The cops are doing there job, if you were smart you would have not went to a place where 100 people are gathering and they may have left you alone. If they didnt tell you guys to leave their boss will tell them to hit the road. If you dont have a job you dont understand. If you do have a job and you still dont understand your probably not very good at it. + camera guy dont be such a pus roll that camera at all times. You were just out looking for trouble.
I try to tread the line between mindless cop-bashing and idol worship because police are here to reinforce the laws the government and I'm sure everyone knows that "law" does not directly translate into "right." Historically, cops followed orders when they beat the **** out of black people in Jim Crow, they followed orders when they bombed MOVE in West Philly. Sometimes they DON'T follow orders which eventually manifested itself into catastrophic riots in LA and other cities throughout the country. They were just "doing their jobs" but I wouldn't say their means were commendable. The police deserve extreme scrutiny within their job because when their powers are mishandled, it can have more drastic effects than other jobs. I don't think the police's reaction to this situation was out of control at all and there are definite benefits to a respectful police force, but I think it's important to always keep an objective point of view and not let personal biases distort reality. Police are only human, and we all have flaws.
the excuses "they're just doing their jobs" & "it's for the greater good" have been used throughout history to justify some of the worst examples of human behavior. now, i'm not in any way comparing what happened in belmar to the holocaust or jim crow laws or anything like that; however, the refusal of people to use their own, independent judgment in any given situation is absurd & running rampant in our society. what happened in belmar is endemic & an example of how people expect others to watch over them at all times...big brother is watching you surf!
If I was the cop I would have smashed their surfboards and broke them in 1/2 on the wall, Cameras rolling and all Then Gov Christie would promote me to chief.
I had the same thing happen to me when I was just checkin it on friday afternoon with a lifeguard on a ego trip. The beach was close as per county ordinence but not the boardwalk and sidewalk. I droped the public property thing on him but then he started going off on how he was gonna call the cops and see to it I am in cuffs. I told him to call they never came. In most but not all cases most surfers can swim better then most but not all lifeguards. That where I think a bit of the hatered comes from. But next year Belmar should put some cash aside for a new firetruck . WTF is that thing from the 60's LOL
Preventing a law suit is a bad idea? Imagine if the law suit cut into their budget and had to lay off a bunch of officers and you actually had a bad hurricane. Would you really want 5 officers protecting the entire town from looters? The fact is that the kids could have went somewhere else to surf outside of the view of all the people and the police, yet they did it right there just to be a bunch of idiots and make a scene. If one of them would have gotten hurt (wiped out and got hit over the head by their board and drown) everyone would be like yeah they should have listened to those cops...blah blah. All the cop haters are a bunch of clowns and have zero thought process.
It's not the cops fault, it's people voting for and putting up with political correctness and so called liberal policies that are liberal only for a few hot button issues, and a virtual police state for everyone and everything else. Everyone in this country needs to shun anyone who sues or threatens to sue anyone over something that involves personal responsibility. Forget about all the hot "rights" issues that are shoved in our faces by the media and vote for and stand up for our basic personal freedoms. This crap has been going on for a long time in NJ, I can remember back in the eighties when there was some storm approaching and somebody drowned down in Seaside. They decided to close all the beaches including Sandy Hook for rough seas. The only problem was the swell angle was so steep that although it was head high + down south Sandy hook was knee to waist and the rangers were running up and down the beach issuing a summons to anyone who stepped on the beach. There was almost a riot that day.
I'm 40 years old and have been surfing since I was ten. I still get up for DP whenever its good and I still ride a shortboard. I'm a COP. A State Trooper actually. I've been one for 12 years. I surf with about 5 other COPS/Troopers year round. We're locals living about 3 miles from the closest beach. I've been to Cali, Costa, Barbados, and Nicaragua for trips with a bunch of COPS who surf. This video is one snapshot of a bunch of summer cops who are probably not even trained through a real police academy and are probably making 8/hr. They are just doing what they are told cause they are probably trying to get a full time job. It is what it is. To blast all Cops because the town of Belmar and the Governor of NJ said all beaches were closed is IGNORANCE at its finest. What are they supposed to do? Tell their boss/chief to F-off? They were just doing what they were told. I was surfing SSP the day before the hurricane. It was barely 3 ft and the summer rent a cops came down the beach on their quads and kicked us out of the water. I was with a local and another Trooper. We told him who we were and he apologized but said the Mayor ordered everyone out of the water and their was nothing he could do or he'd be in big trouble. It was what it was so we left. Don't stereotype "Cops" because the next time your in the lineup one might be sitting right next to you.
i cant agree more. those kids deserved those tickets too. they blatantly went against the cops orders and they knew damn well what would happen. unfortunately, belmar was off limits that day and they shouldve just went to another spot and avoided the whole situation
i never said anything like that. i was suggesting that those who fail to exercise their common sense & doing something stupid & get into trouble should be on their own...the various towns should be in no way liable. do people sue aspen or park city if someone ducks under the rope while skiing or snowboarding there & gets hurt or killed? no, they don't...b/c they know it's on them if they do something dumb! the same should be true w/ the ocean. the LAWSUITS themselves are a bad idea. you have no reasonable expectation to exit the water alive if you choose to enter it or be around it in stormy conditions. as for the cop hating, re-read my post. my cousin is a state trooper & i have no issue w/ the police in general...they serve a vital role in our communities. however, their role has expanded too far, i feel. they are increasingly used by the gov't as a jackboot instead of a protective force.
I am sure if they were at a ski resort, the ski patrol would infact blame them for not paying attention to the fenced in areas. Also, the coast line is much more populated than the rocky mountains. Having the police keep people out of the water is protecting the people from danger, whether they believe it or not. Reguardless of your vast amount of experience in the water, you can still drown. Look at all the pro surfers who have died surfing...and they're pro! Also, that's the way the government agencies run, always have and always will, so it's not like it's a new thing that the police departments want to cover their own and their county governments ass. Just think of it as if you owned your own surfboard instructor company. You warned your students not to go out beyond so many yards, yet they do to be all big bad a tough and you get the life guards to bring them in. Why did you get the life guards to bring them in? Because you don't want to be reliable. Government is a business just like everything else.
The problem ain't the cops. It's the political animal in America. Not gonna give a big speech here cuz no one gives a crap but this is what happens when we let our beliefs erode our freedoms. Government feels that their job is to protect us thus we are incapable of making our own decisions. This is a symptom! Not that long ago if you wanted to surf in very dangerous conditions you were free to make that decision. Now the gov't feels they know better than we do so they make the decision for us cuz they know whats best. Police the politicians!!!!! Vote the pricks out that need to go!!
Our government is run by cowards that hide behind their political positions and money. They're a bunch of over protective p^ssys.
who's to say what's "too dangerous"? too dangerous for me & too dangerous for shane dorian are vastly different sets of conditions. but i am AWARE of those limitations. & i am also aware that, w/ the amount of time in & on the water & knowledge/experience that i've accumulated in over 20 years surfing, there isn't a whole lot that the atlantic ocean can throw at me in south jersey that i can't handle unless something goes seriously wrong. & that outside possibility is a risk i accept each & every time i enter the ocean. look at what happened to GoodVibes last month...knee high day & he broke a couple ribs. how many people got injured on sunday? no one that i know of. small surf is WAY more dangerous than overhead+ surf...people who have any business being out in those sort of conditions know their limits & respect them. it's not fair, but if the police/lifeguards are going to do anything in situations like that, it should be to keep the inexperienced/unprepared folks out & allow the experienced folks go. the guys in the video are sponsored, professional surfers. they had every right & ability to be out in those conditions. now if it were some goober w/ a bic, then yea...the cops/lifeguards should keep them out. it's a slippery slope & before you know it, chest high days will be considered "too dangerous" to allow people in the water...wait & see.
ha they have always closed beaches for hurricane surf. you're acting like all the sudden some in the town was like..."man those waves look kinda of big, I think we should close the beaches for the very first time to prevent any injuries or death to our locals or vacationers..what a great idea!" And the "what if" situations will always out weigh anything cause they're always going to be safer than sorry. Also, the police don't have a skill-o-meter than can rate everyone's ability, that's why they apply the restrictions to everyone. They can just wait for the winter when they are "allowed" to surf just as big or bigger waves, or like what was said before, go somewhere else.
Police doing their jobs? Look at the statistics on how many crimes police actually solve.... http://www2.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2009/arrests/index.html http://www2.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2009/index.html
Can you point out the ratio of solved to unsolved? Also, have you ever tried to solve a crime? I am pretty sure you can ask oceantrooper on how easy it is.
