New Catallaxy

Interaction with a pleasant cop

I was pulled up by the police this morning for not wearing a mask. Walking down a lane at the back of the apartment building in which I live, I spotted a police car. The policemen looked directly at me. Unmasked, I looked back thinking I might be operating within the NSW law. I quite honestly don’t know. My aging brain can’t keep up with the changes. Is this a possible defence?

Of course, everyone outside was masked but then most were masked before the recent tightening of the rules. Anyway, nothing happened and I walked on to my local café and ordered a coffee. And there was the police car again. It had snuck up on me. This time I knew I was breaking the law – loitering unmasked immediately outside a café. He called over to me. “Put your mask on.”

“Sorry I forgot,” I said and put on my mask. We waved to each other and he drove off. Strictly speaking he could have fined me $500. That’s the fine set my local member Gladys Berejiklian whose role, I seem to recall, is to represent my interests. Ah well.

If we leave aside the useless and demeaning imposition of masks, the story is a good one. Old style community policing. He operated within the law. He was civil. And implicitly issued a warning rather than a fine. Is there hope in there for us?

Peter Smith

31 responses to “Interaction with a pleasant cop”

  1. rickw Avatar
    rickw

    Is there hope in there for us?

    More a question of whether or not there is hope for them. If they don’t turn aside from their usual shit, as this officer has done, then things will get very bad for them.

    They are massively outnumbered and outgunned. They need to remember that when they’re doing stupid things that coalesce a unified community hatred and contempt against themselves.

    6
  2. Roger Avatar
    Roger

    Is there hope in there for us?

    Just a little.

    To date, QLD police have been quite community minded.

    I believe this stems from directives issued by Commissioner Katarina Carroll, who comes from humble migrant beginnings and came up through the ranks. And hopefully also some common sense among the rank and file.

    Intelligent police know that they can’t do their job effectively without community trust and support.

    2
  3. Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare Avatar
    Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare

    Are you in an LGA ‘of concern’? People do seem to take mask-wearing more seriously there. No-one around our area (Eastern suburbs) wears masks except to go into shops. Plenty hang around outside without masks on. Everyone’s excuse would be that they are ‘exercising’. That’s certainly the one I would offer. If they wanted to know why I had stopped I would say I was doing controlled breathing, ribcage exercises, and do a few dance steps to show how it is done. But we have never seen a police presence here, although they are there on the coastal walk down to Bondi.

    2
  4. Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare Avatar
    Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare

    Aren’t police supposed to give warnings first, and then only if refusal to comply is made are they expected to make a fine? However, they didn’t seem to give that privilege to the group of young mothers talking together down a Bronte a few weeks ago: they had to make a point that the East was being equally as hounded as the South West.

  5. Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare Avatar
    Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare

    In spite of the very different Covid profile in both areas. Not much in the East, proliferating wildly in the South West.

  6. calli Avatar
    calli

    Is there hope in there for us?

    You obeyed.

    I would only see “hope” if you said you didn’t have a mask and he drove on.

    7
  7. Arky Avatar
    Arky

    the story is a good one.

    ..
    No. It’s not.

    10
  8. Miss Anthropist Avatar
    Miss Anthropist

    I don’t wear a mask except when I go into a shop.
    I’ve done this from Potts Point to La Perouse.
    All I’ve received from the Police is a stiff ignoring.
    I’ve driven to different areas to conduct my normal activities and haven’t been stopped.
    The cops are slackers. Defund them.

    6
  9. Rabz Avatar
    Rabz

    No. It’s not.

    Agreed. Had a similar incident today, which I won’t go into in any great detail. Suffice to say the cop actually ignored me and I wasn’t wearing a face nappie and am in an “LGA of obsession”.

    When you’re feeling uncontrollably nervous and furtive just going to the shops you can’t help but think this country is f*cked. Probably beyond repair.

    Thanks, you hitlerist knobheads.

    11
  10. CrazyOldRanga Avatar
    CrazyOldRanga

    I go to 313 Spencer Street in Melbourne 3 times a week. I never wear a mask or QR in. All the VicPlod that I see don’t wear masks either.

    Oh, for those that don’t know 313 is Plod HQ in Melbourne. Don’t tell on me.

    1
  11. Wally Dalí Avatar
    Wally Dalí

    Just through a court case, pleaded guilty, fined $2000, plus costs $160.
    During the incident, disarmed and/or charmed my way past airport, customs, ticket desk, hosties, cops, plus any amount of citizens.
    On the return, had four cops blocking me from airport entry, and another at mid leg airport to monster compliance.
    Worth every penny, if only to tease the fascist filth into showing their true colours.

    1
  12. shatterzzz Avatar
    shatterzzz

    Was plod masked? Most I’ve seen out and about aren’t but then …
    WE I’SN’T ALL IN THIS TOGETHER … are we?

    2
  13. Wally Dalí Avatar
    Wally Dalí

    Oh f#ck it, just reported your comment Arky while trying to thumb-up it.
    Dover, you might save yourself a lot of trouble if you could work a dialogue box into the “report comment” device, where NuCats could be asked “Are you sure you want to dob on this, snitch? Huh? ” with a yes/no to check.

    2
  14. Tintarella di Luna Avatar
    Tintarella di Luna

    Don’t know if anyone posted this — but my thought was — she would say that wouldn’t she?

    AstraZeneca co-creator Sarah Gilbert delivers chilling warning for unvaccinatedROBERT GOTTLIEBSEN
    Follow @BGottliebsen
    Professor Sarah Gilbert says the Delta variant is “going to reach everybody who is not vaccinated”. P
    4:24PM SEPTEMBER 9, 2021
    959 COMMENTS

    The co-creator of the AstraZeneca vaccine, Professor Sarah Gilbert, was in June given a standing ovation at Wimbledon for her contribution to the global fight against Covid-19.

    But this week, on ABC TV’s 7.30, she personally delivered a chilling warning to Australians who remain unvaccinated when we reach the “80 per cent” target.

    The Gilbert warning will also impact all employers, those who have been vaccinated, the hospital system and indeed the entire Australian community and its economy.

    If Professor Gilbert is right then prepare for a world that Australia has never experienced before.

    The Gilbert warning came in two sentences: “With the Delta variant, which is spreading so rapidly, it’s going to reach everybody who is not vaccinated.” I invite my readers to re-read that sentence and think of the implications before reading the next Gilbert alert.

    It will “also reach those people who are vaccinated and even if they then get infected, they tend to have a much milder disease. They are protected against hospitalisation”.

    All of us will come to our own conclusions about the implications of those two Gilbert sentences but here are mine:

    ?? While all the unvaccinated will be “reached” by the virus not all will be infected, but given the power of the Delta variant a great many will. The percentage of the population that are vulnerable is higher than 20 per cent because the “80 per cent target” does not include children aged under 16.

    ? There is no way our hospital systems could cope with the national disaster that looks likely to result from the Gilbert scenario.

    ? It’s true that the vast majority of vaccinated people will avoid hospitalisation if they catch the virus but they will still be very anxious to avoid it because often it is not a pleasant experience. Those without a vaccination certificate will be seen as walking time­bombs to be avoided by the vaccinated.

    ? A big proportion of the vaccinated majority will not enter work sites where unvaccinated co-employees have been allowed to enter. Those with medical reasons for non-vaccination may need to find jobs where they can work from home.

    ? Similarly, whether it be a supermarket, cafe, pub, bank, aircraft, public transport or sporting contests, cinemas and theatres, the vaccinated will require an assurance from those operating the premises or means of travel that when the vaccinated enter there will be no unvaccinated people present. The unvaccinated may need to spend much of their time at home. There will be protests.

    ? When the horror facing the unvaccinated becomes known and if the hospitals fail to cope, it will, of course, cause vaccination rates to rise to very high levels among those who can be vaccinated.

    ? Although the 80 per cent figure does not include children aged under 16, we are extending vaccinations to those aged over 12 and will almost certainly vaccinate 10-year olds and above. As I understand it the problem with vaccinating children at low age levels is that there has not been enough testing done. That becomes a very urgent priority, although it seems children who are infected have a much lower hospitalisation rate than adults.

    ? In Australia we are checking the results of easily undertaken saliva testing placed in inexpensive, small apparatuses to determine results. These tests can be undertaken in homes and establishments by anyone with a minimum of training, including parents and officials at event entrances, who are also checking for “bombs”. If these saliva and similar tests that give results in under 20 seconds prove successful, then a new way of living will open.

    ? The hospitalisation horrors that are likely in NSW and Victoria following the lowering of business restrictions will cause those states with low infection rates to reconsider opening their borders. That will almost certainly apply to Western Australia and Tasmania and probably Queensland. Certainly only the vaccinated will be allowed to enter those states and they may also be required to undertake regular quick testing.

    A dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine being prepared for a patient. Picture: Getty Images
    A dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine being prepared for a patient. Picture: Getty Images
    I fully recognise that many of my readers will say the above scenarios go too far and I certainly hope they are right. But Professor Gilbert is one of the world’s leading Covid-19 vaccination researchers and the vaccine she developed is proving to be as good as its rivals in most areas, and in terms of long life, looks to be superior.

    I don’t believe her warnings were simply to boost AstraZeneca vaccination rates, but rather to help prepare the Australian community for what could be ahead.

    Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews may have different views on most issues but both have been very clear in delivering warnings to the unvaccinated that are not inconsistent with the above scenarios.

    The general view among economists and the sharemarket is that we will see a quick rebound of the economy in the first quarter of 2022.

    But that’s when the implied horrors of the Gilbert warning are likely to become most apparent, so the rebound might be slower than markets are anticipating.

    Some regional areas of Australia are now achieving vaccination rates well above 90 per cent and Australia is going to need that rate of vaccination to return to some form of normality.

    Footnote: I am fully vaccinated with AstraZeneca.

  15. Tintarella di Luna Avatar
    Tintarella di Luna

    ooops wrong thread

  16. Entropy Avatar
    Entropy

    Must say the Queensland cops on the border last weekend must have suddenly developed severe vision troubles, the sun directly in their eyes etc.

    Which shows they are much smarter than the very average Premier.

    1
  17. Pat Avatar
    Pat

    I just heard that Tony Abbot has been photographed somewhere without a mask.

    Some woman did this and has made an absolute dixjhead of herself.

    Does she know about the hundreds of hours of community service this man has done?

    GHU

    Pat

    1
  18. rickw Avatar
    rickw

    Here’s how many police interactions go:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAJUSSDljGk&t=225s

  19. Indolent Avatar
    Indolent

    When you’re feeling uncontrollably nervous and furtive just going to the shops you can’t help but think this country is f*cked. Probably beyond repair.

    Yes, this is something I hugely resent. Feeling nervous about going about my daily life.

    But, above all, I am developing a genuine and all consuming HATRED for the PTB for literally stealing our lives. They are calmly talking about, maybe, perhaps easing things on 19th October (NSW). That is 4 whole months of our lives they will have stolen and even then only throwing scraps and on condition of apartheid.

    Our lives and our country are being deliberately smashed and many people still don’t even realise it.

    9
  20. areff Avatar
    areff

    Cops in Altona booted a mum and her two toddlers off an empty beach yesterday, reportedly kicking over their sand castle for good measure.

    CBD anti-lockdown protest set for noon on Sept1 18.

    1
  21. Rabz Avatar
    Rabz

    After reading about “parallel structures” in totalitarian societies, I’ve decided to start engaging in as many acts of resistance as possible. That included going for a run this morning (I stopped running about a month ago) without a face nappie.

    Other acts to be teed up soon include inviting people over to my place for a BBQ once Beryl G “gives us back” some precious li’l freedoms. I’ve thought about this and come to the conclusion that the imbeciles aren’t going to know that my friends are at my place anyway and even if they are so what? I’m just so over this utter fascist idiocy.

    F*ck them.

    4
  22. Old School Conservative Avatar
    Old School Conservative

    I just heard that Tony Abbot has been photographed somewhere without a mask.

    Yep, at Fairy Bower/Shelly Beach, Manly.
    A deliberate act of political “gotcha-ism” by the dobber, because eleventy five gazillion other people were in the same area maskless.
    Well done to Tony for firing back.

    1
  23. Diogenes Avatar
    Diogenes

    So far the only cops QPlod we have dealt with, airport, hotel quarantine, checkpoint when Dil collected us from the station have been unfailingly polite and helpful. Big difference to the NSWPlod thugs we dealt with in Sydney on our way out.

  24. duncanm Avatar
    duncanm

    I had a similar interaction… but I am white and middle class (ie: NADT).

    Was walking along the footpath to the mass vax clinic to get jab #2 and two coppers walked past.

    They asked ‘have you got a mask?’. I said, “yes, in my pocket”. They requested I put it on, and as I was only 20m from having to put it on to go in the clinic, I complied.

    Now. Who knows what the NSW law actually is for ‘stay at home’ areas? It says you need to wear a mask in ‘outdoor areas’. That is not, as I understand it, all of the outdoors.

  25. Boambee John Avatar
    Boambee John

    duncanm

    Not required while exercising.

    Walking can be claimed to be exercise.

  26. Lee Avatar
    Lee

    A Melburnian, I don’t wear a mask at all.
    The only times I have been challenged (despite being out and about on many occasions) were by a security guard at JB Hi-Fi, who let me in once I told him I was exempt.
    Also, when entering the local library on two occasions I have been asked both times to put a mask on, but was allowed to proceed when I informed them of my exemption.
    I have not been back since, and will not go back there again.

  27. rickw Avatar
    rickw

    Trivia Question!

    When was the last time “police” did this?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72CZ9z15bH4

  28. Rabz Avatar
    Rabz

    It says you need to wear a mask in ‘outdoor areas’. That is not, as I understand it, all of the outdoors.

    Dunc – if you live in an “LGA of obsession” in Sydneystan, “you must wear a face nappie when you are outside in a public place (such as on a street or at a park)”.

    My point blank refusal to do this has already got me into a couple of quite ugly contretemps.

    Although the stupid fascist morons have finally ditched the requirement to wear them when engaged in “strenuous exercise”.

    Deadsh*ts – there are simply no words to describe how much I hate them or the long overdue punishments I want to visit on them.

  29. Salvatore, Understaffed & Overworked Martyr to Border Closure Avatar
    Salvatore, Understaffed & Overworked Martyr to Border Closure

    Elizabeth (Lizzie) Bearesays:
    September 9, 2021 at 7:10 pm
    <<Aren’t police supposed to give warnings first, and then only if refusal to comply is made are they expected to make a fine? >>

    Alas Lizzie, no. NSW have no power of discretion. Their only allowable action is to issue a fine ($5,000).
    They are prohibited from educating or warning.
    If police issues a fine wrongly, there will be no action taken against the officers involved.
    (i.e. if they issue fines in an “exuberant” manner)

  30. Salvatore, Understaffed & Overworked Martyr to Border Closure Avatar
    Salvatore, Understaffed & Overworked Martyr to Border Closure

    For Lizzie’s reading pleasure

    Officers are being told that if they are considering using discretion to issue a warning or caution they must first seek permission from a superior, a step described by a police source as highly irregular and possibly unprecedented.
    The email emphasises that the request not to issue an on-the-spot penalty will also have to be recorded in police logs for accountability purposes.

  31. Salvatore, Understaffed & Overworked Martyr to Border Closure Avatar
    Salvatore, Understaffed & Overworked Martyr to Border Closure

    Also for Lizzie’s reading pleasure

    Police Commissioner says officers wrongly issuing tickets won’t be held to account

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