Descrição
This police cruiser pulled up and blocked half of the intersection at Chapel and High. Then the two cops went to starbucks to get their coffee.
I wish I could get away with parking like that.
Declarante
This police cruiser pulled up and blocked half of the intersection at Chapel and High. Then the two cops went to starbucks to get their coffee.
I wish I could get away with parking like that.
57 Comentários
Who can we trust? (Visitante)
I agree. Parking violations by police officers have gotten worse over the last couple of months. I've personally seen two cruisers run red lights with no lights or sirens, as well. Pulling U turns has also become the norm for the police.
The worst part is that if that cruiser in the photo was hit, who would pay for the damage? And would the officers get in trouble or would they find a way to pin it on the other driver?
The most ironic part of this is that the New Haven Police recently had a big public issue with the Parking Authority that was all over the Register. Some police officers apparently felt that they did not have to follow the law.
Volvo (Visitante)
Fairhaven Dave (Visitante)
Volvo (Visitante)
Volvo (Visitante)
Andrew - SeeClickFix Team (Utilizador Registado)
Hello all,
Thanks very much for using SeeClickFix. I would just like to remind everyone to do their best to keep the conversation positive and constructive. Disrespectful comments degrade the value of this service and are a disservice to the dedicated fixers who are working hard to improve our community.
Thanks for your cooperation! Have a look at the SeeClickFix Terms of Use if you'd like some more information.
volvo (Visitante)
Buhbi (Visitante)
Jim (Visitante)
RA (Visitante)
Anonymous (Visitante)
detour01 (Utilizador Registado)
Anonymous (Visitante)
E (Utilizador Registado)
detour01 (Utilizador Registado)
RA (Visitante)
E (Visitante)
"Whatev" - There are always several spaces available now - ya know school is out, right? Knock knock knock. I never have a hard time finding a place to park on that street after school is out. Also, there is always a big area in front of Yale that is a no parking zone anyway. So YES, there were "several parking spaces open" on both sides of the streets.
Regardless WHAT they were talking about, it shouldnt have held up traffic. It obviously wasn't important enough to require sirens, lights or a rush-off to a call. And for the record, I was directly behind them, it was obviously a light-hearted conversation because they where quite relaxed and laughing.
Common sense here!
Anonymous (Visitante)
Agreed: common sense needed here. There was no urgency, and it is both unprofessional and discourteous to park like this, in addition to illegal.
This is not a personal matter of giving a tired cop a break, it's a professional matter of providing the service and respectability that we city residents are paying for.
I have heard that they don't get proper breaks but that is a separate issue to be taken up with their administrators. Giving them exemptions from the law does not fix either problem.
Reopened Anonymous (Visitante)
E (Utilizador Registado)
Cops Big Sister - the cop car blocked the INTERSECTION - not a car parked. Reread before you post. If you look at the picture, its a one lane one way traffic next to Starbucks across the street from British Art Center....the cop is parked BLOCKING the driving traffic AT the intersection...... therefore the car had to drive around the back end of the cop car, going AGAINST traffic at the cross street to go AROUND the cop car.... COMMON SENSE HERE LADY!
And Im NOT a "Yalie" - in fact, we moved here from another state in 2007.... but that has NOTHING to do with the fact that this all started on an ILLEGAL and DANGEROUS situation.
If a cop wants a few minutes to themselves...FINE! No problem! Just do it legally and where it isnt causing other problems. COMMON SENSE!
Jim (Visitante)
Cops big sister.
Firstly, I am not, and never have been a Yalie.
Secondly, we were waiting at the red light, NOT parked, when the cop pulled up and blocked half the intersection in front of us. I'm pretty sure waiting at a red light is still legal in this city.
Thirdly, I don't understand why the city should give cops bluetooth. My employer didn't give me bluetooth, I bought it myself. If they want to talk on their phones and drive, they should use it, and if they don't want to buy it, then they shouldn't use their phones. The law is very clear, and cops are not above the law.
Don't worry though, I won't expect anything to change while cops and their relatives seem unable to understand why cops should obey the law.
Reopened CT Livable Streets Campaign (Utilizador Registado)
I think it is worth keeping this issue open, as blocking the intersection like this eliminates sight lines, reduces the visibility of pedestrians, may cause hardship to disabled individuals and can be very dangerous.
Let's propose some resolutions. Has the new police chief acknowledged that this is an issue? Would anyone like to meet with him to discuss it?
In the long term, curb extensions would eliminate this kind of dangerous parking behavior, and also provide more space to pedestrians. There's no reason why High Street has to be more than 10 feet wide at the point where it intersects with Chapel - vehicles can pass through, and pedestrians would be more comfortable only having to cross 10 feet of road (ideally as a raised surface, as is done throughout many other cities).
CT Livable Streets Campaign (Utilizador Registado)
detour01 (Utilizador Registado)
Re Jim
No, no, no. If a person doesn't have the driving ability to navigate around the back of that car they shouldn't have a license. I know that intersection quite well and the creative parking jobs people do for a Starbucks run. Myself included. I've never had the rear of my car out in the intersection, but I'm not a cop either. Whether you(s) like it or not cops have a little leway especially in terms of parking their vehicles. If they need to leave quickly they can. I certainly wouldn't call what she did dangerous.
Anonymous (Visitante)
Anonymous (Visitante)
RA (Visitante)
detour01
I had no problem with driving around the police car to avoid smacking into the back of it. I, of course understand that accident would have been my fault even though a police cruiser had blocked an intersection.
Police officers used to be someone you looked up too, someone a child might inspire to be like. Now, they come across as the worst lawbreakers around because they are lazy, careless and feel a sense of entitlement.
Why in the world couldn't that police woman find a true parking spot like you (well not detour 01 because they too, think they are above the law) and me, when we want to run into Starbucks?
Anonymous (Visitante)
Yale Law (Visitante)
Police have special road rights when responding to calls, not otherwise. The police work for the taxpayer, and if need be we must hold them accountable to the law. They enjoy special privileges to respond to calls for our protection; they do not have carte blanche to violate traffic rules at their discretion. Some people seem to be unclear on this.
Remember the kids who were killed in Milford last year when a cop thought it would be cool to drive 90mph on a city street? Did he get a free pass? No.
E (Utilizador Registado)
To the poster above "Yale Law"
Ok, now I think you are getting a bit extreme and overboard here. They should be able to have the right to go out and get a few moments to themselves since they are on call during their shift hours. They dont get "scheduled" breaks like an office person. Lets not be militant about this. They are people too. The point we were making is that they should be held to the same law that the rest of us are held to. Certainly if this was a response to a call and not just to get some coffee, we wouldnt put a stink about it. But when you are not acting in an emergency situation, then they need to abide by all laws.
E (Utilizador Registado)
Detour01 - its people like you who get "creative" about their parking jobs that makes driving on the streets frustrating. If you followed the law like the rest of us, it would surely make driving safer and less stressful.
When you don't follow the law - this is what it says about you:
1) Disrespectful
2) Thinks they are above the law
3) Selfcentered
4) Believes they are more important than everyone else
So next time, be creative and find a legal parking spot like the rest of us - even if its for a "quick starbucks run".
Yale Law (Visitante)
@ E:
"The point we were making is that they should be held to the same law that the rest of us are held to. "
Exactly what I said. See above.
E (Utilizador Registado)
Reopened CT Livable Streets Campaign (Utilizador Registado)
NHresident (Visitante)
detour01 (Utilizador Registado)
E (Utilizador Registado)
I think you need your eyes checked BB! The car is CLEARLY in the center of the road. That road is only allowed parking on the right side of the road. And youre right, the spot at the front is often used when its not legally allowed. However, if you note the curb to the left of the photo at the wiperblade and the pole - you can clearly tell there is only a small amount of space between the vehicle and the left side of the street - meaning the car is in the middle waiting at the light. Otherwise, it would mean that the photographer is parked in the middle of the street or near the left side, and thus theoretically, reflecting back to your scenario, you would then see the cop in the picture somewhere - because I doubt a cop would allow the driver to stop and take a picture in the cops presence nor would they walk off after telling you to move...they would wait until you have done so - again meaning the cop would have to be in the picture which again they wouldnt allow.
In other words, youre wrong.
detour01 (Utilizador Registado)
E (Visitante)
Get a life (Visitante)
E (Utilizador Registado)
Reopened Brett (Utilizador Registado)
detour01 (Utilizador Registado)
fringelement (Visitante)
S Hunter (Utilizador Registado)
BillyBob (Visitante)
Anonymous (Visitante)
juli (Utilizador Registado)
how about the police and traffic and parking get together and pick maybe 5 parking spots around the city where police would need quick access to throughout their shifts?
paint & a signpost saying "police parking only". some like these exist, but they are just in front of the court house on church street.
that way, they don't have to do haphazard parking jobs whenever they are in a rush, which often limits visibility of drivers at intersections and limits pedestrian access to sidewalks.
NHresident (Visitante)
Reopened juli (Utilizador Registado)
Frequent Reader (Visitante)
CT Livable Streets Campaign (Utilizador Registado)
To the above: I agree that citizens should be respectful and grateful to police officers, but I disagree that posts like these make everyone think officers are not following the law.
First of all, this behavior is clearly an exception, not the rule - if it were the latter, it wouldn't be an item worth posting.
Second, posting issues like this can help save lives. Blocking intersections and sightlines is extremely dangerous.
I hope this helps you understand that people here are just trying to save lives. Since they share the same goal as our police department, let's work together to keep this from happening again.
As intersection safety and visibility is improved through measures like curb extensions, we may need to consider additional loading zones or police parking zones, as Juli suggests.
Thank you again for your work on behalf of the city and please join us in raising these types of issues to your supervisors and elected officials.
rodney king (Visitante)
Reopened CT Livable Streets Campaign (Utilizador Registado)
David Streever (Utilizador Registado)
Very odd the level of controversy on this.
the routine violation of basic laws by some members of the NHPD serves as a discredit to those individuals. We are talking about people who have a job which is to enforce laws. How can they expect respect and credit if they fail to follow the same laws, which they expect the rest of us to follow?
It perplexes me that some officers can routinely break minor laws and think it's OK. Meanwhile, we have other officers ticketing every 16 year old on a bike on a sidewalk.
In East Rock, one of the NHPD officers routinely parks illegally by P&M in the evening, despite there being a multitude of legal parking spots. Is it so hard to park legally? This officer always parks on Cottage street where there is no legal parking, and then backs onto Orange street (illegally) from the one-way.
David Streever (Utilizador Registado)
Frequent Reader:
I routinely thank officers when I interact with them on an issue! I understand your concern, and sympathize with you, and even agree that MOST officers do not break the law.
However, those that do are persistent, constant, and very public about their violations. Neighborhood groups do complain: directly to the chief, supervisors, Lts, and District Managers. I have yet to see a single instance of discipline being reported back to these community groups.
We have a right to request that the NHPD operate legally and safely on our streets.
Fechado jim (Visitante)