Run in with Chicago's Finest!

Tonight my friend Laura and I were sitting on a bench just south of North Avenue beach on the lakefront trail when a van of cops pulled up and asked us to leave. It was around 12:45 AM and they stopped just passed where we were and blurted something unclear at us. We asked what they had said and they backed up and yelled at us to leave. We got up and started to pack up and they kept telling us the park was closed and lingering in front of us. As they lingered they continues to be really rude and Laura said "It's fine, were leaving. You don't have to be rude." The cop responded, "I'll arrest you. I'll arrest you for being in the park after it's closed." He then looked at me and said, "Control your woman." Then they sped off at a dangerous rate. 

What the fuck, chainlinkers? I write this as we wait for a sergeant to come and hear our complaint, but anyone have any better suggestions? If you've got anything, here are the logistics.

Date: 6/26
Time: 12:52 am
Location: Just south of North Ave. on trail
Car number: 6712
Car license plate: M143680
Three cops in the car, the driver was a larger white man with longish black hair, possibly in a ponytail. 


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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by mattbikes1 on June 26, 2010 at 6:09am
Alright Ryan, so I assumed the drunk part because in my mind you are not sober if you are talking back to a cop. It was an assumption and I apologize for that. I stand by the rest of my sentiment that being in a closed park is asking for trouble. Were the cops rude? Hell yes, but they have suck ass jobs so it is somewhat expected, especially when they give a civilian an order and are met with an attitude.


Tank-Ridin' Ryan said:
mattbikes1 said:
Probably not the best idea to be drunk, with your friends, after hours, in a park that closes at 11 pm. The police have a just cause to harass you because you are violating civil code. Get drunk at a bar or a home would be my advice.

Hi Matt. Read through Remy's post again.
Permalink Reply by Joel on June 26, 2010 at 7:06am
Sure, they were rude, but you weren't supposed to be there. Any sort of confrontational attitude just feeds their superiority complex. They got you riled up, which is what they probably wanted.
Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on June 26, 2010 at 8:36am
Yes, they were rude. However, Craig has a point. Enforcement on being in parks after hours has been spotty in past years, but is likely to get a lot more intense if all the violence continues.

If you were riding on the path and politely told the officers you were on your way home, you might have gotten a pass. In this summer's state of insanity, they're more likely to treat loitering in the park after hours with rudeness and possibly worse. That doesn't excuse rudeness. But look at the big picture - hot summer night, lots of people out at the Taste, an overabundance of violence and aggressiveness, etc. They're just trying to keep a bad situation from getting a lot worse.

Use your best judgment to make decisions that will keep you out of situations where you might end up on the receiving end of unwanted police attention. Stay safe.

Craig S. said:
The park is closed from 11 PM to 5 AM every day, has been forever, it's just never been enforced but it is this year due to all the violence.

With all the crap that Chicago cops have to deal with on a daily basis I'm sure your lippy girlfriend probably set them off. You filed a complaint and I'm sure the big donut eating sergeant has a ton of better things to do then listen to how you had your ego bruised by a rude flat-foot.

What the fuck? You're in a closed park, you know this, when they tell you to move along, just do so without commentary. Unbelievable, the sense of entitlement of a lot of people on this website.
Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on June 26, 2010 at 11:03am
I totally agree. Being anywhere you legally aren't allowed is asking for trouble. And ya, the cops were rude, but then again, they could've been more rude in a sense by just arresting Remy and Laura.

mattbikes1 said:
Alright Ryan, so I assumed the drunk part because in my mind you are not sober if you are talking back to a cop. It was an assumption and I apologize for that. I stand by the rest of my sentiment that being in a closed park is asking for trouble. Were the cops rude? Hell yes, but they have suck ass jobs so it is somewhat expected, especially when they give a civilian an order and are met with an attitude.


Tank-Ridin' Ryan said:
mattbikes1 said:
Probably not the best idea to be drunk, with your friends, after hours, in a park that closes at 11 pm. The police have a just cause to harass you because you are violating civil code. Get drunk at a bar or a home would be my advice.

Hi Matt. Read through Remy's post again.
Permalink Reply by Vondo on June 26, 2010 at 1:14pm
Yeah, they were rude, but my guess is you were probably the 73rd person they had to ask to leave the area last night. I for one, am glad there are more cops, a-holes or not, on the lakefront this summer...
Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on June 27, 2010 at 12:03am
I'll second that.

Vando said:
Yeah, they were rude, but my guess is you were probably the 73rd person they had to ask to leave the area last night. I for one, am glad there are more cops, a-holes or not, on the lakefront this summer...
Permalink Reply by Benjamin Antieau on June 27, 2010 at 9:19am
I don't understand why cops get a pass to be rude while others do not.

For instance, we all get pissed off when drivers cut us off and put our lives in danger, and then scream at us. But, we don't say, well they probably have crappy jobs, they work miles from where they live, if they have any work at all, they are stuck in a car in bad traffic, etc.

I appreciate that police have a difficult job, but one part of their job is being respectful to citizens. It's even part of their job to be respectful to criminals when the situation is non-violent. And, on the whole, I would say that every time I've gotten a speeding ticket the police have been civil.

These cops were rude and sexist, and as citizens we have the right to complain about this, and the city should respond. I don't mean that these individual officers should be put through the ringer, but in general we all have a right not to live in fear from the men and women we pay to protect us.

If we settle for less, then it is only a matter of time before their boots are on our necks.

I think it is a reasonable stance to be thankful for the job that cpd does, but also recognize that there is a great deal of room for improvement.
Permalink Reply by Martin Martinez on June 27, 2010 at 9:23am
They should get a pass here because the original poster was somewhere they should not have been at the time and the cops were doing there job. Its hot and people get agitated. Move on. Theres plenty worse they can do, trust me.

Benjamin Antieau said:
I don't understand why cops get a pass to be rude while others do not.

For instance, we all get pissed off when drivers cut us off and put our lives in danger, and then scream at us. But, we don't say, well they probably have crappy jobs, they work miles from where they live, if they have any work at all, they are stuck in a car in bad traffic, etc.

I appreciate that police have a difficult job, but one part of their job is being respectful to citizens. It's even part of their job to be respectful to criminals when the situation is non-violent. And, on the whole, I would say that every time I've gotten a speeding ticket the police have been civil.

These cops were rude and sexist, and as citizens we have the right to complain about this, and the city should respond. I don't mean that these individual officers should be put through the ringer, but in general we all have a right not to live in fear from the men and women we pay to protect us.

If we settle for less, then it is only a matter of time before their boots are on our necks.

I think it is a reasonable stance to be thankful for the job that cpd does, but also recognize that there is a great deal of room for improvement.
Permalink Reply by Benjamin Antieau on June 27, 2010 at 9:31am
You seem to be saying that because the cops could do much worse, we should be happy that they didn't. I feel like we're setting the bar pretty low here.

I agree that it is tactically wise to put up and shut up during an incident with the police. But, once that is over, we should all be able to hold the police accountable for their behavior. The fact that Laura and Remy were also breaking city code does not change that.
Permalink Reply by mike w. on June 27, 2010 at 9:36am
i dunno... right or wrong, if the officer seems to be overly rude, bullying, or otherwise looking for an excuse to kick your arse, it seems to me that the better part of valour is discretion. Suck it up, walk away quickly - not too quickly as you may be thought to be fleeing- an dtry to remember his badge number for future reference... These guys carry guns, mace, and tasers and many don't mind using them.

Benjamin Antieau said:
You seem to be saying that because the cops could do much worse, we should be happy that they didn't. I feel like we're setting the bar pretty low here.

I agree that it is tactically wise to put up and shut up during an incident with the police. But, once that is over, we should all be able to hold the police accountable for their behavior. The fact that Laura and Remy were also breaking city code does not change that.
Permalink Reply by S on June 27, 2010 at 10:02am
Benjamin Antieau said:
You seem to be saying that because the cops could do much worse, we should be happy that they didn't. I feel like we're setting the bar pretty low here.

I agree that it is tactically wise to put up and shut up during an incident with the police. But, once that is over, we should all be able to hold the police accountable for their behavior. The fact that Laura and Remy were also breaking city code does not change that.

I don't know. If you're trespassing or breaking the law, the best thing would probably be to listen to the police when they tell you to leave. From Remy's posting, it sounds like the cops asked them to leave, and then yelled at them when they didn't leave soon enough and got a snippy response from Laura. As things go, getting yelled at by the cops is pretty minor. There wasn't any physical contact and it sounds like there wasn't even any swearing by the cops so I don't really see how the bar is being set pretty low in this instance.

Permalink Reply by Benjamin Antieau on June 27, 2010 at 10:09am
The bar being low refers to the reasoning in Martin's response that says we should all be happy that nothing worse happened. Of course, I am happy about that. But, I don't think it means we should ignore, for instance, the blatantly sexist comments the cops used.

S said:
Benjamin Antieau said:
You seem to be saying that because the cops could do much worse, we should be happy that they didn't. I feel like we're setting the bar pretty low here.

I agree that it is tactically wise to put up and shut up during an incident with the police. But, once that is over, we should all be able to hold the police accountable for their behavior. The fact that Laura and Remy were also breaking city code does not change that.

I don't know. If you're trespassing or breaking the law, the best thing would probably be to listen to the police when they tell you to leave. From Remy's posting, it sounds like the cops asked them to leave, and then yelled at them when they didn't leave soon enough and got a snippy response from Laura. As things go, getting yelled at by the cops is pretty minor. There wasn't any physical contact and it sounds like there wasn't even any swearing by the cops so I don't really see how the bar is being set pretty low in this instance.

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