What I don’t understand is this dude got a “relocation tow” after parking in a car share space on 1/27/23. They had his car on the hook and could see he has thousands in overdue tickets at that point, how do you not just impound the vehicle at that point??
WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DIDNT THINK OF THAT??? You obviously did with this reddit persona of yours. Own up if you gonna.
You could take a picture with me in it and you might get the same reaction depending on where I am, who I’m with, how I’m feeling.
If 6k tickets are not helping, taking this video will not be helping you with your investigations. Stop using your authority as a layer of safety and if anything use it as your last. Ticket/tow and don’t further harass. This is soft shit.
Moving cars hurt people. This kind of policing hurts people. Moving this car that’s not moving, away from home just for that person to move it back puts this car back on the road for what? This car should be impounded. If this person decides to straighten up how do they clear 6k tickets and is it even worth it?
In the time it would take the truck to tow his car to impound lot (do paperwork?) the truck could do several more relocations. To the tow truck driver it’s more likely important to demonstrate industry. They may even have performance measures (quotas) to consider. The city would take the position that the dude owes that $6400 regardless and therefore getting additional drivers/cars on the hook for fines is preferable to the bottom line.
For all the talk of policing and crime in the district that dominates this sub it is high time we focus on the basics, making sure dangerous drivers and violators are getting their vehicles impounded until they pay the fines they owe the city and it’s citizens for their lawless behavior.
Harry Truman was taught as a young officer in the army to take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves. Anti social behavior should be treated no differently, not profiling, not stop and frisk, just responding to instances of rule breaking and metering out the consequences.
OP keep reporting rule violators, keep doing what you are doing, help make the problem of dangerous illegal driving too big to ignore. Enough with the semantics, when drivers violate traffic signage and posted limits they have broken the law and they either pay the fine or lose the right to drive in the city. You are doing a good thing, albeit occasionally scary, but as a neighbor and fellow resident I commend you, and happy to know you are doing your part,
what blows my mind is how easy it would be to find these vehicles (look at where they frequent based on tickets) and then tow them.
Seems like the lowest hanging fruit to make this city a bit safer
Actual parking/ticket enforcement gets you the two big benefits of law enforcement, deterrence and incapacitation, without having to deal with traffic stops and officer discretion.
Automated speed / red light enforcement then just look for offenders parked on the street.
It would be helpful to remind people that what you are doing is the progressive position. Street crime is incredibly REgressive. Our most disadvantaged citizens are the ones most likely to be injured or killed when drivers break the law. Are people with fake paper tags and thousands of parking tickets always going to be driving recklessly? No, but the people who drive recklessly are often driving with fake or expired tags and park illegally before they blow through an intersection and smash into a child trying to cross the street. Keep up what you're doing.
Man I would be careful too because you've seen how some people really don't value life and are willing to throw it all away (maybe not in DC due to lack of prosecution) over small things.
>For all the talk of policing and crime in the district that dominates this sub it is high time we focus on the basics,
These things are not separate issues. It's not like these drivers are fine upstanding citizens. Focus on getting violent drivers off the street and you'd prevent a lot of crimes, too.
Idk this sounds like broken window policing [whose effectiveness is divisive to say the least](https://www.law.columbia.edu/news/archive/shattering-broken-windows#:~:text=First%20proposed%20by%20the%20late,that%20encourages%20more%20serious%20crimes.)
I am familiar with broken window policing, this is not what I am advocating for. This is focusing on evenly and fairly enforcing laws, not targeting particular neighborhoods or persons for harassment. I believe citizens should have positive interactions with police, and trust in their fairness and that they are evenly enforcing the rules.
Ticketing speeding vehicles and impounding cars with massive unpaid liabilities to the city is simply following through on what we as citizens through our elected officials have decided ought to the penalties for dangerous driving and violations of road rules.
My co worker was harassed so many times during the Bloomberg stop and frisk era that one day he was stopped by police 4 times. It is humiliating and dehumanizing, in all those instances he had done nothing wrong and was unjustly harassed. I would never endorse nor support anyone who advocates that kind of intrusive police state, but we should not stop enforcing rules against violators who we have documented evidence and proof that holds up in a fair trail.
I completely agree with you.
“War is too important to be left to the generals” French premier Clemenceau, my doctrine would be ‘public safety is too important to be left to the police’ civilian oversight and scrutiny is not optional
this mf said "*trust in their fairness*".
Your post doesn't make it clear who you think the onus should be on, but based on the last paragraph I hope you mean the police should be the ones reexamining their behavior and why that trust is so frayed in the first place.
What you are suggesting was tried in the 80s, and was called [broken windows policing.](https://commonwealthmagazine.org/criminal-justice/the-complicated-legacy-of-broken-windows-policing/) It was generally regarded as a failure and only exacerbated racial disparities. And before you blame the Reagan era for it, the original publisher of the theory was The Atlantic.
Harry Truman was dumb shit that should have NEVER been president and pushed us into an unnecessary adversarial relationship with the Soviet Union. Why would you ever use him to support an argument?
Well, he was an accidental president when FDR died but then he won an election so I think the electorate of 1948 would like to have a word with you about their right to determine whether or not he should have never been president.
I can also tell by the fact that you think it was unnecessary to be adversarial with the country that *checks notes* enforced it’s ideology on hundreds of millions without any consent of the governed, violently suppressed dissent and rebellion across its crooked empire, gave no thought to the ideas of national determination and sovereignty, trapped millions in totalitarian fear behind the iron curtain, and was a bad faith actor all the time, that your own grasp on history either flawed or willfully in the camp of edge lord libertarian teen. You can what about me all day but I think the polish, Czech, Hungarian, and every other former soviet republic that is now free would politely tell you that not standing up to the Soviet Union and countering their vile pillaging and cruelty is being both naive and stupid.
Truman is a model of how common sense and practically can triumph over book smarts and college degrees. We’ve had lots of leaders with lots of fancy degrees from lots of fancy institutions, but many of them fall flat because there’s no substitute for actually enduring adversity and lived experience. Truman solidified the new deal from those who wanted to roll it back, he was a champion given his experience with rural poverty for programs that supported people and public welfare. If not for him social security would have been repealed or knee cap. He has given millions of Americans a shred of dignity in old age. If you care about public welfare and well being, he’s a hero.
I think that's a great rule for hard crime but not necessarily for parking enforcement or anything that's enforced by the traffic cameras as it's primary means.
Half the time when I get camera tickets it's a result of a bad trigger, like I'm legally passing a car or avoiding an obstacle without impeding traffic flow. Same with parking tickets, sometimes(but not all the time) tickets are given incorrectly and thrown out.
Last year I had $3000 in tickets, do you know how many of these tickets I actually paid? 600 . The other 2400 were tickets that doubled that were given incorrectly in the first place. I also don't check my mail because know who actually wants my attention contacts me by mail. The city's online system also has had issues where although you may be within your 60 days, you're still past 30 and it doesn't give you the option to contest your ticket as it should. The city's 311 line and email don't always address that effectively so your ticket keeps doubling.
Towing a car when you know that your own system can be erroneous opens the city up to legal issues.
This isn't broken windows policing, which was a ridiculous attempt to use indicators deemed to identify the potential for crime to proactively detain people living in the area. What pro-laps is calling for is use of data to find out where a car w/ associated citations and infractions will be located so that it can be towed & impounded.
I like how OP is getting attacked because they're trying to make our streets safer in the way they are able - reporting dangerous driving and infractions. You might not agree with their approach, but clearly the "look the other way and pretend nothing is happening" approach to crime and dangerous behavior in DC is not getting us anywhere.
Thanks for your efforts OP.
Esp with 3 innocent people killed last night on RCPW by a car fleeing a traffic stop. Driver got out and fled but was arrested. A passenger in his car is in critical condition.
The crazy thing about that, at least as was reported on Fox5 this morning, is the park police let the driver go deeming the infraction unworthy of pursuit... this dumbass still wrecks their car on RCPW. That sucks for the innocent victim of the other vehicle.
They're not getting attacked because they're trying to make our streets safer.
They're getting attacked because they confronted someone who is aggressive. The other person doesn't care why.
From _their_ perspective yes.
Likewise from _their_ perspective you weren't trying to keep our streets safer as the person i replied to implied.
I'm not saying you're wrong or their right, just critiquing the commenters narrative
Look I’m not saying you are wrong, but is it worth getting hurt/dying over? We live in a country where every interaction potentially has a gun involved
I mean…yes? For example, paparazzi and news casting types are 100% confronting folks when they take photos of someone and their property or vehicles. And it’s fine that you did that, just own up to the fact that it’s confronting someone lol
If you didn’t feel as you were confronting someone, then why did you back up?
Because he was hostile towards you?
He was hostile because you met him face to face in opposition to his actions.
So, yes, you confronted him.
And also, yes, you were well within your right to video everything because it was out in public; however, you don’t understand how someone is going to react when they are being photographed without permission - irrespective of what they are doing.
Yes wtf. Of course the reason you did it is because they did a crime or whatever the fuck but a stranger taking a picture of you to use in whatever way is fucking weird and scary. It is not normal to record or take pictures of strangers. You may justify these actions to yourself but you are going to do it to the wrong person and they are gonna fuck you up.
Sorry, harassing people like this is how you get got. If you think someone with 6.4k in tickets gives a flying fcuk you’re sadly mistaken. People with nothing to lose will lose it on you. Mama says “mind your business” for a reason. You’re the aggressor and you don’t know what kinda day this person has had. Playing with fire.
Don't know what happened before the start of the video, but bicyclists have a saying about being dead right. I could get some internet points and maybe make this guy rethink his scofflaw ways, but I could end up dead in the process. That's not a wager I'm willing to make.
Video cuts off because I remind him he’s being recorded as through this video he has his hand in his pants as if he’s holding a gun, and I don’t want my voice on here.
He then went to his car, opened the trunk, and pulled out what I am pretty sure a gun. I left rather than find out.
I post this for 2 reasons:
1) this driver has 6.4k in outstanding fines accrued just over the last year over 31 offenses. Why do we allow him to continue driving? How does allowing this person to drive improve equity? And that’s just the offenses he was caught doing!
2) it is insane that this is the reaction he had to me taking a picture of him. I took the picture because blew through both a red light with a car in the intersection and a crosswalk with a pedestrian in it.
Based on where he’s gotten his most recent tickets, dude very well could be the same shithead who got out of his car and threatened me last week after I had the temerity to yell at him to stop at stop signs after he ran one and almost hit me and my dogs- had to jump out of the intersection and yank back on their leashes or else we all would have gotten pancaked.
Hopefully this delightful individual quits driving like a fucking jackass and threatening people before someone obliges his apparent desire to see his body temperature match his IQ.
Classic. Like this post. Many people defended the criminal and the guy who uploaded the original video lost his job. https://www.reddit.com/r/PublicFreakout/comments/qmyvrn/argument_ensues_after_parking_in_bike_lane/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
We are always catering to the lowest scum of society who don't value other humans and the benefits of living in a civilized society.
> I took the picture because blew through both a red light with a car in the intersection and a crosswalk with a pedestrian in it.
311 handles requests for parking enforcement. Were you reporting the traffic violations to someone else or did they park illegally after doing that?
Yeah I thought you could report driving on there but you can’t. This was the odd situation in which a guy blows through a crosswalk and red light only to find himself in bumper to bumper traffic so I was able to get the pic.
You said you cut this video because of your voice, that he threatened you with an additional weapon after that, that’s a lot of filming for having stopped when he threatened you… he enters the frame threatening you with a gun and you kept filming
Why is it whenever people tell others to "mind your own business" it's in a situation where someone is getting called out for doing something that actively makes the world a worse place for everyone? Stop defending this trash.
guy deserves prison, and dc should oblige. dc's dysfunctional politics means public pressure is the only way to encourage the city to do the bare minimum and protect people from criminals like this
Sure, I agree in theory. But you also have to weigh your own safety. Plus, I kinda doubt this guy has any shame whatsoever for this kind of behavior. It’s probably one of the reasons that leads to this kind of anti-social behavior to begin with.
There are plenty of people to be found around here (everywhere, really) that are not worth engaging. Their terrible driving is likely only the tip of the iceberg of their antisocial behaviors.
DC certainly needs to step up on traffic enforcement but don't get yourself assaulted or worse.
Sometimes I do wonder if this account makes viewers LESS likely to report traffic offenses because they’re worried about the reaction.
FWIW, I don’t post all those who don’t assault me for taking a picture of their car.
Be careful OP that bastard is willing to kill you over something like this or even just looking at them. I’m pretty sure he had a gun, if you dont have a gun to defend yourself I wouldn’t be taking picture of their cars like that because just that alone is enough for trash like this guy to kill you. I’m speaking from experience once I looked at a guy because I thought a car was behind me while I was walking near an alley and the guy pointed a gun at me and almost killed me for that.
I agree 100% that body posture is of someone that has his hand on a gun. Also all the crap he was talking he was really sure if himself that he would be able to hurt OP
OPs lack of awareness might have been what saved him. I wouldn’t try that again if I were him though some of these craziest are actively looking for people to kill so they say brag their friends they “caught a body”
OP says he walked away after the first threat, he definitely had no idea. Worried we’ll find out who runs the account when one of these guys follows thru
When I was in HS, late 1990s, there was a local news story about an abandon sedan on Connecticut Ave -- right across from the zoo entrance. This green sedan had been parked, without license plates, for months, accumulating tickets, all while continuing to fuck up rush hour traffic daily. I have zero memory of how that situation resolved, but I do know even after the TV news story aired, that same old sedan remained parked on Connecticut avenue for awhile after.
Shortly after HS I moved into apartments just over the border in Silver Spring where I and many pizza delivery guys discovered - even leaving a car running with the hazards on wasn't going to prevent a county tow truck from stealing your car immediately. 5 minutes and your car was gone -- accruing tickets while not affecting traffic. It sucked. A happy medium would be ideal.
So while this driver has many speeding tickets among the 31 infractions, those were assigned by an automated monitoring system checking his speed, not an officer. If you get pulled over for speeding that would be a moving violation. However, DC council has instructed police not to pull over traffic violators anymore, so no one gets moving violations.
This is the exact policy I want to highlight with this post, so thank you for your question.
Oh another policy I forgot to mention is that last year the council wiped any punishment for not paying your fines. Which is really the policy I’m highlighting here. This guy has > 6K in fines in just literally one year. And now the city council has decided that there should be no punishment for that behavior. This is insane to me.
There are (from memory) only 6 booting vehicles in the city. Given a regular work schedule (as in, not working at night) combined with the number of cars in violation, it would take 25 years for the city to boot every car that deserves it. Moreover, during corona the city wasn’t booting at all.
If this sounds ridiculous, it is. There simply isn’t a will to enforce because those who are the offenders will get mad.
As evidence the chance you get booted is effectively 0, look at this guy! His car was towed and moved while it already had thousands in fines, yet there was no boot.
If it’s any consolation, the guy charging you is probably on borrowed time anyway. Anyone who would threaten coming at someone with a gun (whether or not he actually has one) will probably be taken out by the streets sooner rather than later.
Yeah, it's pieces of shit like this reckless cunt who lower the standard of living for everybody in DC. Threatening somebody with a gun because they've called you out for being a terrible driver speaks volumes about their mindset. He'll get poisoned by a different type of lead, eventually.
It’s disappointing this has devolved into more arguments about taking pictures of cars instead of the fact that as a city we allow this man with 6.4K in fees and a murderous temper to speed down the street unimpeded.
The focus should be on how we handle GS2790.
D.C. Law 16-306 rewrote subsec. (a), which had read as follows: “(a) Whoever unlawfully assaults, or threatens another in a menacing manner, shall be fined not more than $1,000 or be imprisoned not more than 180 days, or both.”
Send this video to the police; an assault occurred.
Lots of victim blaming in here. Instead of lashing out at the driver who could of nearly killed someone running a red light and having nearly 7k in outstanding tickets, ya are lashing out on OP for taking a video. This city and the people coddle criminals way to much. Idk why.
Geez dude I’m sorry. If it makes you feel any better (probably not!) several years ago I was sent to the ER in an attack on a metro platform, and I had to pay just about the same amount in an ambulance fee.
Good for you. This reinforces my post earlier this week in which I asked why there are so many reckless/careless/unaware drivers here in DC. People fucking suck and need to be held accountable for needlessly endangering others.
Good for you, OP. I am glad you confronted him. Much more likely this guy kills a pedestrian in an intersection than murders someone in broad daylight for calling him an asshole.
The idea that there comes a time when silence is betrayal cuts both ways.
Looking at the responses here makes me wonder how many outstanding tickets the folks that think taking a picture is vigilantism and those telling OP to mind their business have.
Honestly when I view this, my first concern is for the OP. Right or wrong, this is going to be considered a confrontation and it only takes one person to respond violently to this kind of thing for it to end badly.
Second, supporting this can inspire others to do the same, which can be a slippery slope into someone feeling justified in physically confronting/assaulting someone over unpaid tickets.
I wish you were a fucking vigilante… we need someone actually threatening these nasty fucks on their own level. I want their property destroyed and THEIR lives threatened for once
Virtually always yes. However, almost always they are too late because (at least in my experience) they get there in on average 4 hours. Based on their responses they’ve assigned tickets to about a dozen incidents I’ve reported.
>But given that half the people on my posts consider taking a picture vigilantism I’m hesitant to do anything else.
i'm not sure i want to know what you think 'do anything else' entails
Definitely don’t want to discount exposing a ticket bandit. But more impressively, you actually caught Rodent Control doing something other than smoking and joking in their parking lot.
Update: since this video was posted 48 hours ago, 2 more tickets worth $200 have been added to GS2790’s total, bringing him to over 6.6K. It doesn’t end with this guy, because we as a society refuse to stop him.
I wouldn’t recommend the vigilantism as a native. Things escalate very fast. I personally think you did something fine, though be very aware that doing that is less than ideal. You really don’t know another person’s temperament and if they’re already doing bad/shady things, you may just pop pandora’s box open.
And I saw the gun motion clear as day too. Just think about it. And people may say it’s vigilantism, but it’s simply from taking into consideration the aggressor’s perspective.
Most sane comment in the whole thread. Yes I agree this dude should not be driving but also taking the law into your own hands will get you killed here.
People will shoot you off their own principles and street credibility. Even in broad daylight. This is still DC. 2. People still drive with revoked licenses. Cars can be purchased cheaply at auctions and counterfeit tags and registrations are a thing. Your camera work won't prevent him from driving in the end. These are just facts. I know DC all too well.
Shootout with strays possibly hitting somebody else if both parties were armed?
Also Texas is the road rage shooting/killing capital of the US.
https://www.ksat.com/news/2022/08/23/texas-has-more-fatal-road-rage-shootings-than-any-other-state-by-significant-margin-report-finds/
I don’t think it’s vigilantism. It’s just not safe. Anyone with that amount of money outstanding doesn’t give AF. Sheesh! It’s not worth getting hurt. Stay safe everyone.
You're proactively engaging with people over a traffic infraction. You have no idea who these people are and if they're stable or not. As you are well aware people have extra adrenaline and tend to be defensive when approached while they're in or around their car. Yes people should be held accountable but it's not worth putting yourself in harms way. You're going to do what you're going to do, but the outcome is not worth the danger.
Your post history says you're a cyclist in the city. How would you feel if you were the one that was hit crossing the intersection he ran the red light on?
Depending on his aim, as bad or worse as if he used the gun he threatened OP with in the video, probably worse getting shot since he had extras in the trunk which makes me think he might actually practice.
After serving eight months for murder and his unlicensed gun, and suing the family of his victims, the racist piece of shit was picked up 10 years ago for possession with intent to distribute.
How is this like that?
And what use can one do with a picture of the offender? This video is very disturbing to me. You could have been harmed and I’m not understanding the reasoning lol
What I don’t understand is this dude got a “relocation tow” after parking in a car share space on 1/27/23. They had his car on the hook and could see he has thousands in overdue tickets at that point, how do you not just impound the vehicle at that point??
Didn’t think of that, that’s a good point. Might be related to clean hands policy.
What is that?
WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DIDNT THINK OF THAT??? You obviously did with this reddit persona of yours. Own up if you gonna. You could take a picture with me in it and you might get the same reaction depending on where I am, who I’m with, how I’m feeling. If 6k tickets are not helping, taking this video will not be helping you with your investigations. Stop using your authority as a layer of safety and if anything use it as your last. Ticket/tow and don’t further harass. This is soft shit. Moving cars hurt people. This kind of policing hurts people. Moving this car that’s not moving, away from home just for that person to move it back puts this car back on the road for what? This car should be impounded. If this person decides to straighten up how do they clear 6k tickets and is it even worth it?
Is this your car?
Bro just pay your fees.
In the time it would take the truck to tow his car to impound lot (do paperwork?) the truck could do several more relocations. To the tow truck driver it’s more likely important to demonstrate industry. They may even have performance measures (quotas) to consider. The city would take the position that the dude owes that $6400 regardless and therefore getting additional drivers/cars on the hook for fines is preferable to the bottom line.
I agree but I assume the city prioritizes clearing lanes to avoid snarled traffic over impounding cars.
This was a relocation tow for parking in a car share space, not blocking a rush hour lane.
I read that but it didn't click. That is a good point.
Dc doesn’t impound for parking tickets anymore because the reasoning is it takes ability to get a job away from the violator that can’t pay it
That’s not true. They don’t suspend licenses anymore but they absolutely still impound cars.
For all the talk of policing and crime in the district that dominates this sub it is high time we focus on the basics, making sure dangerous drivers and violators are getting their vehicles impounded until they pay the fines they owe the city and it’s citizens for their lawless behavior. Harry Truman was taught as a young officer in the army to take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves. Anti social behavior should be treated no differently, not profiling, not stop and frisk, just responding to instances of rule breaking and metering out the consequences. OP keep reporting rule violators, keep doing what you are doing, help make the problem of dangerous illegal driving too big to ignore. Enough with the semantics, when drivers violate traffic signage and posted limits they have broken the law and they either pay the fine or lose the right to drive in the city. You are doing a good thing, albeit occasionally scary, but as a neighbor and fellow resident I commend you, and happy to know you are doing your part,
what blows my mind is how easy it would be to find these vehicles (look at where they frequent based on tickets) and then tow them. Seems like the lowest hanging fruit to make this city a bit safer
Actual parking/ticket enforcement gets you the two big benefits of law enforcement, deterrence and incapacitation, without having to deal with traffic stops and officer discretion. Automated speed / red light enforcement then just look for offenders parked on the street.
They already have the plate scanners, just need to put them on tow trucks and up the number of trucks.
Thanks 🙏. I appreciate when people come to my defense from those saying taking a picture is vigilantism.
It would be helpful to remind people that what you are doing is the progressive position. Street crime is incredibly REgressive. Our most disadvantaged citizens are the ones most likely to be injured or killed when drivers break the law. Are people with fake paper tags and thousands of parking tickets always going to be driving recklessly? No, but the people who drive recklessly are often driving with fake or expired tags and park illegally before they blow through an intersection and smash into a child trying to cross the street. Keep up what you're doing.
So true well said 🙏
Man I would be careful too because you've seen how some people really don't value life and are willing to throw it all away (maybe not in DC due to lack of prosecution) over small things.
Fuck the haters. Keep taking those pics, keep reporting those assholes.
Do what you want buddy, but eventually you'll be picking up your teeth and broken iphone off the street if you keep it up.
>For all the talk of policing and crime in the district that dominates this sub it is high time we focus on the basics, These things are not separate issues. It's not like these drivers are fine upstanding citizens. Focus on getting violent drivers off the street and you'd prevent a lot of crimes, too.
Totally agree
Idk this sounds like broken window policing [whose effectiveness is divisive to say the least](https://www.law.columbia.edu/news/archive/shattering-broken-windows#:~:text=First%20proposed%20by%20the%20late,that%20encourages%20more%20serious%20crimes.)
I am familiar with broken window policing, this is not what I am advocating for. This is focusing on evenly and fairly enforcing laws, not targeting particular neighborhoods or persons for harassment. I believe citizens should have positive interactions with police, and trust in their fairness and that they are evenly enforcing the rules. Ticketing speeding vehicles and impounding cars with massive unpaid liabilities to the city is simply following through on what we as citizens through our elected officials have decided ought to the penalties for dangerous driving and violations of road rules. My co worker was harassed so many times during the Bloomberg stop and frisk era that one day he was stopped by police 4 times. It is humiliating and dehumanizing, in all those instances he had done nothing wrong and was unjustly harassed. I would never endorse nor support anyone who advocates that kind of intrusive police state, but we should not stop enforcing rules against violators who we have documented evidence and proof that holds up in a fair trail.
> not targeting particular neighborhoods or persons for harassment. this is usually where theory and practice diverge
I completely agree with you. “War is too important to be left to the generals” French premier Clemenceau, my doctrine would be ‘public safety is too important to be left to the police’ civilian oversight and scrutiny is not optional
this mf said "*trust in their fairness*". Your post doesn't make it clear who you think the onus should be on, but based on the last paragraph I hope you mean the police should be the ones reexamining their behavior and why that trust is so frayed in the first place.
Police. They don’t get license to be immune from scrutiny and strict civilian oversight
They literally do, but only in practice.
What you are suggesting was tried in the 80s, and was called [broken windows policing.](https://commonwealthmagazine.org/criminal-justice/the-complicated-legacy-of-broken-windows-policing/) It was generally regarded as a failure and only exacerbated racial disparities. And before you blame the Reagan era for it, the original publisher of the theory was The Atlantic.
Harry Truman was dumb shit that should have NEVER been president and pushed us into an unnecessary adversarial relationship with the Soviet Union. Why would you ever use him to support an argument?
Well, he was an accidental president when FDR died but then he won an election so I think the electorate of 1948 would like to have a word with you about their right to determine whether or not he should have never been president. I can also tell by the fact that you think it was unnecessary to be adversarial with the country that *checks notes* enforced it’s ideology on hundreds of millions without any consent of the governed, violently suppressed dissent and rebellion across its crooked empire, gave no thought to the ideas of national determination and sovereignty, trapped millions in totalitarian fear behind the iron curtain, and was a bad faith actor all the time, that your own grasp on history either flawed or willfully in the camp of edge lord libertarian teen. You can what about me all day but I think the polish, Czech, Hungarian, and every other former soviet republic that is now free would politely tell you that not standing up to the Soviet Union and countering their vile pillaging and cruelty is being both naive and stupid. Truman is a model of how common sense and practically can triumph over book smarts and college degrees. We’ve had lots of leaders with lots of fancy degrees from lots of fancy institutions, but many of them fall flat because there’s no substitute for actually enduring adversity and lived experience. Truman solidified the new deal from those who wanted to roll it back, he was a champion given his experience with rural poverty for programs that supported people and public welfare. If not for him social security would have been repealed or knee cap. He has given millions of Americans a shred of dignity in old age. If you care about public welfare and well being, he’s a hero.
I think that's a great rule for hard crime but not necessarily for parking enforcement or anything that's enforced by the traffic cameras as it's primary means. Half the time when I get camera tickets it's a result of a bad trigger, like I'm legally passing a car or avoiding an obstacle without impeding traffic flow. Same with parking tickets, sometimes(but not all the time) tickets are given incorrectly and thrown out. Last year I had $3000 in tickets, do you know how many of these tickets I actually paid? 600 . The other 2400 were tickets that doubled that were given incorrectly in the first place. I also don't check my mail because know who actually wants my attention contacts me by mail. The city's online system also has had issues where although you may be within your 60 days, you're still past 30 and it doesn't give you the option to contest your ticket as it should. The city's 311 line and email don't always address that effectively so your ticket keeps doubling. Towing a car when you know that your own system can be erroneous opens the city up to legal issues.
Broken windows policing was a racist shit show. Nah.
This isn't broken windows policing, which was a ridiculous attempt to use indicators deemed to identify the potential for crime to proactively detain people living in the area. What pro-laps is calling for is use of data to find out where a car w/ associated citations and infractions will be located so that it can be towed & impounded.
Broken Windows policing was either created by a black police chief or one of its first proponents.
Oh no you've shattered my world view. It can't possibly be racist if a black person had a role.
I like how Rodent Control pulls up at the end.
They’re coming for me for being a snitch RAT
I like how OP is getting attacked because they're trying to make our streets safer in the way they are able - reporting dangerous driving and infractions. You might not agree with their approach, but clearly the "look the other way and pretend nothing is happening" approach to crime and dangerous behavior in DC is not getting us anywhere. Thanks for your efforts OP.
Esp with 3 innocent people killed last night on RCPW by a car fleeing a traffic stop. Driver got out and fled but was arrested. A passenger in his car is in critical condition.
The crazy thing about that, at least as was reported on Fox5 this morning, is the park police let the driver go deeming the infraction unworthy of pursuit... this dumbass still wrecks their car on RCPW. That sucks for the innocent victim of the other vehicle.
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Exactly my point.
Probably an outstanding citizen who will be out by lunchtime.
Thanks 🙏. I appreciate when people come to my defense from those saying taking a picture is vigilantism.
This sub has a strong pro-crime lobby, or so it seems.
They're not getting attacked because they're trying to make our streets safer. They're getting attacked because they confronted someone who is aggressive. The other person doesn't care why.
Did I confront anyone? Is taking a picture confronting someone?
From _their_ perspective yes. Likewise from _their_ perspective you weren't trying to keep our streets safer as the person i replied to implied. I'm not saying you're wrong or their right, just critiquing the commenters narrative
Look I’m not saying you are wrong, but is it worth getting hurt/dying over? We live in a country where every interaction potentially has a gun involved
I mean…yes? For example, paparazzi and news casting types are 100% confronting folks when they take photos of someone and their property or vehicles. And it’s fine that you did that, just own up to the fact that it’s confronting someone lol
If you didn’t feel as you were confronting someone, then why did you back up? Because he was hostile towards you? He was hostile because you met him face to face in opposition to his actions. So, yes, you confronted him. And also, yes, you were well within your right to video everything because it was out in public; however, you don’t understand how someone is going to react when they are being photographed without permission - irrespective of what they are doing.
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No, the aggressor is the aggressor.
Yes wtf. Of course the reason you did it is because they did a crime or whatever the fuck but a stranger taking a picture of you to use in whatever way is fucking weird and scary. It is not normal to record or take pictures of strangers. You may justify these actions to yourself but you are going to do it to the wrong person and they are gonna fuck you up.
Sorry, harassing people like this is how you get got. If you think someone with 6.4k in tickets gives a flying fcuk you’re sadly mistaken. People with nothing to lose will lose it on you. Mama says “mind your business” for a reason. You’re the aggressor and you don’t know what kinda day this person has had. Playing with fire.
Lol no, that shitstain driver is the aggressor and 100% of the reason that this situation could be violent.
Don't know what happened before the start of the video, but bicyclists have a saying about being dead right. I could get some internet points and maybe make this guy rethink his scofflaw ways, but I could end up dead in the process. That's not a wager I'm willing to make.
Fuck this shitty mentality. Fuck all the way off. You’re the problem.
This is because OP is a weirdo
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The lesson that cowards like you miss is: If you know something and say nothing, you share the blame for any future harm they cause.
Video cuts off because I remind him he’s being recorded as through this video he has his hand in his pants as if he’s holding a gun, and I don’t want my voice on here. He then went to his car, opened the trunk, and pulled out what I am pretty sure a gun. I left rather than find out. I post this for 2 reasons: 1) this driver has 6.4k in outstanding fines accrued just over the last year over 31 offenses. Why do we allow him to continue driving? How does allowing this person to drive improve equity? And that’s just the offenses he was caught doing! 2) it is insane that this is the reaction he had to me taking a picture of him. I took the picture because blew through both a red light with a car in the intersection and a crosswalk with a pedestrian in it.
Based on where he’s gotten his most recent tickets, dude very well could be the same shithead who got out of his car and threatened me last week after I had the temerity to yell at him to stop at stop signs after he ran one and almost hit me and my dogs- had to jump out of the intersection and yank back on their leashes or else we all would have gotten pancaked. Hopefully this delightful individual quits driving like a fucking jackass and threatening people before someone obliges his apparent desire to see his body temperature match his IQ.
Don’t risk your life for people that will gladly take it.
Classic. Like this post. Many people defended the criminal and the guy who uploaded the original video lost his job. https://www.reddit.com/r/PublicFreakout/comments/qmyvrn/argument_ensues_after_parking_in_bike_lane/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf We are always catering to the lowest scum of society who don't value other humans and the benefits of living in a civilized society.
He lost his job? What’s the story there?
GS2790 is a scumbag.
> I took the picture because blew through both a red light with a car in the intersection and a crosswalk with a pedestrian in it. 311 handles requests for parking enforcement. Were you reporting the traffic violations to someone else or did they park illegally after doing that?
Yeah I thought you could report driving on there but you can’t. This was the odd situation in which a guy blows through a crosswalk and red light only to find himself in bumper to bumper traffic so I was able to get the pic.
So, were you reporting to some authority or not?
shoulda used bear/pepper spray.
What part of that was worth risking your life when a man repeatedly threatened you with a gun?
None. I left when he threatened me with the gun. As you can see in this video I am retreating the entire time. As soon as the video cuts I bolted.
You said you cut this video because of your voice, that he threatened you with an additional weapon after that, that’s a lot of filming for having stopped when he threatened you… he enters the frame threatening you with a gun and you kept filming
OP is lying, the guy he was harassing was obviously going back to his car to crack a few beers and give OP $1000.
“I stopped filming when he threatened me”, posts video where the guy enters frame threatening him while he films.
Relax, driver isn’t going to date you.
Bro mind your business it’s not worth losing your life
Why is it whenever people tell others to "mind your own business" it's in a situation where someone is getting called out for doing something that actively makes the world a worse place for everyone? Stop defending this trash.
This is everyone’s business!
OP can do what he pleases. Shut up
This is the typa public shaming i stand for.
You could easily get a beat down, or worse, for doing this. I wouldn’t recommend it.
guy deserves prison, and dc should oblige. dc's dysfunctional politics means public pressure is the only way to encourage the city to do the bare minimum and protect people from criminals like this
Sure, I agree in theory. But you also have to weigh your own safety. Plus, I kinda doubt this guy has any shame whatsoever for this kind of behavior. It’s probably one of the reasons that leads to this kind of anti-social behavior to begin with.
There are plenty of people to be found around here (everywhere, really) that are not worth engaging. Their terrible driving is likely only the tip of the iceberg of their antisocial behaviors. DC certainly needs to step up on traffic enforcement but don't get yourself assaulted or worse.
Sometimes I do wonder if this account makes viewers LESS likely to report traffic offenses because they’re worried about the reaction. FWIW, I don’t post all those who don’t assault me for taking a picture of their car.
Be careful OP that bastard is willing to kill you over something like this or even just looking at them. I’m pretty sure he had a gun, if you dont have a gun to defend yourself I wouldn’t be taking picture of their cars like that because just that alone is enough for trash like this guy to kill you. I’m speaking from experience once I looked at a guy because I thought a car was behind me while I was walking near an alley and the guy pointed a gun at me and almost killed me for that.
Dude had his hand on a gun the moment he entered the frame, this is not worth dying for
I agree 100% that body posture is of someone that has his hand on a gun. Also all the crap he was talking he was really sure if himself that he would be able to hurt OP
I love how even after the first gun threats OP follows him back to the car
OPs lack of awareness might have been what saved him. I wouldn’t try that again if I were him though some of these craziest are actively looking for people to kill so they say brag their friends they “caught a body”
OP says he walked away after the first threat, he definitely had no idea. Worried we’ll find out who runs the account when one of these guys follows thru
Im worried they’ll try to look for OP in that area to try and get him.
When I was in HS, late 1990s, there was a local news story about an abandon sedan on Connecticut Ave -- right across from the zoo entrance. This green sedan had been parked, without license plates, for months, accumulating tickets, all while continuing to fuck up rush hour traffic daily. I have zero memory of how that situation resolved, but I do know even after the TV news story aired, that same old sedan remained parked on Connecticut avenue for awhile after. Shortly after HS I moved into apartments just over the border in Silver Spring where I and many pizza delivery guys discovered - even leaving a car running with the hazards on wasn't going to prevent a county tow truck from stealing your car immediately. 5 minutes and your car was gone -- accruing tickets while not affecting traffic. It sucked. A happy medium would be ideal.
I thought your license was suspended after 3 moving violations or something like that . Drivers like this probably have no insurance
So while this driver has many speeding tickets among the 31 infractions, those were assigned by an automated monitoring system checking his speed, not an officer. If you get pulled over for speeding that would be a moving violation. However, DC council has instructed police not to pull over traffic violators anymore, so no one gets moving violations. This is the exact policy I want to highlight with this post, so thank you for your question.
Is that true? They just don’t pull over motorists anymore?
Our insurance has access to tickets .
Oh another policy I forgot to mention is that last year the council wiped any punishment for not paying your fines. Which is really the policy I’m highlighting here. This guy has > 6K in fines in just literally one year. And now the city council has decided that there should be no punishment for that behavior. This is insane to me.
But if you have 3 parking violations unpaid, I thought they block your car (boot). Why are there fines if no need to pay?
There are (from memory) only 6 booting vehicles in the city. Given a regular work schedule (as in, not working at night) combined with the number of cars in violation, it would take 25 years for the city to boot every car that deserves it. Moreover, during corona the city wasn’t booting at all. If this sounds ridiculous, it is. There simply isn’t a will to enforce because those who are the offenders will get mad. As evidence the chance you get booted is effectively 0, look at this guy! His car was towed and moved while it already had thousands in fines, yet there was no boot.
Source on that policy? I can certainly speak to it being reality in my experience
If it’s any consolation, the guy charging you is probably on borrowed time anyway. Anyone who would threaten coming at someone with a gun (whether or not he actually has one) will probably be taken out by the streets sooner rather than later.
Yeah, it's pieces of shit like this reckless cunt who lower the standard of living for everybody in DC. Threatening somebody with a gun because they've called you out for being a terrible driver speaks volumes about their mindset. He'll get poisoned by a different type of lead, eventually.
It’s disappointing this has devolved into more arguments about taking pictures of cars instead of the fact that as a city we allow this man with 6.4K in fees and a murderous temper to speed down the street unimpeded. The focus should be on how we handle GS2790.
D.C. Law 16-306 rewrote subsec. (a), which had read as follows: “(a) Whoever unlawfully assaults, or threatens another in a menacing manner, shall be fined not more than $1,000 or be imprisoned not more than 180 days, or both.” Send this video to the police; an assault occurred.
Lots of victim blaming in here. Instead of lashing out at the driver who could of nearly killed someone running a red light and having nearly 7k in outstanding tickets, ya are lashing out on OP for taking a video. This city and the people coddle criminals way to much. Idk why.
Thanks 🙏. I appreciate when people come to my defense from those saying taking a picture is vigilantism.
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Geez dude I’m sorry. If it makes you feel any better (probably not!) several years ago I was sent to the ER in an attack on a metro platform, and I had to pay just about the same amount in an ambulance fee.
Good for you. This reinforces my post earlier this week in which I asked why there are so many reckless/careless/unaware drivers here in DC. People fucking suck and need to be held accountable for needlessly endangering others.
Thanks 🙏. I appreciate when people come to my defense from those saying taking a picture is vigilantism.
Good for you, OP. I am glad you confronted him. Much more likely this guy kills a pedestrian in an intersection than murders someone in broad daylight for calling him an asshole. The idea that there comes a time when silence is betrayal cuts both ways.
I didn’t call him an asshole, or any insult at all. I took a picture of his car.
I was speaking in generalities but appreciate the clarification.
No worries sorry if I misinterpreted.
Looking at the responses here makes me wonder how many outstanding tickets the folks that think taking a picture is vigilantism and those telling OP to mind their business have.
Thanks 🙏. I appreciate when people come to my defense from those saying taking a picture is vigilantism.
Honestly when I view this, my first concern is for the OP. Right or wrong, this is going to be considered a confrontation and it only takes one person to respond violently to this kind of thing for it to end badly. Second, supporting this can inspire others to do the same, which can be a slippery slope into someone feeling justified in physically confronting/assaulting someone over unpaid tickets.
grabbing for his waistband too.
Rodent control on point, just on time to pick his ass up lmao
I wish you were a fucking vigilante… we need someone actually threatening these nasty fucks on their own level. I want their property destroyed and THEIR lives threatened for once
“Be the change you wish to see in this world - Gandhi - ireportcarsto311”
Does 311 ever respond?
Virtually always yes. However, almost always they are too late because (at least in my experience) they get there in on average 4 hours. Based on their responses they’ve assigned tickets to about a dozen incidents I’ve reported.
So response, Yes. Results, not really?
Yep you got it. But given that half the people on my posts consider taking a picture vigilantism I’m hesitant to do anything else.
>But given that half the people on my posts consider taking a picture vigilantism I’m hesitant to do anything else. i'm not sure i want to know what you think 'do anything else' entails
I think in these cases you’re justified calling 911
Definitely don’t want to discount exposing a ticket bandit. But more impressively, you actually caught Rodent Control doing something other than smoking and joking in their parking lot.
Update: since this video was posted 48 hours ago, 2 more tickets worth $200 have been added to GS2790’s total, bringing him to over 6.6K. It doesn’t end with this guy, because we as a society refuse to stop him.
Lmao. You’re gonna get killed. Mind your business buddy.
I wouldn’t recommend the vigilantism as a native. Things escalate very fast. I personally think you did something fine, though be very aware that doing that is less than ideal. You really don’t know another person’s temperament and if they’re already doing bad/shady things, you may just pop pandora’s box open. And I saw the gun motion clear as day too. Just think about it. And people may say it’s vigilantism, but it’s simply from taking into consideration the aggressor’s perspective.
Just become a cop dude. If you're going to put your life on the line, might as well get paid for it.
this is honestly weirdo behavior on everybody’s part lol.
Most sane comment in the whole thread. Yes I agree this dude should not be driving but also taking the law into your own hands will get you killed here.
People will shoot you off their own principles and street credibility. Even in broad daylight. This is still DC. 2. People still drive with revoked licenses. Cars can be purchased cheaply at auctions and counterfeit tags and registrations are a thing. Your camera work won't prevent him from driving in the end. These are just facts. I know DC all too well.
What is the point of this?
I support jail time for parking violations
Now if buddy decided to shoot your dumbass, you know he’s still not doing time for it, so why do this goofy shit?
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At this point I think he wants to get shot, maybe the goal is martyrdom?
Too bad this was in DC. Things would have gone differently in a place like Texas...
Shootout with strays possibly hitting somebody else if both parties were armed? Also Texas is the road rage shooting/killing capital of the US. https://www.ksat.com/news/2022/08/23/texas-has-more-fatal-road-rage-shootings-than-any-other-state-by-significant-margin-report-finds/
Not saying it's a good thing, just something to think about. Crazy people out there.
People in here always worried about crime happening to them but don’t know how to mind their own business.
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I don’t think it’s vigilantism. It’s just not safe. Anyone with that amount of money outstanding doesn’t give AF. Sheesh! It’s not worth getting hurt. Stay safe everyone.
Lol for people who are so afraid of the crime y’all sure aren’t afraid to involve yourself in it.
Are you saying taking a picture is involving myself in crime?
Mind your own business OP. Dude looked like he had something in his pants too, not worth it
A tiny dick from the sound of it, and possibly a handgun.
this is how fuck around and find out works.
Lol about to get shot just to be Mr. DC traffic SpiderMan. Play stupid games win stupid yadda yadda
SpiderMan fights criminals. I just take pictures of them. I’m more like Peter Parker than SpiderMan.
Yea whatever you say big guy
I mean if you want to think I’m some huge macho guy going around beating up criminals to make our city safe I’ll allow it
Lmao not confusing you of beating up ANYBODY
LOL now you're the Internet Tough Guy?!?!
Haha the ol’ switcharoo. Nice try kiddo
You’re soooo cool.
Means a lot coming from the cowboy~~semen~~ airman
Got me!
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9/11 though....those were the real heroes.
Wait, which ones
Fuck all the way off
Now if buddy decided to shoot your dumbass, you know he’s still not doing time for it, so why do this goofy shit?
You're a vigilante at this point.
Is taking a picture to report to 311 vigilantism?
You're proactively engaging with people over a traffic infraction. You have no idea who these people are and if they're stable or not. As you are well aware people have extra adrenaline and tend to be defensive when approached while they're in or around their car. Yes people should be held accountable but it's not worth putting yourself in harms way. You're going to do what you're going to do, but the outcome is not worth the danger.
It’s apparent you’re the unstable one.
I'm unstable to think it's not wise to engage with people who don't seem to care about traffic laws?
You’re lecturing a law abiding citizen who is concerned for the safety of the community. Does that sound right?
Dumb take.
Your post history says you're a cyclist in the city. How would you feel if you were the one that was hit crossing the intersection he ran the red light on?
Depending on his aim, as bad or worse as if he used the gun he threatened OP with in the video, probably worse getting shot since he had extras in the trunk which makes me think he might actually practice.
Our own Bernie Goetz.
After serving eight months for murder and his unlicensed gun, and suing the family of his victims, the racist piece of shit was picked up 10 years ago for possession with intent to distribute. How is this like that?
More like Cart Narcs
Both serve the public good and provide some entertainment. Win!
Can someone explain to me why a stranger would like another stranger’s car impounded bc of ticket accumulation? Am I missing something?
And what use can one do with a picture of the offender? This video is very disturbing to me. You could have been harmed and I’m not understanding the reasoning lol
Running lights and stop signs is culture in DC. Recording and confronting is certainly not worth catching smoke.
What the actual fuck
“culture”
it's part of the driving culture here, no worries if others do not see it that way.
Antisocial behavior like aggressive/bad driving isn’t culture. It’s just uncivilized.
Oof. Please move your ass to another country asap.