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NYPD Officer Answers Questions, Reveals Pet Peeves On Reddit
By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 24, 2012
Modified Feb 24, 2012
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By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 24, 2012
Modified Feb 24, 2012
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Someone claiming to be an NYPD officer is currently answering questions on Reddit. Obviously, you can take it with however many grains of salt you wish, but Reddit has a pretty good track record of verifying this sort of thing. And having read through the answers, we're guessing it's legit. The last time a cop took questions on Reddit it made for an interesting read, so if you've got any burning questions for the NYPD, fire away. We should probably ask him why the NYPD press office thinks it's okay to treat the media with utter hostility.
So far, the questions include such goodies as "How do you feel about PBA cards and 'professional courtesy'? Do you think it sets up a two-standard system, able to be abused by 'card holders'?" The cop responds, "I extend courtesy to people with PBA cards. I do this because only the close members of my family have them, and they know not to abuse them. If someone is being a dick with a card, I'll call the officer who's card it is. The reaming out that the kid will get from his cop dad is worse than any ticket I can give him."
Ever wonder about NYPD pet peeves? "The #1 thing that gets on my nerves is people asking me to fix problems that are not lawful matters, such as financial disputes between seller and buyer," says the unidentified officer. "A shopkeeper will sell them something, they want to return it, but in the store is a big sign that says no returns and no refunds. People think that for some reason I can order the shopkeeper to give them a refund. All in all, I just tell them that if they really want to push that envelope they can go to small claims court. There is nothing I can do about it.
"The funniest thing I saw was when some kid was walking around in full police uniform from a Halloween store (it was March). He walked up to us, didn't say anything, and just stood there on post for awhile. It was hysterical. He had the sunglasses and everything."
The cop also talks about the flood of tickets for cyclists, and says he believes it's for bikers' own safety. "People on bikes have to obey the same rules as people in cars - stay on the right, no sidewalks, don't run red lights, etc.," the cop says. "Sure, I guess it makes money for the city, but it makes sense. Too many people on bikes getting creamed by cars. As far as the delivery guys go, we usually don't fuck with them because they don't stay on the sidewalk long - only to get to the building they are delivering to."
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John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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