Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
This past week, an attention-getting new No Parking sign appeared outside the 9th Precinct on Fifth Street between First and Second Avenues. The spot directly in front of the station house is now designated for "Prisoner Loading Only."
An NYPD source explained that the space aims to "prevent an issue when a prisoner can escape." It is specifically intended for police use (sorry local residents!), facilitating the expeditious loading and unloading of prisoners. The goal is to have prisoners as close to the front doors as possible, minimizing "lollygagging" and reducing the risk of escape.
Although there hasn't been an escape incident at the 9th Precinct, other station houses have experienced such issues, prompting this precautionary signage measure.
Interestingly, while the space is designated for a specific loading zone, we spotted a marked squad car that didn't appear to be dropping off or picking up a prisoner. Our source acknowledged that police personnel will sometimes use it when stopping by the Precinct for errands. Officers in such cases are to monitor their radios to ensure the space is available when needed for its primary purpose.
H/T Carol From East 5th Street
6 comments:
Well, there goes my S&M plans for the weekend.
Seriously though, what year is it that cops can't manage to walk a presumably handcuffed individual a few feet without them bolting to escape in some kind of Fugitive-esque spectacle? Were movies like Con-Air more true to life than I ever thought? Who are these prisoners successfully fleeing a police force with enough funding to be the 29th largest military in the world?
Two things:
The sign is clearly not an official NYCDOT issue. Which makes me wonder if this is actually NYPD policy now or something some higher-ups decided on and gave the greenlight to without going through the proper city government channels.
The explanation about NYPD officers being summoned via radio if the space is needed is BS, pure and simple. That's not how radio communications work for cops on the job. The only time an officer on duty would be made aware via radio of minutiae like parking logistics would be on a tactical frequency during an active job, e.g., to coordinate free ingress/egress for emergency vehicles on scene at an active response location.
It's not a huge deal, ultimately. They want to bogart a public parking place for their own use, which is lame but could be understandable considering the needs of the station house. But I don't appreciate them using backhanded methods or lying about the particulars. The whole institution of policing is predicated on trust and transparency.
Anyone desperate enough to flee incarceration is going to rock it best then can, no fault to the police. I suggest you become a cop so you can talk from a place of knowledge.
@11:57, you must be a cop since you seem to be speaking from "a place of knowledge." Explain to us how a prisoner is able to escape when surrounded by 5-10 police officers. Do they not cuff or at least chain their legs as well? If not, why not?
Hilarious verbiage, it could have said Police Loading Only or something less changed instead.
Nobody is a prisoner until found guilty in court
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