunk tank every weekend, I myself have been put in the drunk tank, there is no charge and usually no fine. Vancouver city has a bi-law fine (like a traffic ticket) because the problem was getting so bad, the burbs dont.

[kmkkid]

Originally Posted by Athens

They are not wasting there time on you, I work downtown Van and every Friday and Saturday night I see the results of people to drunk. Next time dont drink so much while at a public place.

Er, ok then.

Please explain how I get home from a bar with no money, and still avoid all public places. I did the right thing. I had a friend escorting me and I was headed to a safe place.

[Athens]

Originally Posted by freudling

I agree with the last Canadian's comments. I haven't read them all, but I advocate less force and intervention on behalf of the cops. Why should someone be handcuffed in that situation? The ambulance, not the cops, should have handled it. A refresh of the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms will remind us that in such a case, his rights may have been violated.

Because the cops dont want to get hurt or the person to get hurt. Most drunk people become violent. I've seen medics, cops and fireman assaulted by drunks who hurt themselves and needed help, more then a few times.

[tooki]

Originally Posted by James L

Arrest quotas?

Umm....no.

There was a big scandal about that here in Baltimore not too long ago, because the police dept had essentially introduced arrest quotas that had to be met. It was bad.

tooki

[Athens]

Originally Posted by kmkkid

Er, ok then.

Please explain how I get home from a bar with no money, and still avoid all public places. I did the right thing. I had a friend escorting me and I was headed to a safe place.

you just explained you mistake, you didn't think ahead to bring enough money for a taxi. Dont matter where you are heading, it was the location you where at which was a public street while drunk. Besides how drunk where you and was your friend also drinking? If your friend was also drinking, maybe not as drunk as you that was probably the reason they didn't leave you in his custody. And when they stopped you, did you swear at them or anything that would tick them off?

[kmkkid]

My friend was sober, and it was a female. I wasn't all that drunk either, just drunk enough for them to smell it on me. And as I said earlier I only got mouthy after I was released from their custody .

What really pisses me off is that I've done this for the last 5 years without incident, it just happens that I slipped, and they thought it was because I was drunk.

[Athens]

I don't believe you. And if thats the case fight the ticket out of principle. Chances are the arresting cop wont even show up for it if they could only smell it on you.

[kmkkid]

Originally Posted by Athens

I don't believe you. And if thats the case fight the ticket out of principle. Chances are the arresting cop wont even show up for it if they could only smell it on you.

LOL as if I care what a bitter queen thinks. What purpose would I have lying on an internet forum? I only told my story to vent, not get sympathy.

[Athens]

I dont think you knew how drunk you where, most people that are drunk don't.

[kmkkid]

Perhaps I dont know, but my friend says I wasn't that bad. Keep in mind she was sober. I wasnt bad enough to fall over on my own in any case.

[The Windozer]

You guys have funny laws.

Originally Posted by Athens

did you swear at them or anything that would tick them off?

Because we all know that should be the deciding factor...

[Face Ache]

Originally Posted by kmkkid

I left the bar WITH a friend which was helping me walk to another friends where I was going to stay the night.

Helping you walk?

Left... right... left... right... left... left... thunk.

[kmkkid]

Originally Posted by Face Ache

Helping you walk?

Left... right... left... right... left... left... thunk.

not literally of course. This town isn't the safest place for anyone to be walking alone in anymore

[Face Ache]

So you had a lady friend escort you?

How did she get home after you were arrestinated?

[sek929]

Originally Posted by James L

snip

Yes your scenario proves your point but kmkkid was not endagring his own life, he slipped and fell, sh*t I do that every other day.

[Athens]

Originally Posted by kmkkid

not literally of course. This town isn't the safest place for anyone to be walking alone in anymore

hehe sounds like Regina or Winnipeg

[Athens]

Originally Posted by Nick

Because we all know that should be the deciding factor...

show a cop respect, you usually wont have any problems, be a total jerk to a cop you bet your going to have issues.

[kmkkid]

Originally Posted by Face Ache

So you had a lady friend escort you?

How did she get home after you were arrestinated?

Hey, she's more manly than I am And she just went into the bar 2 doors down, where some other friends were.

[Tyre MacAdmin]

Because the real crimes are way too complex for typical "take it for granted" cops. Hey look a coffee shop... what's the odds hahahahaha

My advice run... fast.

[Cubeoid]

quota?... That sounds stupid... in esence, if there is no crime.. they must create it?!?!?