Jaywalking at the Police Station...

[elfs]

This morning, I was walking toward work. There's a police station that I often walk past-- not always, as there are many routes from the train station to the office-- and today, just as I got to 8th and Virginia, the light turned against me and I had to wait. Another man was standing there, bouncing on his feet, watching the traffic. A cop came out of the Starbucks there and walked up behind us. The other man was clearly anxious to cross, waiting for a clearing in the traffic, bouncing energetically. The cop and I exchanged looks.

The man took three steps out and the cop whistled. "Hey, buddy," he said. He jerked his head with a 'come here' motion. "Just wait. It'll change."

When it did, the man and I walked across the intersection. The cop walked the other way. "Gotta be careful," the man said.

I mean, really. Jaywalking at the police station, how stupid is that?

Comments

[whipartist.livejournal.com]

I've actually jaywalked while taunting police officers.


President Obama was in San Francisco, and his visits mean that (a) there are police officers everywhere in the neighborhood around his hotel, and (b) the streets are closed to vehicle traffic for a block or two in either direction.

I was on foot, and stopped at a traffic light on one of the closed streets. There were a few officers standing right next to me. "Oh hey! I just realized that I can jaywalk and you won't do anything about it." They laughed as I started crossing the intersection on the diagonal.

See also: the privilege of being a middle-class middle-aged white woman.