NYPD officers-turned-teetotalers now issuing summonses for drinking on private property?
A case of power-tripping from the New York Police Department…
Holding his phone, Mr. Rausa approached the officer and said that because he was sitting on a private stoop behind a gate, he was not breaking the law. “I don’t care what the law says, you’re getting a summons,” the officer said before rolling up his window, according to Mr. Rausa.
via NY Times.
I was told the same thing about a year ago in Brooklyn. Sitting on our stoop, behind a closed gate, a pair of nypd officers told us that we were “drinking in public”. After a few minutes of serious pressure from us, we were told that if we could produce an ID that proved we resided at that location then we could be allowed only a warning if it didn’t happen again.
What? As a French resident, I don’t comprehend how drinking in public by itself is a crime. You either live in a society with alcohol or you don’t.