An Interesting Experience

By Daniel · Sep 9, 2007 · 832 · 4
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  1. Several of my friends and myself were at a local festival this evening, when one of them gets the bright idea to climb onto the roof of a local public building. It was just for fun and didn't seem like that big of a deal. He was supposed to go up there, let us a take a picture, and get down.

    That happened, but immediately following, the park police swarmed the place. We had at least three vehicles pull up within ten seconds after he jumped from the roof. The first one came at him boldly, and asked what he was doing. He answered honestly by saying he was on the building. The police officer got off his vehicle, unclipped his gun, and told my friend to put his hands behind his back. He was then handcuffed.

    At that point in time I got a sinking feeling in my gut. I couldn't believe the reaction we were getting. We ended up in the situation for about an hour as the police questioned some of us, examined my friend's bag, and filled out papers.

    According to the police officer, my friend was "entering," or "breaking and entering" simply by climbing onto the roof for twenty seconds.

    They said they could charge him or fine him up to $1000. He ended up with a $175 fine and a court date.

    They also made a huge deal about the pictures. In all honestly, I'm not sure why. They made sure my friend had deleted them. Is this legal? I didn't think it was a crime to take pictures. If it had been a reporter would they have confiscated their pictures? No. It's a public place.

    They also mentioned that people would do similar things and post videos on youtube - they said that they used youtube for evidence all the time. Can you believe that?

    The whole scenario was ridiculous, in my opinion. While he shouldn't have been on the roof, I think they acted way to strongly.

    The most ridiculous thing about the entire incident was that we were in a park, and where we were at the moment had signs that said "no skateboarding, no rollerskating, no biking." There was a skate park nearby and the entire time we were being questioned, skateboarders, roller skaters, and bikers rode by between the cops and their vehicles, right past the sign. Did they get ticketed? Nooo.
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  1. The Spartan
    Call me Mister Suspicious, but I should think anyone taking photos from high vantage points in circumstances other than the perfectly excusable would be a big no-no in the states right now. "War on terror" and all that. You just don't get that many suicide-exploding-rollerbladers. Well, not yet anyway.
    The Spartan, Sep 9, 2007
  2. Domoviye
    The thing is your friend could have caused unseen damage while he was up there, or he could have fallen and hurt or killed himself. The fine may be a bit much, but the police should at least give you a stern warning.
    As a former roof climber when I was younger, I always made sure to do it at night to avoid that problem. Of course I also wasn't always interested in innocent fun at the time, so I had good reason to hide.

    Tell your friend to talk to a lawyer or have his parents read up on the various laws, that will help him get through the court with no problems. This is more of a warning then anything else, so as long as he isn't belligerent they should just say pay the fine and stay out of trouble. But with the lawyer or knowledgeable parent, he may be able to get the fine lowered or even removed.

    Also it is perfectly legal for the police to delete the photo's. They were taken during a criminal act, and the police didn't have to confiscate anything, or destroy physical property, so it's all fine. You may be able to argue that it's illegal in court but it would take money, time and effort.
    As for using Youtube for evidence, police in Canada have done that for the last few years. People go and throw parties that trash houses, commit vandalism, occasional beatings and other crimes, then they post them up for posterity. Since its a public domain the cops can search through it, match the crime to some of their cases, and have instant evidence. Considering the damage that some of these criminals do, if they're stupid enough to post it, they deserve to have it used against them.
    Domoviye, Sep 10, 2007
  3. Domoviye
    The thing is your friend could have caused unseen damage while he was up there, or he could have fallen and hurt or killed himself. The fine may be a bit much, but the police should at least give you a stern warning.
    As a former roof climber when I was younger, I always made sure to do it at night to avoid that problem. Of course I also wasn't always interested in innocent fun at the time, so I had good reason to hide.

    Tell your friend to talk to a lawyer or have his parents read up on the various laws, that will help him get through the court with no problems. This is more of a warning then anything else, so as long as he isn't belligerent they should just say pay the fine and stay out of trouble. But with the lawyer or knowledgeable parent, he may be able to get the fine lowered or even removed.
    Domoviye, Sep 10, 2007
  4. jolee
    I tend to agree with you the police in England are just as bad thankfully they dont carry guns, God that would be a disaster as most of them would be trigger happy. Granted your freind should'nt have been on the roof but it was a bit of harmless fun as for making him delete photo's is that legal. Next time gett someone who can whistle very loud to act as a lookout then you won't get caught.
    jolee, Oct 19, 2007
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