I wanted to post this so as to get some feedback as to whether anyone has ever heard of anything like this transpiring:
I filled in for a waiter tonight at this restaurant I used to work at, and one of the other waiters told me that at the end of the previous night's shift, he was out front drinking ginger ale out of a clear plastic cup when two police officers approached him and accused him of drinking beer in public. He explained to them that it was just ginger ale and said that they could taste it if they like, which they refused to do. He said that he told them to smell it then, which they did, and they insisted it was beer. They then proceeded to write him up for this despite having no evidence of any wrongdoing. But the best is yet to come...
They then head into the restaurant where the other waiters are counting the night's tips. So they walk over to the head waiter who was counting the money and ask him who's in charge, and he replies that he is (seeing as how he was the most senior waiter on the staff that evening and the owners had already left; he's also a part-time manager when he's not the head waiter). They then proceed to write him up -- on what charge I have no idea, but apparently it's related to the fact that the other dude was in front of the restaurant "drinking beer" and this guy said that he was in charge. So they all go down to the precinct (they weren't arrested, just given summonses and a court date, but they went down to the precinct to protest the tickets) and are basically told that there's nothing they can do about it until the court date, and that the officer's word is final. The guy who was allegedly drinking out front even requested that they give him a breathalyzer test right there on the spot to prove that he wasn't drinking beer, but they refused, saying that "it's not their policy to do so."
Now I ask you: has anyone ever heard of bigger bullshit than this? Honestly, I was at a loss for words, and I can't believe that something like that could happen in America. The worst part is that these two guys are honest, hardworking immigrants who will now have a tainted view of this country (one even said to me, "man, I come from a fucked up country where people will just kill you (Yugoslavia), but even there they wouldn't do this"). I'm assuming (hoping) that these charges are misdemeanors, and that even if found guilty it will have no effect on their future bids for citizenship. Might as well throw a couple of other ridiculous cop stories that I heard today in here as well, because I'm honestly shocked that stuff like this can go on:
The head waiter (the one written up by these cops) was telling me that his cousin received a ticket for crossing the street while on a cell phone. This is in Queens, NY, mind you. Apparently the cop said that she wasn't paying sufficient attention to the surroundings as she was crossing, and he wrote her up. She had the crosswalk light in her favor, too. Unbelievable. How can this happen? People here cross streets on their cell phones all the time, and I cannot believe that there's a statute which says that you have to pay a certain amount of attention while crossing the street. It's wise to do so, since failing to could be injurious, but I can't believe that it would be illegal.
Lastly, the daughter of the owner of the restaurant was telling me how her brother got a ticket while driving his mother's car for apparently "going through a stop sign" which never existed. Seriously -- the cop accused him of going through a stop sign that wasn't there. When he pointed out to the cop that there was no stop sign, the officer got belligerent and accused him of harrassment. The summons stood.
What the hell is up with this country? I'm not positing that this is some nationwide trend, but I'm aghast that one seemingly has no recourse against the authorities in such situations. Yes, these two workers will have their day in court, and will hopefully be exonerated, but why should it even have to get to that point? Something is seriously wrong here. Is this America or communist Russia?
