law enforcement 2013

[Canoe]

http://www.rgj.com/article/20130828/EVE ... urning-Man

Aug. 28, 2013
As of noon Monday, Burning Man’s population reached about 35,897, and local and federal authorities issued 225 oral warnings, 64 written warnings and 98 citations, made three arrests and evicted five people, Turney said. Pershing County authorities also initiated two cases of their own.

[Lord Of Ruin]

And since folks generally have an anti-LEO bent here, I thought some clarification would be in order.

When you see evictions listed in their stats, almost all of those are at the behest/guidance of the community for people not conforming to the event rules. Just to be clear that BLM isn't walking around whisking people out of the event for no reason, etc.

[AntiM]

We had a NHP stop when we pulled over to get a bandage for Larry's knee, just after Wadsworth. Chatted about our new truck. I had to take my daily prescription because we had the bag with my pills in it out, cop never said a word when I popped my meds. That was actually funny.

Pershing sheriff stopped at the camp across from us. Hopped out to give the little kids stickers and junior badges. I heard him tell the dad he'd been working the burn for ten years and "adored" the event.

[Ano]

I took a few friends out to the Robot Heart art car. All sober. Buddy of mine realizes he has some jolly ranchers, and goes to give them out. Cue our group getting pulled out of the crowd by BLM, lights flashed in our eyes, and harassed over jolly ranchers. They refused to identify themselves and disappeared into the crowd. It was pretty cool.

Beyond that, I talked to some nice BLM, and was almost hit by a few speeding cars riding down our street pre and post event. I also had the joy of having BLM on my tail for the entirety of the 447 on Friday, pre-event.

[MacGlenver]

Had no interactions with the popo while I was there, other than to tip my hat to a couple. Good stuff.

[Rice]

And since folks generally have an anti-LEO bent here, I thought some clarification would be in order.

When you see evictions listed in their stats, almost all of those are at the behest/guidance of the community for people not conforming to the event rules. Just to be clear that BLM isn't walking around whisking people out of the event for no reason, etc.

Some of the evictions are for people trying to sneak into BRC. When a person is caught, everyone they travelled with gets evicted. It sucks to have to evict anyone from Burning Man. The Survival Guide, First Timers guide, Ticket Page, FAQ, etc - all state this will happen. I have personally been involved in more than one eviction while on-shift with my volunteering. I am not LE, but I help to keep the event safe.

It would be awesome to not have a single fake ticket, or person trying to sneak in.

I guess anyone who tries to get in without buying a ticket really has no respect for Burning Man, the spirit, principles - nada.


Anyhow, I hope anyone who did have an encounter with LE - gives some feedback. Burning Man LLC does look at the reports and is really trying to work with the various LE agencies to make it a smoother burn for everyone.


It was awesome to hear that a member of LE was honored at the temple, I am sorry that they lost a comrade - happy that they felt comfortable honoring them with a plaque at the temple. LE are just people like you and I, they are charged to enforce the laws and would be happy if they spent the entire week with nothing to do... (At least those BLM Ranger say so).

[Stray Dog]

When I was gifting airplane rides over the city I noted a car hauling ass across the desert outside the borders of BRC heading southbound toward the northern perimeter fence. I thought, I wonder if that's BLM. Then I saw another car coming around one of the points of the perimeter fence, lights flashing, hauling even asser than the other car. That was BLM. He was on that other car within seconds. It was actually pretty dang impressive. When I made my next circuit around the city, they appeared to be having a long heartfelt talk.

I'm feeling a lot better hearing about the interactions between the LEOs and the burners. Heck yeah they should like it there. How many other events let the BLM and local deputies hang around a bunch of topless women and dirty hippies?

[kiss-o-matic]

I got gifted some Amethyst in the morning after a night of raving at Robot Heart. The guy said, "this is Amethyst.... [louder] this is Amethyst..." when I looked a bit confused he said, "I'm just saying it for the ranger" who happened to drive by, and gave us a wave. Haha.

[Lord Of Ruin]

I took a few friends out to the Robot Heart art car. All sober. Buddy of mine realizes he has some jolly ranchers, and goes to give them out. Cue our group getting pulled out of the crowd by BLM, lights flashed in our eyes, and harassed over jolly ranchers. They refused to identify themselves and disappeared into the crowd. It was pretty cool.

Beyond that, I talked to some nice BLM, and was almost hit by a few speeding cars riding down our street pre and post event. I also had the joy of having BLM on my tail for the entirety of the 447 on Friday, pre-event.

I took a few friends out to the Robot Heart art car. We had heard all the stories about people getting stopped for open containers while driving, so all of us took whatever drugs we had on us so we'd only have to drink water the whole time.

Once we get out to RH, buddy of mine realizes that he has some of our X stash on him, so he engages in furtive behavior remarkably similar to the distribution of drugs by handing them out to our group. Group members proceed to smile and happily pop the candy in our mouth, furthering the misunderstanding.

Cue our group getting pulled out of the crowd by BLM, lights flashed in our eyes, and harassed for distributing X to a group of people. They refused to identify themselves because although it sounded in hour head like we were cogently asking for them to do so, over the blaring music from Robot Heart, coupled with our drug addled sensibilities, we couldn't hear them. They disappeared into the crowd.

It was pretty cool.

Perspective is a bitch, huh?

[zorro sings]

HUGE improvement over last year as far as LEO presence.It was a relief not to see a cop car roll by every half hour or so.The plan to have Pershing County authorities ride with BLM personel was a plus in this regard.We also have to thank then for responding to a disturbance at our camp on Friday.Arrived very promptly although they lingered,in force,for quite some time considering the suspect was in handcuffs almost immediately.

[Lonesomebri]

K9 Unit seeking well-hung Probable Cause

K9 Unit (Large) (Medium).jpg

[geospyder]

I was checking out the aliens in the deep Playa near the trash fence...

[pink]

One of my campmates was pulled over in Gerlach because the LEO hadn't ever seen a Northwest Territories license plate before and wanted to chat. They're shaped like a Polar bear instead of being rectangular!

Another was also pulled over in Gerlach for cutting off an officer. He got ticketed, but after a few days of dealing with him in camp, I'm sure he was an asshole to the LEO as well.

[danibel]

I saw very few cops this year compared to last year and most especially the strong force in 2011. Only two times did I notice a BLM ranger truck cruise by my camp. A couple of sheriffs stood and laughed with me and others in center camp when they came upon the lip service seat (my CC fav, who made that?!). A weird interaction was early Sunday morning on our way back from the temple sunrise and ride to the trash fence, was near our bank of portos - 5 or so LEO's with rifles drawn stalking the parachute camp. Not sure what was happening there, but I just got on my bike and rode as fast as I could past them to my camp down the block. Since I hurt my back about a week before the burn, I didn't spend much time at dance camps and I saw the least ever of any previous burn on the open playa.

[Canoe]

...early Sunday morning on our way back from the temple sunrise and ride to the trash fence, was near our bank of portos - 5 or so LEO's with rifles drawn stalking the parachute camp....

Did you notice who's LEOs?

[Nipple]

I went out early, when the word was still either "You're going to drown." or "You're getting a cavity search and jail."

It seems every time I looked up, there was a BLM truck going from here to there or somewhere. Once the gates opened on Monday, I saw them less and less until I walked by ALL OF THEM coming up the 6 o'clock road to the man.

I thought about making the joke, "They're finally going to arrest the Man..." but the somber faces and at-ease posture of those I passed made me rethink.

I didn't drown, and my cavities weren't searched by anyone in an official capacity.

My favorite interaction was last year at Root Society. Dancing in the arena, a pack of maybe 6 or so green jumpsuits and pistols walked in. Everyone in the near vicinity stopped and gawked for a moment. (If it were a movie, there would have been a needle scratch and silence.)

After a pregnant moment, all the officers started dancing a bit, which signalled the cowed onlookers to do the same before the jumpsuits walked off.

[danibel]

...early Sunday morning on our way back from the temple sunrise and ride to the trash fence, was near our bank of portos - 5 or so LEO's with rifles drawn stalking the parachute camp....

Did you notice who's LEOs?

I wasn't looking really closely, but I think they were BLM. Hard to tell. They were all in khaki.

[Candybox]

We had the misfortune to arrive just as the gates were opening (early entry mixup... had to stay the night in Reno).

Entry was terrible, and far from the usual happy dusty hug-and-greet. From the distance on the main road, we could see a string of flashing police lights glimmering in the distance, from people being busted. We counted at least three, possibly 5 cars being searched on our way in through the gate. They even had an informational radio station that was warning us the entire time to drive under the speed limit because of aggressive LEOs. We were terrified, driving in at 4 MPH (just in case!). For the record, cars aren't meant to go that speed and it was damn hard keeping it from going over.

Our greeter was sad and welcomed our hugs. While being greeted, we could see THREE separate vehicles getting searched past the greeter station, on both sides of the outer road. Our only consolation was that it meant those LEOs were occupied, but it felt awful knowing that other innocent people were getting the start of their burn trashed. Even if they weren't getting ticketed, they were getting their possessions dumped on the side of the dusty road as they were being very thoroughly searched.

It was like a giant game of sharks and minnows. It wasn't like a speed trap where the cop waits until he sees someone doing something wrong. Every vehicle we saw had lights on, flashing, and the only reason more people weren't being pulled over was because there wasn't enough cops for everyone. One of our neighbors who had volunteered for a greeting shift said a guy got pulled over for going 6MPH. Another neighbor was searched for having a broken tail light. People in an email group we're part of reported being pulled over for having bikes obstructing their plates, but other people also got pulled over for attaching their plates TO their bikes (because then that meant the plates were unlit!). One (who was stopped, but not ticketed) said the officer basically told him they were using whatever reason just to pull people over.

With a welcome like that, we were prepared for a virtual police state during the burn. Fortunately, it seemed most of the aggression was reserved for the gates, and I think I saw LESS LEO presence in BRC than usual. I was prepared to kill them with love to prove Burners aren't all bad, but I couldn't run into an LEO for the life of me. My one interaction was with BLM rangers who were passing out chapstick and glow-in-the-dark bracelets on the Esplanade Thursday morning after the 5k. They gave me a chapstick and a hug and I told them about my run.

[Ano]

I took a few friends out to the Robot Heart art car. All sober. Buddy of mine realizes he has some jolly ranchers, and goes to give them out. Cue our group getting pulled out of the crowd by BLM, lights flashed in our eyes, and harassed over jolly ranchers. They refused to identify themselves and disappeared into the crowd. It was pretty cool.

Beyond that, I talked to some nice BLM, and was almost hit by a few speeding cars riding down our street pre and post event. I also had the joy of having BLM on my tail for the entirety of the 447 on Friday, pre-event.

I took a few friends out to the Robot Heart art car. We had heard all the stories about people getting stopped for open containers while driving, so all of us took whatever drugs we had on us so we'd only have to drink water the whole time.

Once we get out to RH, buddy of mine realizes that he has some of our X stash on him, so he engages in furtive behavior remarkably similar to the distribution of drugs by handing them out to our group. Group members proceed to smile and happily pop the candy in our mouth, furthering the misunderstanding.

Cue our group getting pulled out of the crowd by BLM, lights flashed in our eyes, and harassed for distributing X to a group of people. They refused to identify themselves because although it sounded in hour head like we were cogently asking for them to do so, over the blaring music from Robot Heart, coupled with our drug addled sensibilities, we couldn't hear them. They disappeared into the crowd.

It was pretty cool.

Perspective is a bitch, huh?

What perspective? You weren't there, and I think it's pretty offensive of you to assume we are stupid enough to try to talk to someone in front of an art car sound system, or that we were even high in the first place.

We were pulled out of the crowd, away from the sound system. Not a single person was influenced in any way, we had all gotten off of various shifts around the city and none of us had visited the bot yet. I didn't know that pulling some jolly ranchers out of a plastic jolly rancher bag was such a dubious and guilt-laden activity. When I asked the BLM folks to identify themselves (clearly, because this was not in front of the sound system, regular voices) they happily declined , laughed, and disappeared into the crowd again to follow their nose or whatever it is they were doing. I filled out a feedback form a few hours later, as did my camp mates.

Don't assume stuff. It makes you look like an idiot.

[unjonharley]

We had the misfortune to arrive just as the gates were opening (early entry mixup... had to stay the night in Reno).

Entry was terrible, and far from the usual happy dusty hug-and-greet. From the distance on the main road, we could see a string of flashing police lights glimmering in the distance, from people being busted. We counted at least three, possibly 5 cars being searched on our way in through the gate. They even had an informational radio station that was warning us the entire time to drive under the speed limit because of aggressive LEOs. We were terrified, driving in at 4 MPH (just in case!). For the record, cars aren't meant to go that speed and it was damn hard keeping it from going over.

Our greeter was sad and welcomed our hugs. While being greeted, we could see THREE separate vehicles getting searched past the greeter station, on both sides of the outer road. Our only consolation was that it meant those LEOs were occupied, but it felt awful knowing that other innocent people were getting the start of their burn trashed. Even if they weren't getting ticketed, they were getting their possessions dumped on the side of the dusty road as they were being very thoroughly searched.

It was like a giant game of sharks and minnows. It wasn't like a speed trap where the cop waits until he sees someone doing something wrong. Every vehicle we saw had lights on, flashing, and the only reason more people weren't being pulled over was because there wasn't enough cops for everyone. One of our neighbors who had volunteered for a greeting shift said a guy got pulled over for going 6MPH. Another neighbor was searched for having a broken tail light. People in an email group we're part of reported being pulled over for having bikes obstructing their plates, but other people also got pulled over for attaching their plates TO their bikes (because then that meant the plates were unlit!). One (who was stopped, but not ticketed) said the officer basically told him they were using whatever reason just to pull people over.

With a welcome like that, we were prepared for a virtual police state during the burn. Fortunately, it seemed most of the aggression was reserved for the gates, and I think I saw LESS LEO presence in BRC than usual. I was prepared to kill them with love to prove Burners aren't all bad, but I couldn't run into an LEO for the life of me. My one interaction was with BLM rangers who were passing out chapstick and glow-in-the-dark bracelets on the Esplanade Thursday morning after the 5k. They gave me a chapstick and a hug and I told them about my run.

I was sitting over in D lot when the gate open and did not see any of the above mention horse shit.. I did (after gate) have people passing me at more than 15-20 mph.. These are the ones that got busted.. But not enough of them.. Go out I was passed up to 30 mph.. They are the one the cops missed coming in..

[mudpuppy000]

We had the misfortune to arrive just as the gates were opening (early entry mixup... had to stay the night in Reno).

Entry was terrible, and far from the usual happy dusty hug-and-greet. From the distance on the main road, we could see a string of flashing police lights glimmering in the distance, from people being busted. We counted at least three, possibly 5 cars being searched on our way in through the gate. They even had an informational radio station that was warning us the entire time to drive under the speed limit because of aggressive LEOs. We were terrified, driving in at 4 MPH (just in case!). For the record, cars aren't meant to go that speed and it was damn hard keeping it from going over.

Our greeter was sad and welcomed our hugs. While being greeted, we could see THREE separate vehicles getting searched past the greeter station, on both sides of the outer road. Our only consolation was that it meant those LEOs were occupied, but it felt awful knowing that other innocent people were getting the start of their burn trashed. Even if they weren't getting ticketed, they were getting their possessions dumped on the side of the dusty road as they were being very thoroughly searched.

It was like a giant game of sharks and minnows. It wasn't like a speed trap where the cop waits until he sees someone doing something wrong. Every vehicle we saw had lights on, flashing, and the only reason more people weren't being pulled over was because there wasn't enough cops for everyone. One of our neighbors who had volunteered for a greeting shift said a guy got pulled over for going 6MPH. Another neighbor was searched for having a broken tail light. People in an email group we're part of reported being pulled over for having bikes obstructing their plates, but other people also got pulled over for attaching their plates TO their bikes (because then that meant the plates were unlit!). One (who was stopped, but not ticketed) said the officer basically told him they were using whatever reason just to pull people over.

With a welcome like that, we were prepared for a virtual police state during the burn. Fortunately, it seemed most of the aggression was reserved for the gates, and I think I saw LESS LEO presence in BRC than usual. I was prepared to kill them with love to prove Burners aren't all bad, but I couldn't run into an LEO for the life of me. My one interaction was with BLM rangers who were passing out chapstick and glow-in-the-dark bracelets on the Esplanade Thursday morning after the 5k. They gave me a chapstick and a hug and I told them about my run.

Saw the exact same thing on friday early entry, then got tailed for a few blocks before the BLM ranger decided to drive away. I thought it was strange that I got a hug from the gate person but not the greeter, lol. Once inside the event the LEO's seemed to be really cool though.

[Elliot]

I was moseying around outside my camp one morning at 5 AM, getting ready to go on shift. A BLM officer was patrolling slowly down the street. He stopped and asked if I was all right. After a chat, he drove me to the Black Hole (GP&E office, where we ride a shuttle bus to our jobs at Gate or Perimeter). There he offered to march me in handcuffs in to join the rest of the gang coming on shift.

[FIGJAM]

That may have incited a riot!

[Nipple]

I was moseying around outside my camp one morning at 5 AM, getting ready to go on shift. A BLM officer was patrolling slowly down the street. He stopped and asked if I was all right. After a chat, he drove me to the Black Hole (GP&E office, where we ride a shuttle bus to our jobs at Gate or Perimeter). There he offered to march me in handcuffs in to join the rest of the gang coming on shift.

Did you say no?! How could you say no?!?

[Elliot]

Actually, my first thought was "Will you carry the riot gun also?", but that thought never made over my lips. Alas, I was still half asleep and did not feel up to such theatrics quite yet. Half hour later, when my shift began, I would have been ready for it.

But point being... some of those BLM guys are darned cool fellows. I could tell you about the one I usually worked with outside the fence both this year and last year, but one story at the time.

[illy dilly]

We had the misfortune to arrive just as the gates were opening (early entry mixup... had to stay the night in Reno).

Entry was terrible, and far from the usual happy dusty hug-and-greet. From the distance on the main road, we could see a string of flashing police lights glimmering in the distance, from people being busted. We counted at least three, possibly 5 cars being searched on our way in through the gate. They even had an informational radio station that was warning us the entire time to drive under the speed limit because of aggressive LEOs. We were terrified, driving in at 4 MPH (just in case!). For the record, cars aren't meant to go that speed and it was damn hard keeping it from going over.

Our greeter was sad and welcomed our hugs. While being greeted, we could see THREE separate vehicles getting searched past the greeter station, on both sides of the outer road. Our only consolation was that it meant those LEOs were occupied, but it felt awful knowing that other innocent people were getting the start of their burn trashed. Even if they weren't getting ticketed, they were getting their possessions dumped on the side of the dusty road as they were being very thoroughly searched.

It was like a giant game of sharks and minnows. It wasn't like a speed trap where the cop waits until he sees someone doing something wrong. Every vehicle we saw had lights on, flashing, and the only reason more people weren't being pulled over was because there wasn't enough cops for everyone. One of our neighbors who had volunteered for a greeting shift said a guy got pulled over for going 6MPH. Another neighbor was searched for having a broken tail light. People in an email group we're part of reported being pulled over for having bikes obstructing their plates, but other people also got pulled over for attaching their plates TO their bikes (because then that meant the plates were unlit!). One (who was stopped, but not ticketed) said the officer basically told him they were using whatever reason just to pull people over.

With a welcome like that, we were prepared for a virtual police state during the burn. Fortunately, it seemed most of the aggression was reserved for the gates, and I think I saw LESS LEO presence in BRC than usual. I was prepared to kill them with love to prove Burners aren't all bad, but I couldn't run into an LEO for the life of me. My one interaction was with BLM rangers who were passing out chapstick and glow-in-the-dark bracelets on the Esplanade Thursday morning after the 5k. They gave me a chapstick and a hug and I told them about my run.

Saw the exact same thing on friday early entry, then got tailed for a few blocks before the BLM ranger decided to drive away. I thought it was strange that I got a hug from the gate person but not the greeter, lol. Once inside the event the LEO's seemed to be really cool though.

We saw the same sorta thing Tuesday evening.
What I couldn't understand, is what probable cause we're people giving them for the search?
Reasons for getting pulled over are easy. There are tons of simple things that you don't even realize are wrong with your car that give the police the right to stop you. But, where are they getting the probable cause?
Most likely its the old "Car smells like Marijuana smoke" line. They don't have to prove they smelled weed, all they have to do is say they smelled weed.
Though, I'd like to hear from the people being searched what they used as an excuse to search the car.

[unjonharley]

Most were speeding that got pulled over..

I kept with the limit and five of ten cars passed me..

Burning Man Org set the speed limit.. The police were enforcing it..

I would like to see one story that could be true.. So far: My buddy thinks he may have seen 5 police car having cars stopped all at once.. People being thrown on the ground.. And crap like that..

Did you get stopped?

Why were you stopped?

Did the cop kick your ass?

Lets have a real story here..

[SaritaSyrah]

There were lots of red and blue lights waiting in line to come in. It was daunting, but not at all foreshadowing.

Only three run ins with police folk this year:

Early Friday or Saturday morning (the days blend for me) I took out on a solo walk, bringing everything I needed for an hour or two of adventuring. On my way past the awesome wolf-coyote-thing that people were climbing early in the week, but not late, I passed two guys in uniform. Khaki colored and quite handsome. They said hello, we chatted for a minute, they asked if I needed any water, I happily declined and continued on my way.

About an hour (maybe two?) later I was by center camp laughing at an older, naked fellow running behind a water truck for a quick shower when I notice my skin was turning a terrible shade of pink. Time to reapply sunscreen, but I found that it was not in my bag. I started the hike back to camp, trying to cover my pale skin with my scarf, willing myself not to burn. It's not working. I I found some form of courage and approached the BLM (I think?) structure and asked the first guy I saw if he's got any sunscreen. He smiles warmly at me, and says something about radical self reliance. I think I might cry, which only makes me realize I've not been drinking enough water. Shit. He laughed and said they didn't have any for general public, but he had some in his truck. I followed and he put a large amount of sunscreen in my palm (more than enough, I ended up rubbing quite a bit on a few stranger's shoulders). Serve and protect, indeed.

I have no idea what morning it was, but I was alone in my yurt, being generally cranky, when I heard two men laughing about "pigs." We'd been hearing this all week, because my neighbor, campmate, and darling friend brought two large paper mache pigs with her. I poked my head out and saw that it was two men in uniform having a passer-by take their picture with the paper swine, the Pigs with the pigs, and they came up with it all by themselves. Darling. I ran and grabbed my camera, and they took a picture with me. We had a nice little chat, they gave me hugs, and were on their merry way.

[Lonesomebri]

Man, all the good times and fun the cops bring......why the guns? Dogs? Handcuffs?
I watched a pair of cops circle the burn, peering into every social circle and when they felt like it, digging in purses and bags, and writing citations.
But they were dressed neat and seemed polite.

Oh well, good people can still enforce bad policy.

[SaritaSyrah]

Man, all the good times and fun the cops bring......why the guns? Dogs? Handcuffs?

To strike fear into the hearts of the fearful? I don't know. My experience with them wasn't bad, but guns and handcuffs don't scare me.