Positive LEO moment

[AntiM]

I don't know the truth of this, but I've been told the illegal drug moop I found one year and turned over to a ranger, that they had to turn it in and it would create stacks of paperwork for the officials.

I have BLM chapstick, a BLM blinkie and a couple Junior Ranger badges from other years. Most of the time chatting up the BLM rangers is fun and interesting. This year I asked a BLM ranger at Love's if he'd had a good burn... he had a Man painted on his official vehicle. "No, not really, too many stupid people this year." He seemed very sad about that.

[mish]

(Edited because to add something might get my ass in trouble. More later.)

[robrob]

mish: so, basically you consented to a search?

[joya]

Not exactly a positive experience, but definitely felt appreciative on the night of the burn. We were close to the man, around 12-ish, seated on the ground, watching the pre-burn fire extravaganza when I heard someone yell "Stop that man!" ... seconds later some dude rushed over us, dropped some sort of pill container on the ground right in front of me, and broke through the barrier line only a few feet before being tackled to the ground by an officer. (Police? Ranger? I dunno)

I was sitting right there to. your trust in the coppers seems to be a little over zelous, as my interpretation of the scene was simply the pill selling raver got caught, and ran, then tackled by the police man, end of story. but thanks for informing me of the outcome, with your handing over of the evidence, i'm sure he is spending his days getting ready to defend himself in the local court room.

Nah, they can't use that as evidence. It wouldn't stand up, unless the man admits that it is his and incriminates himself. It was handed over by a third-party after the fact. So many loop holes in that.

[junglesmacks]

Shortly thereafter I brought the dropped container up to a ranger and handed it over, telling her that the gentleman had dropped this as he ran past.

Sorry, but that's fucking lame.

[theCryptofishist]

I dunno if my responcibility to fellow brcers includes hiding their contraband. I know my responcibility to the playa includeds not leaving moop. As an EMT widow, I do know that knowing what's in a patient's system helps in choosing appropriate medical care. I also don't know how much anyone needs to be beaten down for an instinctive reaction. (Which is how I read the incident.)

[Shoeshine]

Got to throw this out.

I was working perimeter for the megatropolis burn. There was an insane amount of incredibly dangerous material in there. Afterwards we had a bunch of unexploded charges left in the fire zone that the pyro crew had to deal with.

Everyone and their brother wanted to rush the fire. I was left the unenvious task of keeping people out until it was safe.

Pretty much every LEO there (but particularly the BRRangers) did a great job of helping keep people back with a great deal of understanding and with a minimum of dick swinging.

Understand that this was really quite a "keep you safe" moment.

But what impressed me was how low key the LEO's were and did what they needed to with so little fuss or arrogence.

my $.02

[Theres Always One]

Not exactly a positive experience, but definitely felt appreciative on the night of the burn. We were close to the man, around 12-ish, seated on the ground, watching the pre-burn fire extravaganza when I heard someone yell "Stop that man!" ... seconds later some dude rushed over us, dropped some sort of pill container on the ground right in front of me, and broke through the barrier line only a few feet before being tackled to the ground by an officer. (Police? Ranger? I dunno)

I don't know what the man was running from, if he was violent or had violent intentions, a bomb, a gun, or what -- and it was all very frightening, but only for a moment since it was quickly over. The man was on the ground, I think he was handcuffed, then taken away. I appreciate the law enforcement doing their job.

Shortly thereafter I brought the dropped container up to a ranger and handed it over, telling her that the gentleman had dropped this as he ran past. No idea what was in it -- but shit, I did not want to be connected to whatever was inside, as it was obviously something incriminating. (Though a fellow burner near me commented he would have looked inside first before deciding to hand it over. Maybe I should have?)

Anyway, curious if anyone knows anything more about this particular happening... or what became of this man?

I saw this exact same incident. The man shoved me violently out of the way as he ran from the officer. He was tackled just beyond the barrier, no? He had dark curly hair if I remember correctly and was taken towards the man after cuffed?

Sound familiar?

[foofurr]

Since this is a thread for positive moments (and there are like 20 threads, in one form or another, revolving around negative moments) I will give one of my positive moments, just a friendly encounter.

I was a first year ranger this year (7th burn) and had only heard a bit about the LEOs love of swag so did not come prepared. One shift, a group of three BLM rangers cruised on by and parked a bit away. One older guy and two youngers. They walked up to the Man and looked around, didn't interfere with anyone and weren't actively "snooping." They walked by me and were headed back to their ATVs when I nodded and waved. Then one of the young ones comes up to me and tells me it is his first burn, he's very excited, and wanted to know if I had pins. He was so eager and happy it nearly broke my heart to tell him no I didn't. We chatted for a bit and he went on his way. Hope he got his pin!

I personally don't have a problem with 99% of law enforcement, they are doing their jobs and it's not a job I would ever want. They are continuously threatened, lied to, disrespected, and unappreciated; if that were my job I would quit and likely be a huge bitch in the interim. Yeah, there are some bad seeds, but there are even badder seeds in the general population (BM included) so I can forgive them as a whole. Mistakes are definitely made (LEOs are human) but often decisions are made in the heat of the moment, when a split second decision is necessary, and keep in mind, as the casual observer there is a very good chance you do not have all the information that the officers have available.

Also, as the casual observer to an LEO interaction remember your proximity may be escalating a situation. 10 cops arresting 1 dude may seem overkill, but often the job of the extra people is to keep an eye on the crowd that is seeminly always nearby. It takes a split second for a curious crowd to turn into an angry mob (especially when drugs, alcohol, exhaustion, etc are involved) which would be dangerous for cops and community alike. Even with the increased numbers of LEOs they are still very, very heavily outnumbered, this makes them a bit nervous. Best to take a few steps back and observe quietly if you feel you need to, and if you see anything that doesn't look right, find a BRC ranger and report it.

Just as a negative interaction with LEOs shapes your opinion of them, a positive interaction with you shapes their opinion of us as a community.

[Rilopie]

I personally don't have a problem with 99% of law enforcement, they are doing their jobs and it's not a job I would ever want. They are continuously threatened, lied to, disrespected, and unappreciated; if that were my job I would quit and likely be a huge bitch in the interim. Yeah, there are some bad seeds, but there are even badder seeds in the general population (BM included) so I can forgive them as a whole. Mistakes are definitely made (LEOs are human) but often decisions are made in the heat of the moment, when a split second decision is necessary, and keep in mind, as the casual observer there is a very good chance you do not have all the information that the officers have available.

This!

[Homiesinheaven]

so glad to hear that so many burners can be reasonable enough to respect LEOs and what they do out at BRC. we've all had bad experiences with dickhead cops so it's refreshing to hear of positive interactions.