Apparently some of you didn't get the memo I sent out last year, so I'm re-posting it below.
I mention this only because Sergeant Matthew Baldwin, a member of the Broward Sheriff's Office has been spotted using his patrol car as a pick-up truck. (According to Local 10, Baldwin has been "placed on desk duty and had his patrol car taken away, officials said. He works out of Pompano Beach.")
TO: All South Florida Law Enforcement Officers
FROM: The Random Pixels Common Sense Desk
SUBJECT: Proper use of patrol vehicles
Just a reminder that police vehicles are not to be used for transporting furniture, mattresses, farm animals, cats, dogs, parakeets, women you meet in a bar, alcoholic beverages - either to or from "choir practice" - and last, but not least, hookers and other non-law enforcement personnel.
Additionally, please be aware that this is 2012 and there are cameras everywhere.
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| Photo via Local 10. |
What an idiot this guy is. Plus, I'm sure that if the box started sliding off, he'd be able to stop it using that hand out the partially open window.
ReplyDeleteAnd to think, he passed the Sergeant's exam.
Rob Van Dam!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteNewshawk:
ReplyDeleteI read your blog and on most occasions consider myself a fan of your work. I'm disappointed about your entry, above. You posted this article on the Miami Beach Police Leo Affairs website entitled "Today's Chuckle". Why do you consider it appropriate to entitle this thread "Today's Chuckle" when it refers to an allegation against a Police Officer?
If I understand the issue, a citizen filmed a BSO police car in traffic where a large box was being transported on the roof without being properly tied down. Probably a case where an unsafe load was on the car and probably a violation of BSO's rules for the use of the car. The person accused is a 17 year veteran Police Sergeant who, so far, has lost his car and is reassigned off the street. For all you know, he could be a great cop and this is his first brain-fart.
If the allegation is substantiated against the Sergeant, he will probably receive a very severe sanction for what seems, at first glance, to be a minor incident and very bad judgment. This will likely effect the rest of his career. I don't see what there is to chuckle about.
I understand the news value of such a story. It's fair that you report on it. Police Officers should follow the law, just like everyone else, and should follow the rules of their employer, just like everyone else. I just don't see what is funny.
As a journalist - I think - you should deliver the news, and not resort to ridicule. The news, when properly reported, should be sufficiently well written for the recipient of the news to come to their own conclusion. I want to rely on your work and not have to sift through your personal biases.
Hello there...
DeleteThanks for taking the time to respond.
Let me address your last point first. Yes, I am a journalist. But as a reader of this blog, you also know that I sometimes take an unorthodox approach when writing about certain subjects. But trust me, the ribbing I gave the guy ain't nothing compared to what he's going to get from his colleagues.
For another take on the situation, take a minute and read some of what is being said on the BSO LEO page.
Now, is this funny? Are you telling me you didn't smile a bit when you first saw that picture. This guy is not a rookie. He's a 17 yr veteran AND a sergeant.
Like I pointed out a year ago, there are cameras everywhere.
Thanks again for taking the time to comment.