EXTREMELY disappointing encounter with someone with a badge

[Guest Glock23ForMe]

No disrespect to any officer on this forum, unless this was you, and if it was... I'd like to hit you in the face with something heavy, hard and extremely blunt.

I was going out on a date tonight, first date I might add, and we were going to a nice restaurant in Franklin. We got to the restaurant and the parking lot was full, I had never met this girl in my life and didn't want her to have to drive around for 15 minutes because they have a small parking lot. So, I started walking around and found a parking spot, because she was pulling into the restaurant. About 20 seconds before she got to me, this guy starts backing into the parking spot I'm standing in. Being a 6'1" 230lb guy, I know this is no mistake. He stops less than 2 ft away sticks the top half of his body out of the window and says, "What are you doing?" I point at a car coming toward the parking spot and say "Waiting for her." He replies sharply with an, "This one looks empty to me, so why don't you move." I follow that up with an, "I'm standing right here, so go find another one." He goes into his car, comes out sharply, so I scoot to the right to where I can see him before he sees me. He pulls his wallet out of his car, opens it, shows me his badge and says "How bout you move now, before I make you move." Not wanting to cause a confrontation with some idiot, I move and my lady friend calls me and says "What's that guy doing?" She says she found another one and I walked over there to her, blowing steam out of both of my ears.

My question is this.. I realize that it's a parking spot, but what's the difference in than and saving seats at an open seating movie, theater, etc? Honestly? What kind of person, even an OFFICER, can be so provoked to start a confrontation over a parking spot. IMO, these are the types of officers where their badge is a crown and the general public should bow down, just because they made it through academy. Grant it, he does put his life on the line whenever he goes on duty, and I appreciate that, but he makes himself, and his department, look like a large ass whenever he shows his ass, off duty, outside of a restaurant. I wish, more than anything, I would have walked up to the window, got his name, department and badge number, because I would have personally walked my butt down to that station and spoke to the chief in person and plainly stated that if this is the way you are to conduct your self around the general public when you're out of uniform... Go on somewhere else. I have a feeling that some, not most, not all, but some, of the officers that wear their badge for a crown have forgotten all about the "To SERVE and protect" that is written on the side of the cruiser. Why not act like a human? All that a citizen sees is, when you flash your badge to intimidate someone in order to get what you want, is a big ******* who has a large ego and needs a plastic surgery procedure to shrink your head.

Sincerely,

Concerned Citizen and Parking Spot Saver

[Guest Bronker]

So how did the date go?

If you really wanted to impress her, you should have found the guy in the restaurant, walked up to his table, spit in his plate, and be-otch slapped him. That's what I would have done...

So...how did it go?

[Guest Glock23ForMe]

Went really well.. We're doing dinner and Redbox monday night...

[Guest Bronker]

Went really well.. We're doing dinner and Redbox monday night...

Safer bet!

[Ebow1]

There are good cops and bad cops plain and simple. With a lot of them I imagine the stress just gets to them, with others, I have no doubt that they really are just dicks.

[Guest Bronker]

There are good cops and bad cops plain and simple. With a lot of them I imagine the stress just gets to them, with others, I have no doubt that they really are just dicks.

True that. But, for purposes here in discussions, let's be careful...

http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/288220-post1.html

This is a recent reminder by the boss-man here.

Carry on.

[Ebow1]

I understand. I'm enrolled in Nashville State's CSI program right now, and I have a lot of respect for police officers. A lot more then I used to after living in Baton Rouge and seeing what they have to go through in a high crime/high poverty city after a hurricane. I certainly didn't mean any disrespect to any officers here.

[Smith]

I would have asked exactly what he intended to do. Pulling his badge means nothing off duty in that scenario. In fact he would be in big trouble if it got back that he threatened you with it off duty. You probably didn't get his info, but if you did go file a complaint that he threatened you using his badge. It's a little spiteful, but he should have left the badge out of it.

[Jasongar8]

If there isnt a car, truck, or motorcycle parked in it then I consider it empty. I'm not saying that he was right by flashing his badge. But the whole spot saving thing, at a theater, a sports game, a parking lot, or otherwise has always got on my nerves.

[Smith]

If there isnt a car, truck, or motorcycle parked in it then I consider it empty. I'm not saying that he was right by flashing his badge. But the whole spot saving thing, at a theater, a sports game, a parking lot, or otherwise has always got on my nerves.

Yeah, I gotta agree with that. My mom is one who will send someone 30 min early and save a whole row of seats. Always hated that.

[daddyo]

I can't stand cops who think everyone should bow down to their "AUTHORITAH", just because they have a badge.

[Reservoir Dog]

Wow....another cop bashing thread on TGO. How surprising. :-\

So, you say he was a police officer. What was written on the badge? What department was he with? Please tell us.

[Guest Glock23ForMe]

If there isnt a car, truck, or motorcycle parked in it then I consider it empty. I'm not saying that he was right by flashing his badge. But the whole spot saving thing, at a theater, a sports game, a parking lot, or otherwise has always got on my nerves.

Honestly, I've never saved a parking spot before, but I have saved a few seats, not three rows, but like 2 seats, and the only reason I did it is because we had reservations and she was running late so I didn't want her to have to walk all the way across three parking lots to eat.

Wow....another cop bashing thread on TGO. How surprising. :-\

So, you say he was a police officer. What was written on the badge? What department was he with? Please tell us.

I'm not trying to bash, I have TONS of respect for Law Enforcement. My ex's father was a cop. It just "fries my bacon" whenever a one forgets about the serve and protect and thinks that by flashing their badge off duty gets them things. Does BK give you your discount when you're off duty... No.

Honestly, I didn't get close enough. At the point when he flashed his badge I, honestly, was like "What an idiot, he's gonna make a huge scene over this parking spot" and realized it wasn't worth it and just shook my head in anger and contempt and walked away. She found another spot anyways. It just disappoints me when people, in general, act like this. I mean, going back to the whole seat saving at open seated events, yeah, people hate it, but that's part of the fun of going out and about, the other part is getting badges flashed.

(Joke) If I would've had a HCP Badge with me, I could have pulled my wallet out and flashed mine.. hehe, we could have exchanged badge numbers and depts (Mine has neither, I know) and went on his merry way...

[USMCJG]

I think some people are taking this whole "cop-bashing" thing a little too far. A negative post about A cop is not cop-bashing. A post bashing ALL cops is cop-bashing. This thread is clearly the former.

This is just a guy relating a personal experience about someone who represented themselves as an officer, and used their badge to threaten and intimidate to get what they wanted. THIS cop may be a jerk, but that in no way means EVERY cop is a jerk. And no one in this thread has made that leap.

I hope we don't get to the point where we almost worship a profession to the point that we can't discuss when someone in that profession is wrong. We'll be no better than MSNBC.

[Reservoir Dog]

So, basically, you don't know if he was a cop or not. He was just someone who flashed a badge. Lot's of people have badges (firemen, security guards, HCP holders, etc...), not just police officers.

I'm not saying he was not a police officer, but it just bothers me that people post stories like this, and assume that it was a police officer when, in fact, they have no proof at all. Then in typical TGO fashion, all of the other anti cop/government types on this site start piling on their BS and "respect my authoritah" comments.

[Ebow1]

Nobody in this thread has said anything that I would consider cop bashing. More like rude guy who happened to have some kind of badge bashing.

[Guest Glock23ForMe]

Nobody in this thread has said anything that I would consider cop bashing. More like rude guy who happened to have some kind of badge bashing.

Took me a few times to catch the humor in that... but, found it!

I realize that others have badges, but this guy wanted to openly say "Hey, I'm a police officer so move out of that spot". Honestly, at any point, what type of person from 15 ft away is going to flash a badge if he doesn't want to project the "Back up, I'm a cop" aura.

[Reservoir Dog]

I think some people are taking this whole "cop-bashing" thing a little too far. A negative post about A cop is not cop-bashing. A post bashing ALL cops is cop-bashing. This thread is clearly the former.

Do you have any proof that this person was a police officer? But, somehow, it is okay to post a thread saying it was a police officer with no proof.

The OP has answered my question.

[Reservoir Dog]

More like rude guy who happened to have some kind of badge bashing.

That would be a much more accurate title for this story, rather than "Disappointed in Metro/Franklin's Finest," since that is really the only proof we have.

[USMCJG]

Do you have any proof that this person was a police officer? But, somehow, it is okay to post a thread saying it was a police officer with no proof.

The OP has answered my question.

Of course I don't. Anymore than you have proof that he wasn't. He certainly represented himself as an officer. Personally, I would have asked him to show me his badge.

[TGO David]

Ok, here's the deal....

Remove the badge from the equation. Had this dude pulled to the spot you were standing in and demanded that you moved, and rather than showing you a badge of some sort, showed you his fist and said "GTFO" what would you have done?

Personally, I'd have moved. Not because I'm a wimp but because clearer heads prevail. There's no sense getting into a fight over a parking spot. Further more, I'd have been carrying -- and no matter what sort of fight you get into, if you're carrying, a fight automatically becomes a gun fight by proxy.

Most people in this world would have cussed you pretty good under their breath but never confronted you as you stood in that spot. You happened to catch the small percentage who will, and he did, and he happened to have a badge of some sort. The badge isn't the problem. The fact that he was confrontational with you is the problem, right?

Big deal. I'm not excusing his actions, and definitely think the guy was a douchenozzle of the highest order -- magnified by the fact that he gave the impression of being a cop -- but the fact remains that you got to go home, physically intact, and had a nice dinner with your date. You won. Not him.

[Ebow1]

Badge or not, I would've explained to him that I was trying to save a spot for a first date, most guys can understand that one and will leave you be.

[Reservoir Dog]

Of course I don't. Anymore than you have proof that he wasn't.

Correct. I don't have any proof that he was not a police officer, but then again I am not claiming that he was not an officer.

By his thread title, the OP claims that this guy was a member of the Nashville or Franklin Police Department. I saw no proof of that (or any other police department) in his post. I was curious as what proof he had of his claim. My question was answered.

[TGO David]

The OP made an assumption. It was a logical assumption based on where the event happened. I don't see this necessarily being a cop-bashing thread, but see how it could easily turn into one if people don't keep emotion out of it.

[TGO David]

Edited to add... I'm editing the title of the thread. Just for the sake of fairness.