Jeffrey Quick's Blog

Bad cop, no donut I

(with apologies for stealing Frank Ney's line)

Evidently getting lost coming out of Camden Yards and ending up in Cherry Hill is an arrestable offence in Baltimore:

Collins said somehow they ended up in the Cherry Hill section of south Baltimore. Hopelessly lost, relief melted away concerns after they spotted a police vehicle.

"I said, 'Thank goodness, could you please get us to 95?" Kelly said.

"The first thing that she said to us was no -- you just ran that stop sign, pull over," Brook said. "It wasn't a big deal. We'll pay the stop sign violation, but can we have directions?"

"What she said was 'You found your own way in here, you can find your own way out.'" Kelly said.

Collins said the couple spotted another police vehicle and flagged that officer down for directions. But Officer Natalie Preston, a six-year veteran of the force, intervened.

"That really threw us for a loop when she stepped in between our cars," Kelly said. "(She) said my partner is not going to step in front of me and tell you directions if I'm not."

After 8 hours in jail, they were released without charges, only to find:

Collins said police left Kelly's car unlocked and the windows down at the impound lot. He reported a cell phone charger, pair of sunglasses and 20 CDs were stolen.

I thought female cops were supposed to be kinder and gentler.

(Hat tip to WND.)

UPDATE: Wendy McElroy, linked from Billy Beck:

The following story captures one of the reasons Brad and I are spending as little time in the States as possible even though many family members live there: namely, the pervasive atmosphere of paranoia, totalitarianism and social hostility. The police response in this instance is an extreme example of what is a prevailing mood with which you must deal on a daily -- indeed, minute-by-minute -- basis when you do almost anything State-side. And I mean you must be careful of what you say about politics while standing in a fast food line...I'm talking a change that has trickled down to that level. The shift has been so incremental that I'm not sure people living in the States even notice how dramatically the culture has deteriorated toward intolerance and mandatory genuflection toward all authority. But for those of us who used to go down from Canada several times a year, it is torture to see what I truly believe was the freest country in the world become the most dangerous one to liberty...this is another example of why you should never voluntarily interact with the police. Better you should ask a hooker on the street corner for directions.

UPDATE: Taranto draws a different lesson:

Ladies, do you understand now why we never ask for directions?