Brickbat: Above the Law

For over two weeks, Jose Rodriguez's tow truck has had a boot on it, costing him thousands of dollars. His troubles started when he tasked with repossessing a Nissan Maxima whose owner was behind on payments. The owner of Nissan was a New York City Police Department detective. When Rodriguez tried to repossess the car, cops arrested him on a felony charge of possessing stolen property. They later dropped that charge—after Rodriguez spent 20 hours in jail—but then charged him with falsifying documents and possessing a police scanner, charges he denies. The cops also still have his phone, laptop and other electronics they seized from him.

Comments

[Adans smith]

So NYC is gonna pay oy another lawsuit. I wonder what their going to do to the bank that holds the loan.

[Jerryskids]

Either this is the stupidest tow truck driver in NYC or he's telling the truth, in which case he's just the most naïve tow truck driver in NYC.

[Rossami]

Or, more likely, he didn't know that this particular deadbeat was in the NYPD.

[Fist of Etiquette]

"If it is that kind of thing, it would be unacceptable. There would be huge consequences for those cops,” de Blasio said. “You can't show that amount of favoritism as a member of the NYPD. So again, I'm not here to pre-judge cause I don't know the details, but one of the things we have to do for all New Yorkers is show that no one is above the law."

lol

[AlmightyJB]

Everyone knows that pigs are more equal than all other animals.

[TangoDelta]

Hmm, that sounds like we need to make more bacon.

[Unicorn Abattoir]

So, what "amount of favoritism" is a member of the NYPD entitled to?

[SQRLSY One]

So then I guess cops and detectives can take out car loans, and never repay the bank? 'Cause no repo man may EVER take the car back? Bennies of the cop-job, then, I guess...

Also... "... possession of police scanners" is a crime? Cops put out radio waves, and radio waves are public domain, are they not? Are they going to next tell us we have to plug our ears whenever the cops are talking to each other?

[Unicorn Abattoir]

I looked it up. Police scanners are not illegal. However, possession of a police scanner while driving is illegal in NY.

General ownership of a scanner is perfectly legal. I'm assuming police also use secure channels as well, and listening in on them would probably be considered wire tapping.

[croaker]

Ham Radio operator in Jefferson County, NY was arrested by state police when he was stopped for possession of the ham radio transceiver that was installed in his car.

The stop itself was bogus. It was a foggy night and he was slowing down in anticipation of a reduction in the speed limit, the trooper stopped him for DUI. Couldn't get him on the DUI so the did this instead.

[markm23]

Fine, make that an official policy that any bank loan operator would be remiss in not knowing.

"Your primary employment is with the NYC police? Sorry, we cannot loan to you."

[Rhombus of Terror]

"...posessing a police scanner..."

Those terrible, no good, very bad devices that let you receive RF broadcasts without interfering with them...its just awful that the little people can sometimes hear the things you're saying out loud.

[Quo Usque Tandem]

Hey if you don't want to be treated like a thug, don't go around doing your job repossessing cars that a cop won't pay for, like a thug. He basically had it coming to him, right?

[Old Mexican - Mostly Harmless]

---"Above the Law"---

This is 'New Yoak', after all. Land of angry people, of charlatans and shysters, criminal land developers, cheats and frauds, and a president.

[MatthewSlyfield]

" and a president."

Who is everything on your list except he's not a lawyer so he can't be a shyster.

[Conchfritters]

Police detective owes money all over town

[Inigo Montoya]

Not him: his wife Bunny does.

[Brandybuck]

I knew a repo-man, or rather, a repo-husband and his repo-wife. They were tasked with repossessing a car owned by a prison guard at Corcoran State Prison (where Charlie Manson resides).

The story ends up with them fishtailing down the prison drive as dozens of rifles and shotguns are firing at them. Fortunately the prison is surrounded by an earthen berm, and once to the main road they were safe.

They stopping repossessing cars shortly after.

[IceTrey]

Manson is dead.

[markm23]

The funniest novel I have ever read is 32 Cadillacs. It is about a detective agency that gets the contract to repossess 32 Cadillacs, which were bought with rubber checks for the funeral of the King of the Gypsies. The author, Joe Gores, implies that it's based on an actual repo job undertaken by the actual detective agency he once worked for.

There is one chapter where one of the agents tries to repo a car from the wrong man - but this man's gang are criminal criminals, much less dangerous than the NYPD. Gores and Donald Westlake cooperated on writing a chapter in one each of their books, telling this story from both sides. In Westlake's Drowned Hopes, Westlake's burglary gang is meeting. Their getaway driver arrives in a stolen Cadillac (IIRC, he just prefers stealing his ride to owning one). The repo-man drives by checking the license plate numbers on parked cars, and there it is. So he waits for the driver to walk away and slips the lock - and suddenly he is parked in by several cars, from which dangerous and annoyed-looking men emerge. After he explains that he is repo-ing the car, they discuss things among themselves, come back smiling, and move their cars so he can leave with the repo. The getaway driver is done with the car, and now he doesn't have to ditch it somewhere not associated with any of them...

[Derpifer]

I have no sympathy left for people who are ruined or destroyed by the government. People want everyone else micromanaged at gunpoint and then get angry when the gun gets pointed at them, but I say it serves them right.

[MoreFreedom]

I'm still sympathetic to those "who are ruined or destroyed by the government" when they've harmed no one.

But like you, I've no sympathy for the leftists who are ruined by the government for which they advocated. You're right, it "serves them right" because they get what they asked for, good and hard, especially because they didn't realize the consequences of what they asked for. It's kind of like a lot of people on welfare: they don't take a job because the extra income costs them welfare money, so they stay in poverty by taking advantage of the anti-poverty program they asked for.

[MatthewSlyfield]

I don't want anyone micromanaged at gunpoint. In fact, one of my responses to gun control proponents is: Come back when you are willing to start your restrictions with law enforcement rather than exempting them.

[croaker]

Hmmm, tow truck operator or stupid cops?

Hoping for mutual destruction.

[Cloudbuster]

possessing a police scanner

Possessing a police scanner is illegal in New York? Talk about self-serving laws. Can't have the citizens monitoring your activities when you're busy jackbooting all over the place.

[Atlas Slugged]

"Repossessing stuff is the hardest part of my job."

-the Repo Man

[sunita Rana]

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