The Law Man eating lunch near children = Pedo?

[morell]

Thought I would share an interesting story that happened to me yesterday.

I quite often eat my lunch near my workplace on a nice eastern suburbs Adelaide street. I occasionally have a bit of a nap and listen to bad talk back radio. There is a reserve at the end of the street which if on a nice day I will use.

Anyway, there I was eating my KFC and listening to Leon Byner when I cop car drove past quite slowly. I didn't think much of it thinking they couldn't have been looking at me. They then pulled up behind me and approached my vehicle. The young cop asked me to exit the vehicle and stand on the sidewalk in what was quite a stern tone. I obliged in a bemused but friendly manner asking what the problem was.

He asked me why I was parked at the location, I replied with the aforementioned lunch story. He then asked my name, which I gave. He then asked for identification. I thought this was going a bit far, I was essentially getting questioned by police for doing absolutely nothing wrong. Knowing my rights that in order for me to be forced into handing over my ID I must be driving a car, witnessing or committing a crime. I very politely refused to hand over my ID and asked them again what problem was and what crime I was committing.

Taking on a very indignant and cocky manner both police officers decided that giving my car a once over was in order. I seriously thought they were going to take out their baton and smash my brake light for a second.

They couldn't find anything too bad but figured my tyres were "bald" - in reality they might need replacing soon but they are by no means illegal. I asked by what standard were they bald and they couldn't answer, merely pointing and saying "that is the standard for bald". It was what happened next that made me realise exactly what this was all about. One of the cops asked me - "having fun staring at the kids?!". There happens to be a school nearby. I was apparently staring at children - I didn't even notice they were there!

Anyway, they decided to defect my vehicle. They again asked for my ID and said if didn't oblige they would arrest me. I handed over my ID, they did a check and soon realised that I had never committed a crime in my life and was, in fact, just sitting there eating my lunch.

Maybe I should have just handed over my ID and fallen to their feet in awe, but I felt slightly aggrieved and, I will be honest, pissed off that by merely eating my lunch I had been questioned by police.

Thoughts?

 

[theGimp]

****ing pigs...

Office of police integrity.


Email them if you were fined.

 

[Mario the Lothario]

Welcome to the surveillance nation.

Did you make a report about this incident? Have you contacted your local member of parliament to make an appointment and discuss this matter?

 

[Mario the Lothario]

Office of police integrity.


Email them if you were fined.

Put political pressure on this as well.

Contact your local member.

 

[morell]

yeah, I got the badge numbers of both the officers and have now made an official complaint to Police Complaints Authority of South Australia. I doubt anything will come of it but we'll see.

The funny thing is, you can't even see any of the kids from where I was parked, if I drove up the road 80m I could have had a much better "view". This stunning piece of logic obviously escaped them.

I have no dramas with them checking me out, even coming up and saying hello and having a polite inquisition into exactly what I was doing is fine as well., but no, they were just complete arseholes from the get-go.

 

[JimDocker]

I guess it is good that they are on the look out for prospective criminals, especially someone that may be looking to cause harm to children. The problem is the way they handled it. Lucky you didn't get tasered !

 

[simpleton]

[ Simpleton please don't quote such a big post for a two-line answer. Do it again and I will fine you for bald tyres. - Chief ]

I would guess some local resident with too much time on their hands rang up the cops complaining about some weird guy checking out kids is parked in the street. Perhaps you had just parked in their favourite spot.

 

[morell]

I would guess some local resident with too much time on their hands rang up the cops complaining about some weird guy checking out kids is parked in the street. Perhaps you had just parked in their favourite spot.

That is more than likely.

No dramas with the complaint or the cops checking me out. Just their attitude and the way they handled it.

 

[Docker Clint]

I quite often eat my lunch near my workplace on a nice eastern suburbs Adelaide street. I occasionally have a bit of a nap and listen to bad talk back radio. There is a reserve at the end of the street which if on a nice day I will use.

I've always done this at lunch time, park somewhere else and chill out during lunch. I've recently found out that people think you're weird if you dont want to sit in the lunch room listening to people talk s**t.

 

[morell]

I've always done this at lunch time, park somewhere else and chill out during lunch. I've recently found out that people think you're weird if you dont want to sit in the lunch room listening to people talk s**t.

yeah absolutely. I need a mental break from everyone and everything, the best way I have found is to get away from the office for 1/2 hour.

Just don't do it near kiddies. Or you're a pedo.

 

[krusden]

There's a bloke who often sits in his car near the beach In adelaide we walk at. The car is full of toys and stuff and the bloke sits there with a smoke and a beer when its a nice day watching kids play on the beach.

Its BS ive never seen a pr!ck like this pulled up but that the OP does - however thats SA coppers for you.

 

[Herne Hill Hammer]

A few years ago I took my car into get serviced at Cobram up near the Murray River. As it was going to take a few hours and it would've cost me $50 each way in a CAB to the town where I lived, I decided to hang around.

Being school holidays the picture theatre was open so I went to see what was on. The movie Cars was playing so I thought I may as well go in there to kill a few hours. Naturally enough the joint was full of kids and their mums, as I walked in on my own I kept getting stared at by the mums and then it twigged to me why. I promptly sat down at the very front where there was no one else and looked straight ahead for the entire time.

It actually made me feel like I was doing something wrong. It's a shame things have come to this. I have a couple of young kids myself and find myself doing the same thing that those mothers were doing to me when I'm out and about.

P.S. I was thinking at first one of them might have been up for a bit. Just abandon the kids in the cinema while the movie was on and go get a room for an hour or two or duck down the banks of the Murray. I was sadly mistaken.

 

[WCEforeverman]

Unfortunately the media has created this perception that any single guy within a 1 mile radius of children, must want to kidnap them and sexually abuse them.

 

[SS_Fury]

i would also speak to your local member of parliament, even send an email to your local newspaper to perhaps write a story. Definately take it further, thats bullshit!

 

[Selective Retention]

At my last job I always used to grab something to eat and go to the car and listen to the footy, cricket, or races. If you stay in the building you will have people nagging you to do things in your break, stuff that, it's best to get away. I had so many police approach me asking me what I was doing. Parked in company carpark, wearing company uniform, eating lunch/dinner with football on radio. Join the dots mr plod. I think I ended up 'known' in the end as the police would sweep the area and just ignore me. The ironic thing is that they had a homeless bloke living in the stairwell for 6 months and they wouldn't do jack about that.

 

[Vaders_1st]

Tell today tonight or ACA about it

 

[jeemak]

Is there something about you two that immediately triggers suspicion?

Maybe you look like one of these guys.

http://www.isp.state.id.us/sor_id/SOR?form=6&typ=vsp&page=1

Or like this guy

I sit at my desk at lunch. If the phone rings and I don't answer it, the call just gets automatically transferred to my mobile anyway and with the industry I'm in, it's best if you deal with crap when it comes up. But, I do get out on the road a bit throughout the week so it's not as if I'm chained to the desk. But I too consciously steer clear of schools and playgrounds/parks if I do happen to take a break to eat or make a phone call when out and about so as not to look like a pedo.

 

[Docker Clint]

Unfortunately the media has created this perception that any single guy within a 1 mile radius of children, must want to kidnap them and sexually abuse them.

It's certainly one of the reasons there are very few male teachers in the education system. No one wants to open themselves up to that kind of accusation and it's sad.

There's a line in a song that was release a year or two ago:

"not every single man in his 30s with a child who isnt is own is a paedophile, some people are just nice"

 

[Docker Clint]

At my last job I always used to grab something to eat and go to the car and listen to the footy, cricket, or races. If you stay in the building you will have people nagging you to do things in your break, stuff that, it's best to get away. I had so many police approach me asking me what I was doing. Parked in company carpark, wearing company uniform, eating lunch/dinner with football on radio. Join the dots mr plod. I think I ended up 'known' in the end as the police would sweep the area and just ignore me. The ironic thing is that they had a homeless bloke living in the stairwell for 6 months and they wouldn't do jack about that.

I'm surprised how prevalent this is. I've never been "nabbed", probably because I have my head buried in the paper, unlike the "weirdos" staring into space

 

[mantis]

Or like this guy

I sit at my desk at lunch. If the phone rings and I don't answer it, the call just gets automatically transferred to my mobile anyway and with the industry I'm in, it's best if you deal with crap when it comes up. But, I do get out on the road a bit throughout the week so it's not as if I'm chained to the desk. But I too consciously steer clear of schools and playgrounds/parks if I do happen to take a break to eat or make a phone call when out and about so as not to look like a pedo.

I also eat my lunch at my desk, I answer phones, I think because the job I had before this one for nearly 10 years, there was just me & the boss, so when he wasn't in the office I was the only one there, so had to deal with any calls.

At this new job I went to the lunchroom once, it felt to weird, so I went back to my office.

 

[skilts]

Generally, my work means I'm on the road most of the time. Once or twice a week, I'll spend a day at the office in the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne. When I do so, I usually like to have a power nap after I've eaten my lunch in the car. The only place in the whole area which is relatively quiet, and allows my car to be shaded, is in a park outside a primary school. I've never been troubled by anyone when I do this.

The sad thing about this thread for me is that it's now seen to be automatically suspect if one looks at children, in any way. I enjoy looking at children at play. It reminds me that I've always vowed never to forget what it was like to be a child. Also, I just enjoy seeing kids play. I like children. That doesn't mean I want to **** them. It would appear the loonies have won. There is now only one way to look at children.

 

[Andre]

It's certainly one of the reasons there are very few male teachers in the education system. No one wants to open themselves up to that kind of accusation and it's sad.

As a father of two young sons, personally I find it the attitude that every male teacher is pedo until proven otherwise a disgrace.

If any young kid is running in the playground and trip and bleed they better hope any teacher nearby to offer comfort is a female. As god forbid a male patting on the back when they are in pain is surely worse then the warped view of males in general they'd get when the teacher just stand backs and watch them suffer for fear

Most males here over the age of 30 - 35 at least would remember having at least a couple of male teachers through school that were good blokes you could admire - even if they were teachers and could never admit it to anyone whilst at school. That my sons could possibly go through school without having any male teachers, or any they do have being anally retentive by necessity to be close to robotic is yet another thumbs down on today's society.

 

[Macca19]

Ive had lunch down the park near my old work a few times but never approached etc.

In my new job we used to not really get a lunch break as it was too busy, so we'd all just have lunch when we could when it was quiet. Worked well. Theyve changed it now into a very rigid system where certain people have to have 30 minutes off at set times every day no matter how busy. I got told off for answering the phone. Annoying.

As for the OP, SAPOL are ****ing idiots.

 

[Andre]

Tell today tonight or ACA about it

Why am I picturing Homer Simpson on 'Rock Bottom'?

He's said he was just eating lunch.

He drives a car with bald tires.
He disrespects the law.
He's 'Lunch time kiddy watcher', in the studio tonight.

(Pan away from Tracy) No Morell, no, no, don't hit me. (Cue pan back).

 

[jeemak]

^^That schwwee, schwweet candy!

I had some great male teachers at my primary school, same with secondary. It also happens that I had a Vic Kick helper who seemed to be fantastic turn out to be a fairly disturbed individual, who couldn't be trusted around children.

The football club I play for now runs the local Saturday Aus Kick clinic. Basically the players from our club take it in turns to volunteer on a weekly basis and run the clinic for the kids, and none of the parents get involved. I find it strange that no security checks are carried out to monitor this close interaction with children while the parents either sip a latte and watch, or not even show up and take advantage of the cheapest form of babysitting that money can buy. Whereas, if the same parents knew that during the week while their kids were at school enjoying their play luch some guy was sitting in their car just harmlessly watching their kids play, they would be uncomfortable with it.