Metro Sheriffs to Transit Advocate: "Your First Amendment Rights Are Not in Service"

What happens when a well-recognised transit advocate waiting to buy a newspaper is physically threatened by Metro sheriffs that gather daily at Pershing Square Red Line station? Libelous and unfounded accusations of terrorism as well as intimidation, unwarranted arrest and all manner of implicit threats to one's future liberties and life, followed by constant accusations of creating scandal for scandal's sake. My protests of being unlawfully detained were met with the phrase, "Tell it to the judge." The day's motif is sure to be best appreciated in the final video of this post's Twin Towers/County Jail misadventure, which satirically addresses a few of the very topics that the hired guns of Metro's Transit Security Bureau alleges in a fashion too serious to forget.

On Thursday, 06 Nov 2008, while awaiting a Pershing Square-based newsagent's return (like many other downtown denizens, I desired a copy of the in-demand but difficult to obtain copy of LAT's 05 Nov 2008 edition), I took the opportunity to document two L.A. County Sheriff's deputies doing the usual: very little. (The newsagent had departed his station to kindly search for copies of said newspaper edition for myself and a few other folk; the audio portion of the first video presented below will bear out this obvious fact.) After several minutes (whereby at least one of the two soon-to-be arresting officers clearly observed my observing them as they casually ate and drank), I was approached by an obviously agitated officer C. Ware. He demanded I show my I.D. and that I step over to his vehicle. (I imagine he wanted me alone for the sake of having no witnesses; all those elderly ladies waiting by the news agent might have proved a formidable mob.) That he refused to declare a reason for my detainment nor attempted to physically detain me is surely of note. Also of note was that his partner, officer Vo, had departed to the Pershing Square station's toilet. One might imagine that in officer Vo's absence, Ware might have had in mind the desire to harass someone who was clearly not violating the law. Perhaps a tiny mind might appear to have been in disbelief that someone could be concerned about Metro's contractors' errant policy.

In the ensuing chaos, wherein absolutely no-one was injured, maimed nor murdered by jealous husbands, the world-weary Bus Bencher, Randall BusTard, was alleged to have an outstanding warrant for his arrest. Officer Ware was already getting emotional, and officer Vo made it clear that vengeance was the root cause: "You wanna play hardball?"

The game was afoot.

Officer Ware made all manner of allegations, from my being being possibly responsible for a mercury spill at Pershing Square, to filming sheriffs at Hollywood and Western (which he later stated, while talking to a motor deputy sheriff, was at Hollywood and Highland), to my being a terrorist.

A terrorist? This repeated accusation held no water for many reasons. Here are a few:

1) The video was not confiscated. It is rather long—nearly seven minutes. There is quite a bit of dead space (and I do not mean to imply the space between the documented deputies' ears) but toward the middle is a conversation about newspapers with fellow downtown denizens even as said sheriffs look on and and subtly acknowledge my filming them (yet again), go to the toilet, eat, drink water and coffee, rest after filling in those labourious reports and generally watch me watch them. Officer Ware then gets a wild hair up his ass and makes a move that is soon to prove to be a pain for quite a few folk. Here is that video:

2) I have openly filmed these two bozos—Ware and Vo—at Pershing Square. Vo, while standing with Ware to his immediate right and six other Los Angeles County Sheriffs on hand—waved to me while I aimed the camera at him.

This happened not one week before these two schmucks took it upon themselves to arrest someone who was documenting just how pointless is Metro's contract with the Los Angeles County Sheriff, one that until a few years ago was granted to the LAPD. I have on numerous occasions not only openly filmed the Los Angeles Sheriff's deputies but have been approached by them—without being harassed, let alone arrested and intimidated.

If so dangerous a person were on hand mere days earlier, why not bum-rush the bastard, alert Homeland Security, and well, whatever?

3) "I will arrest them too." Officer Ware's repetitive rejoinder made in reference to any blogger AND photographer of Metro stations, especially those found on Metro's library site. (Vo was equally adamant about this, as he brought up for the second time the bit about someone photographing at Hollywood and Western, or Hollywood and Highland—both deputies had a problem with exactly where the "terrorist" photography occurred.) Was officer Ware serious? Or was it juvenile sarcasm? Asked to clarify that statement, Ware would not answer. But the broad, baseless and bullshit attitude of Los Angeles County deputy sheriff Ware may well be considered an attempt to unlawfully intimidate a denizen of downtown from documenting such questionable behaviour as this:

and this:

4) At the Twin Towers Correctional Facility, while filing paperwork, officer Ware clearly stated that one of the reasons they were at Pershing Square was to protect the jewelry merchants in the area. Is such a task in Metro's contract with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department? Moreover, is this a duty specifically meant to be discharged by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Transit Services Bureau? In any case, why are jaywalkers a priority?

5) If Pershing Square is—as Ware made clear several times during our nearly two hour engagement—a terrorist target, why did these two dunces abandon their post in a time of war to transport a prisoner whose bail was so ridiculously insignificant as to prompt several of the sheriffs at Twin Towers to remark as such? (I was home before prime time the same day; see the last video proving this.) It appears to be a pattern, as implied by this video footage (captured on 30 October 2008):

6) And if the desire to surreptitiously film Pershing Square for the sake of a terrorist attack, why would one not purchase and employ something such as this rather than wasting time openly filming fat-headed, overly emotional deputies for the sake of a transit advocacy blog? Oh, wait—we are dealing with cretins whose understanding of crayons and food may not yet be that one of the items is a preferable as an edible item.

7) "Tell it to the judge" was frequently stated when I answered the judgmental accusations by the two twits, Vo and Ware. Schmucks don't like it? Tell it to the judge, assholes. Better yet, try telling it to me while I am peacefully attempting to commute to my clientele via Metro's Pershing Square Station after having exiting the Montebello 40 line.

On the mention of "overly emotional," let me clearly state that Officers Ware and Vo told me I was loitering and went all but beserk in their juvenile attempts to persuade me that I was a threat to national security. They impugned my parents, told me I might be feeding information to Al Qeda, wrote me up (in typical high-school fashion) with a filed report that is to go to the FBI, implied I was involved with a mercury poisoning attempt at Pershing Square, implied that I might be an organised gangster intending to rob jewelry merchants in the very nabe in which I reside and then use the meagre Metro to escape—and too much more. No evidence was presented, but when I attempted to counter that there is a considerable amount of cop-on-cop homicide, suicide and so forth, Ware got red-faced and strangely silent. I was informed that I should observe my Fifth Amendment rights. (I could not only not help myself, but told both of them that they were stupid and should shut up.) Had I known this I might have been a little less assertive of being fucked with for no real reason. (Nah, just kidding; I made it clear while handcuffed then and will any time I damn well please when imposition reares its dumb head: "Fuck you.")

Nevertheless, both deputies constantly berated me in a fashion better suited to middle-school boys on a dirty playground. I was told I should write my congressman, that I should file my grievances with the proper authorities, that I should shut up, that I was a terrorist, and too much more. These two Keystone Kop rejects refused to listen when I told them that I wrote for a transit advocacy blog, that I would give them my business card, that what I was doing was not meant to be sent to al Qaeda (officer Ware actually insisted that this was my intention!) and that as a private citizen I had no right to question them.

Morons such as these two are allowed to carry firearms? Frightening. Long after I was repeatedly accused of being a terrorist, I was nonetheless told trade secrets about the local jewelry merchants. Seeing as Ware had already filled in a card to send to the FBI proclaiming I was a terrorist (could this be treason on behalf of Ware? I am already researching THAT avenue), this is sure to alarm the very jewelry merchants Ware pretends to protect. These two buffoons with issues (military parlance for sidearms) were full of so much shit that I would have to spend all night transcribing the hour-long conversation. There are still some gems that I am reserving for attorneys; as such I can only barely allude to such remarks.(If the County of LASD loses the intake tapes, that will not be a surprise, as one comment in particular took place while the two deputies were filling in forms.)

Once at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility, officer Ware attempted to speak in code to the young officers manning the intake desk. Officer Ware made it a point to convey to the intake deputies my deliberate filming of himself and his fellow officer. Being a third generation cop with a considerable military background as well as a newspaperman (New York and L.A.), it was easy for me to immediately comprehend that Ware meant for the intake officers to give me a hard shake—with tricks such as losing my file, giving me shit and all but leaving me to rot. Fortunately, the intake officers were professional as well as educated. (I have gone through this shit before with the feds and under far harsher conditions even as I have had to endure the direct results of terrorist attacks as well as the indirect results of the 1989 U.S.S. Iowa explosion.) Suffice to state, Ware and Vo were undone by their very colleagues owing to the great waste of taxpayer money the two arresting assholes meant for no other reason than personal vindictiveness. It took but two minutes for the booking officer to understand that my questionable bench warrant, which turned out to be a whopping $107.00, required I not even have my sharp-edged metal cuff links removed nor my shoelaces extracted.  Do detainees at Guantánamo get such superb treatment? Or is allowing domestic "terrorists" to possess sharp metal objects and expensive and hardy shoestrings (these were custom-made Allen Edmonds, after all—one of the intake deputies even commented on my boats) an amenity only the Los Angeles Sheriff Department grants?

I was out in under 11 hours, made some new friends and got some great footage. Not bad for a "terrorist," eh?

"Hardball," Ware and Vo? You two schmoes have been served:

-BusTard neé Randall Fleming

Comments

[Simon]

Wow, that's quite a story.

I despise the way police and authorities in general crack down on citizens using cameras.

For the cause of security, authorities want to install cameras on every street corner and just about anywhere they can, but if a citizen shoots video near a subway they're rousted out. Every cop car already has a camera in it for the officer's protection against wrongful charges, the same protection should belong to everyone.

Luckily for me, I'm white and preppy so when I take pictures near trains, I just get off with a warning ... for not breaking the law and observing my rights.

[loveandhatela]

wow.
You gotta be freaking kidding me man.
honestly and seriously where do these so called public servants get off on?

I bet if you had some donuts this whole thing would of not happened.
Unfortunately I got 2 officers in my extended family- one is with the sheriffs and another is a city cop, both in California but i wont say exactly where.
It really is about being on a "power trip" for control, they do it because they can and want to. period.

BAD COP= NO DONUT

thanks for sharing and keep up the fight.

[Gary Kavanagh]

WTF!!!??
Everybody I know is getting arrested under bogus charges lately.

[Jane]

Hello LA. First off, I thank the LAPD and LASD for doing what they do. If you break the slightest law, yes, these officers have every right to detain you for investigation. So, why are you pissed off if you had to be arrested for even a $107 warrant? That's your fault for not taking care of the citation that turned into a warrant you moron! How often do you travel? Dont the officers and TSA personnel at the airports dig through your luggage, baggage, personnal crap at any time. YES! This is due to post 911 you moron. So, yes, the airports and even train/subway systems are a terrorist threat. Why dont you go to the park and video tape your family enjoying the day as opposed to losing sleep all night and seeing where our tax dollars go. Go plant a tree and when it grows nice and tall . . . hug it! Get a life and allow these officers to do what they will have to do when that call comes in as oppsed to what you think they should do! -Jane

[browne]

While BusTard didn't mention this, that warrant is a warrant we are still trying to figure out. It wasn't like something he forgot about, it was something he honestly did not know existed. We think it's a paper work error from a time he was excercising his first ammendment rights at another time.

And it's not against the law to take pictures on public property.
Browne

[BusTard]

Jane,
I am a former cop from a capitol city, and lemme tell you: the reason I elected to stop protecting the rights of idiots was because I could not arrest jerks for the crime of idiocy.
You should count yourself fortunate that I chose such an alternate path lest you and your kind be imprisoned as well as legally barred from breeding.

[ubrayj02]

Dude, you did NOT tell these guys to shut up did you? They have guns and their word bets yours in court typically.

Dayum. That $106 in bail is a small price to pay for not getting the tasered and further abused.

[browne]

I get worried about BusTard, but I will tell you Ubrayj it's not illegal to tell a cop to shut up, it can go wrong, but it's not illegal.

And I think that's the issue in society. In society cops are perfectly fine when you are being subservient, but it's not suppose to be that way. You don't have to be "nice" to cops. Not being nice doesn't give them the right to arrest you.

And say you were involved in criminal behavior even at that point there are certain things they can and can not do.

Yes I understand on the reality level what are best ideas in regards to dealing with cops in real life, because they don't do what they are supposed to do, but in ideal life, within the law even if you're a dick it's not right for them to attempt to be judge and jury. They are job is to enforce the law that is it, they aren't allowed to have ego trips.

I of course would never test this theory out, becaue I would probably still be in jail.
Browne

[BusTard]

Thanks, Ubrayj02. The last time I was pummeled by police (hit twice with rubber batons aka rubber bullets) in 2000 at the DNC2K. (Got a few grand out of that, which I did not expect and nearly five years after the fact while still in Brooklyn.) Physical violence—unless it results in my death—will only serve to feed my desire for justice.
In any case, I simply cannot accept two mentally questionable morons—armed or not—deciding they are going to abuse the colour of their authority, and then insult me from a self-righteous position.

[PhotoWalk]

First off lets start with Jane (editor's edit, I think you meant Jane.) You are a massive AssClown! I love it when dipshits like you trot out 9/11. Like one tragic event voids the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

First let’s start with something really basic. With almost no exception, a person can photograph or video record anything in a public space. I cannot speak to California, but only 21 states have a stop and identify law on the books. In other states the police must have “reasonable” suspicion that you have or are committing a criminal act. As we know from above photographing or video taping is NOT a crime. So what “reasonable” suspicion did the officer have? None, but that never stops the police. Police feel compelled to hassle anyone with a camera these days.

What is hilarious about the paranoia surrounding photo reconnaissance by terrorist is that it has never been shown to be in their “play book”. According to the 9/11 commission, none of the terrorists did any photo reconnaissance. Likewise, for the Madrid bombers, and London bombers. In fact even the IRA during their 20 plus year bombing campaign almost never employed photographic reconnaissance. So despite what you see in the movies, it’s not a something terrorists do in “real life”.

But hey, lets just for laughs, assume that they did. Would the trampling of our constitution and bill of rights be worthwhile to mitigate the potential terrorist threat? I don’t think so! Just take a good look at the odds. Here is what the CDC says (lifetime odds):

1 in 88,000 of a terrorist attack
1 in 1,500,00 of a terrorist-caused shopping mall disaster assuming one such incident a week and you shop two hours a week.
1 in 55,000,000 in a terrorist-caused plane disaster assuming one such incident a month and you fly once a month.

By comparison:

1 in 55,928 of death by lightening
1 in 20,605 in your clothes igniting
1 in 10,455 of dying in your bathtub
1 in 10,010 by falling from a ladder or scaffolding
1 in 9,396 due to excessive heat
1 in 8,389 due to excessive cold
1 in 7,972 in a drowning accident
1 in 6,842 in a railway accident.

Tell you what: I would not willing to give up my liberty or freedom to avoid getting struck by lighting, I am sure as hell not willing to give it on the 9/11 (terrorist card). Sadly, there seem to be a lot of hand ringing, fear obsessed, freedom hating, assclowns like you that are willing to turn their backs on the values that make this country great in exchange for the “illusion” of safety

--edited by the editor