NYPD Now Searching Individuals' Coolers at the Beach
Government police at work. The Gothamist reports:
According to one Rockaway resident, police have escalated their enforcement of open container laws on the beach by searching individuals' coolers. The unnamed local tells the Post, "We’ve had cops drive past us on the beach and ask to see what’s in our coolers. It sucks! They’re targeting families who are just trying to enjoy themselves at the beach — people who might drink one or two beers in a red cup."
Rockaway Beach bum here. The NYPD has been doing this for the past several years. They roll up and down the beach in their NYPD issued golf carts scanning beachgoers for contraband. It's a revenue generation scheme and you can be sure if the cops are to have the luxury of beach patrol they will certainly have a ticket quota.
ReplyDeleteAs an aside, not only does NYPD patrol Rockaway Beach, but also armed Parks Department officers. They are there to enforce the "no swimming when no lifeguards are present" rule. You cannot so much as get your feet wet without one of those goons blowing their whistles.
When martial law is declared, will anyone notice?
If it's in a cooler, how the hell is it an open container?
ReplyDeleteThey don't give two shits about what the statute says(aside from the fact that drinking on the beach isn't a crime regardless of what any statute says), they are just collecting revenue and exercising their control fantasies under the guise of "keeping everyone safe".
DeleteIt would be tough to pass a law that says "You aren't allowed to have fun on the beach." or "You must endure harassment by the police so they feel they have a purpose in life while allowing them to exorcise some personal demons." (well, maybe it wouldn't be tough for them to pass such laws...I might be wrong there)
When I was younger, and dumber, I took a few traffic tickets to court....presented solid evidence in one case to the degree the judge told me the law doesn't matter and I needed a ticket anyway(I was only 20 yrs old for that one, and didn't know I could request a jury trial at the time)...lol
Thing is, the judge was right...the court system is pretty much a joke/charade for the most part. I don't know if it's always been that way, but I know it has been for a good 20+ years in at least CA, OH, & SC.(all places I've fought tickets)
If I was an attorney, or spent the money to hire one I probably could have gotten off...but the system operates like a crony environment in that regard...the people that don't pony up for the extortion money to the courts or by hiring an attorney get stepped on regardless of the law for the most part.