the incident on my block

[blueangel-eric]

I went outside with my radio went i heard a foot chase on the scanner. the bad guy was in my alley. i didn't see anything. an officer approached me and asked me what i was doing and if i saw him. i told him. so i went out front and watched them grab the guy out from underneath someones porch a few houses down. After the suspect left in a patrol car i went to ask an officer what happened. and one of them was a bit hot and said "go home and play scanner." "go home and play cops and robbers." I was like "Your not very good for public relations" He snapped "I don't have to be, that's for the daytime people. now leave before i take you to jail." I replied as i walked away "I'm talking to your captain!!!" 5min later i called the police on the police and asked the dispatcher what to do when an officer is rude and told what happened. I got to talk to the supervisor about 10min later at my house. he was very very sorry and said that behavior was very bad and inexcusable. there was a group of officers all there when it happened. plenty of witnesses. even if i didn't report it i'm sure word would've got to him. I feel so much relieved i got it taken care of. He said the guy was still a bit pumped about the chase. i told him i understand and with all the adrenaline and all. but i know that' officer's real side towards scanner people though. He just let it all out.

I don't know why Law Enforcement Officers and Firefighters aren't as understanding of scanner/police/fire enthusiasts like the aircraft and railroad communities are. Or even the sports teams. i don't hear players get mad because we watch them and tell us to get our own team instead of being wannabees.

There's some weird attitudes in the public service circles towards enthusiasts.:evil: :twisted:

 

[greeneyes965]

Are you guys digital yet?

 

[DELCOLHFC]

Time to re-examine your actions..........

You sir acted very foolishly. What exactly were you thinking when you went outside AFTER you heard about a foot pursuit in your alley. Were you planning to fend off the bad guy with your scanner? Or perhaps use the backlight to stun him into submission? Let the Police (and Fire & EMS) folks do their jobs and stay out of their way! Do not inject yourself into an emergency situation unless you are trained and equipted to deal with it properly.
Yeah, I wonder why PD/FD have a problem with scanner people. Maybe if you start throwing Railway switches the train folks might change their opinion of you also.
I'm a Fire Chief in a fairly busy county and I don't care if every citizen has a scanner and listens to every word we say over the radio. But if any of them respond to one of our scenes and gets in the way of our operations I will be the first one to have the Police push em back or haul them off!
Have fun with your scanner, I know I enjoy mine, but follow the Cop's advice and stay home and/or out of the way!

 

[greeneyes965]

Wow that wrong in what he said

 

[greeneyes965]

Whats wrong with knowing what your local police are doing,i wish i could do that but i cant cause we're digital here

 

[blueangel-eric]

You sir acted very foolishly. What exactly were you thinking when you went outside AFTER you heard about a foot pursuit in your alley. Were you planning to fend off the bad guy with your scanner? Or perhaps use the backlight to stun him into submission? Let the Police (and Fire & EMS) folks do their jobs and stay out of their way! Do not inject yourself into an emergency situation unless you are trained and equipted to deal with it properly.
Yeah, I wonder why PD/FD have a problem with scanner people. Maybe if you start throwing Railway switches the train folks might change their opinion of you also.
I'm a Fire Chief in a fairly busy county and I don't care if every citizen has a scanner and listens to every word we say over the radio. But if any of them respond to one of our scenes and gets in the way of our operations I will be the first one to have the Police push em back or haul them off!
Have fun with your scanner, I know I enjoy mine, but follow the Cop's advice and stay home and/or out of the way!

so was it any worse i was out doing flash photography in the back yard of my antennas and the stars when this all went down? I just got in when i heard it and went back out to see what was going on. maybe my flash spooked the guy into hiding. if it wasn't for my flash maybe the guy could've just slip right on by. of course the next block was out in the open with no place to hide.

 

[hoser147]

Eric you don't think the player's would get mad if you walked onto their field, or the engineer who thought you were to close to the tracks, or the airport officials that thought you were going to breach their perimeter? You heard it on the scanner and went outside, your not considering that you endangered yourself and the officers. It could have turned into a hostage situation, or an accidental shooting or any number of things. You said you tried to ask the officer what was going on. I guess he told you what he had too. I wouldn't bank on him getting into any trouble, Its you against how many officers word? His OIC may say something to him and then laugh about it. He came out and smoothed things over with you and Hopefully there wont be any vindictive officers involved. Ive seen it preached a bunch on here not to chase the action. Not all LEOs or FF are that way about scannist's, many have the hobby too.

 

[blueangel-eric]

Eric you don't think the player's would get mad if you walked onto their field, or the engineer who thought you were to close to the tracks, or the airport officials that thought you were going to breach their perimeter? You heard it on the scanner and went outside, your not considering that you endangered yourself and the officers. It could have turned into a hostage situation, or an accidental shooting or any number of things. You said you tried to ask the officer what was going on. I guess he told you what he had too. I wouldn't bank on him getting into any trouble, Its you against how many officers word? His OIC may say something to him and then laugh about it. He came out and smoothed things over with you and Hopefully there wont be any vindictive officers involved. Ive seen it preached a bunch on here not to chase the action. Not all LEOs or FF are that way about scannist's, many have the hobby too.

I didn't even leave my freaking yard ok. damn. you make it sound like i went down the alley looking for the god damn bastard.

 

[hoser147]

Whats wrong with knowing what your local police are doing,i wish i could do that but i cant cause we're digital here

Go digital........

 

[hoser147]

I didn't even leave my freaking yard ok. damn. you make it sound like i went down the alley looking for the god damn bastard.

Reread it, I was trying to make you see that things could be compared as you did.

 

[hoser147]

Just because they treated YOU like a POS doesn't give you the right to come on here A FAMILY ORIENTED SITE AND CUSS LIKE THAT!!!

 

[DELCOLHFC]

Calm down and think Eric

I didn't even leave my freaking yard ok. damn. you make it sound like i went down the alley looking for the god damn bastard.

Maybe in the morning after a good nights sleep you will understand the potential consequences of your actions and come to understand what we are trying to get you to understand. Then maybe you will understand that one adrenaline pumped Officers attitude towards you at that moment.
Good night and happy scanning, follow the news, try not to become the news...........

 

[greeneyes965]

You know i would be mad myelf

 

[zz0468]

Ok... so now you know how that particular cop feels. He's not alone. Fact is, the public safety community generally tolerates scanner listeners, and little more. And now, that particular one will tolerate scanner listeners a whole lot less. Good job. *eye roll*

 

[Jay911]

OP, care to tell me how us firefighters get a bad rap from that story?

The fact of the matter is, you got involved in police business because of what you heard on the scanner. In this day and age, you're lucky that all you got was a verbal ripping from the cop. Consider what would have happened if the offender had had a weapon and decided to use it on anyone he perceived was in his way.

 

[newsphotog]

Ok... so now you know how that particular cop feels. He's not alone. Fact is, the public safety community generally tolerates scanner listeners, and little more. And now, that particular one will tolerate scanner listeners a whole lot less. Good job. *eye roll*

Couldn't have really said it better myself. Glad someone finally said it.

While the officer may have given blueangel-eric the perception that all cops don't like citizens with scanners, the altercation between blueangel-eric and the officer may give area police officers that citizens with scanners are beyond nosey and like to get in the way.

I am going to be direct here, since everyone else is... it was a poor choice to approach the police at the scene. The adrenaline is pumping and they still have a lot on their mind. Sometimes it's just a cop on a power trip. It's always a bad idea unless you actually have business in the matter.

You listened to it on the scanner. You already know more than your neighbors. You should already have had an idea of what happened. If you need the rest of the story, read the newspaper the next day or go to the police station and request a copy of the police report.

Don't make waves, but don't let this get under your skin, either. Just acknowledge it, use this as a lesson, and move on.

 

[SouthSoundScanner]

A few weeks ago I was sitting on my front porch listening to my scanner when a foot pursuit started a couple blocks from my house. It was in a wooded area and police were setting up a perimeter and called for the helicopter. About 5 minutes later the helicopter was circling overhead. I just sat there and watched the helicopter and about 10 minutes later they located the subjects hiding in the brush.
If something like that ever happens again while I'm outside on my front porch, I'll take the advice of the experts here on RR and run inside my house and hide in a closet so I won't interfere with the police doing their job.

 

[newsphotog]

If something like that ever happens again while I'm outside on my front porch, I'll take the advice of the experts here on RR and run inside my house and hide in a closet so I won't interfere with the police doing their job.

I am sure the police would appreciate that.

But you need to re-read what the issue is. It sounds like the police didn't have a problem when blueangel-eric was just watching. They even asked blueangel-eric if he had seen the suspect. They asked for his help. He was just an observer then and the police even asked for his help.

The issue is that he went up to an officer and the officer gave a snide remark. The problem here is that he proactively approached an officer at the scene immediately following the incident.

Curiosity killed the cat here, not mere observation from the porch.

 

[spicerz]

Just relax

I agree with what newsphotog said. Especially the part about how you knew more than your neighbors because of your scanner.

Last week one of my neighbors blew his head off. I heard the dispatcher announce what was said on the 911 call and the location. I Just chilled in my home office and listened in. I peaked out the window out of curiosity but that was it. Eventhough I know several of the deputies I wasnt going to approach them.

The stuff the cop said was pure adrenaline. Your adrenaline probably went up which is why you decided to post the incident. Although, the take you to jail part was BS. Nobody likes to hear that threat. Perhaps thats what made you so upset or you felt rejected because he didnt take time admire your scanner? Not gonna happen. Its our hobby not theirs.

 

[Jay911]

Nobody's asking you to run inside and hide. But if you're on your porch and hear of a foot pursuit, don't (a) go running down the street looking for it, or (2) approach police asking them to tell you the whole story on what happened. The OP's story is a little hard to decipher, and - brace yourself - may not be the whole story - but it appears that he didn't deliberately go chasing after any suspect. If he stayed on his property, then the first item is a non-issue. The second item, however, is important. Regardless of whether or not you feel you 'assisted' in the capture of the offender by telling the cops 'he went that way', or if you think you have some 'right' to know because it's police that you supposedly pay taxes for, or whatever reason you give to rationalize it, police don't have to tell you what someone is accused of or why they are detaining him. It's none of your business, and you're wasting the officer's time. Imagine if you were waiting for a cop to come deal with a situation you had, but he was busy explaining to some busybody why he just arrested the guy in the back of his car.

Just because you (a) help police do their job and/or (2) are carrying a scanner, does not entitle you to quiz the officer for details at the scene. You're interfering with the carrying out of the officer's duties.