I feel sympathy for law abiding skateboarders.

**Cellar Yeti** · 04-12-2009 09:45 AM

And I am soon to join the ranks of the targeted around my town. So long story short, I got off a double shift last night and I went to the store to get a veggie burrito and as I was exiting the plaza with my prize (which is highly patrolled by police, the lot, not my burrito) I came upon two guys skateboarding in an empty lot adjacent to the only open store, the grocery store. They were doing ollies and a few other tricks, just goofing off and enjoying the weekend. Both of them were actually wearing helmets, not being little punks and breaking bottles or destroying property. I actually might have known them because I saw two kids skateboarding last week and stopped to talk to them when I decided I wanted to try my hand at skateboarding.

Mind you this parking lot is public property owned by the town. So just as I am getting going after pausing watching them for a second an officer walks up to them and tells them to stop skateboarding. They stopped, and were making pleasantries with the officer. Not being snide or nasty. And I distinctly heard the police officer say, 'I'm tired of you punks ruining this parking lot'. And he told them to 'Get lost'. The kids obliged and apologized, and left.

I was pretty disturbed by the hostility this police officer directed towards these kids, who, albeit were skating somewhere they might not should have been, but were being courteous to the property and weren't causing any damage. They could have been breaking bottles or down at the park harassing bystanders like some skateboarders. I just don't understand why the police don't try and establish a basis with these kids and get to know the good kids from the rotten ones, instead they harass all of them equally.

I understand the police officer is doing his job, but these kids weren't doing any harm and certainly didn't deserve to be accosted.

Ok, that was a long story. Sorry. I just am a bit taken back by the way police around here treat all skateboarders.

**sniffleless** · 04-12-2009 10:10 AM

I think I've written something about this before. I find that sometimes people and cops get so used to skaters smarting off to them that when someone is actually civil and compliant they don't know how to react. Maybe they assume they are being condescending or mocking I don't know. It just seems that no matter how nice and apologetic you are sometimes you still get lectured and yelled at just like you had smarted off. It's like the default setting. When they don't know how to react they go with the lecture.

I got yelled at for skating a church parking lot by the pastor or something. He told me we couldn't skate there. I said I was sorry and that I wouldn't ride there again. Then he commenced to tear me a new one and give me the history of skateboarding destroying his property. When he started in on personal attacks I had enough. So then I started my tirade.
"HEY! I said I was sorry and was complying to your request. If you want me to leave I will leave but don't sit here and yell at me like I was smarting off to you. There is no need to yell at me. We are both adults here. So act like one. I didn't realize that it would be a problem for me to ride here. You told me it is. I agreed to leave. So let me do what you ask and leave."
That shut him up. I left and haven't returned. It wasn't as good a skate spot as I had hoped anyway.