Damn the man

people don't appreciate fire anymore. I nearly got arrested at the beach for swinging fire. damn cops. I mean.... 5 feet from the water, on the sand... 2 VERY extinguishing materials if I remember right. anyways, I was packing my stuff up when suddenly 2 cops walked up to me. they started asking me about what I was doing and saying wow alot. I even had a fire extinguisher with me incase the ocean couldn't put the flame out. they were about to let me go. they thought I was smart and respectible about it. Then chief dickhead showed up and he didn't share the same oppinion as his two deputies, in fact, he thought it was illegal as well as a federal crime worth jailtime for. he got there yelling and screaming and obviously sexually frustrated. first thing he did was question me if I had drugs in my backpack. I laughed and asked him if he thought I was crazy (even though I occasionally do some swinging in a whole new mindset). I told him he could search if he wanted but he'd only feel like an [censored]. what can I say? I was bluffing. Then he picked up my fire extinguisher and said in his angry little voice, "this is the only reason you're not getting arrested!" I said "ok officer, thank you for not arresting me, I won't do it again." he said, "that's right you won't, you're not gonna have them." that's when the tides turned on this ugly little man.
*to be continued*

I said "what?!?! that's not cool, how are you going to take my chains like that?" he said "easilly, you're not safe with them. you have a fire extinguisher, that tells me one thing, do you know what that is?" I said "no sir, why don't you enlighten me." his response lacked all rational thought as he spurt out "ovbiously you aren't very good if you have to carry a fire extinguisher with you" wow... I thought cops had to have brains. I had already explained to his deputies why I had the fire extinguisher, same reason that there's an extinguisher at every doorway in a hotel. they tried to stop him from trying to criminalize me, but he waved them off. I was dumbfounded, was this man serious? I responded with, "actually officer, I have never used that fire extinguisher since I started swinging fire. I think that says one thing. That I'm pretty damn good." He was speechless and snapped. I don't remember much of that night... I was slightly intoxicated. but anyways, I made his deputies laugh at him as he was outwitted by a young fireswinger. he didn't have the ability to arrest me himself. He didn't make the call so he wasn't the arresting officer, and I did nothing illegal in front of him. but I did shoot my mouth off so I heard and embarassed the poor [censored]. so he gave up and let me keep my chains. but he took my kerosene on his power trip (does anyone know if that's legal?) the 2 original cops said goodbye to me as the chief stormed off on his ATV. that's when I packed my [censored] and left new hampshire with my middle finger in the air.

thats crap mate. Youd probly get a more sympathetic response from people on this board tho if you didnt post this in a moves forum. I'll shift it over to Social Chat for you

Josh

Damn thats harsh!

You would think that he would have taken the advice of his deputies and left you alone!

haha.... thats the best thing ive ever heard... dont get me wrong!!! i think the whole thing sucks, but how it all ended..:P
aaaaah, what a story to tell your grandchilds hey? :P

i sit here laughing becasue the whole thing is so ... [censored] up? :P
some coppers seem to think theyve got to much power...:(
btw, i think youre pretty damn good!

you should check to see if thats even legal that they took your Kerosene. Also you should check to see if they had the power to stop you, and if it's even illegal spinning on the beach!

Henrik has a point, you tell a damn fine story jaero.

We get a lot of hassle from cops here in Cornwall, the arse end of the British Isles. Been moved on and threatened with fines, but never had anything confiscated.

On several anti-war marches we used poi to stop police getting to us. That was fun. They looked distinctly nervous.

Thing to do is to turn up at the relevant police station, suit and tie, and ask, very politely, for your kerosene back. Don't lose yer rag no matter what they say or do, and explain that you want either your fuel, or a receipt for the fuel so that you can pass it on to your accountant.

The nicer you are, the more likely it is to work. The cop involved sounds like a small town bully, and bullies are always scared of real authority. If you act like it's just a minor inconvenience to be dealt with, show that you are not scared in anyway, his power will dry up and he will probably back down.

Or he might nick ya.

Be a laugh tho, either way.

I think i'll just shake my head and say "Only in America"* - Sympathies

(*A phrase we tend to use a lot in Australia if something is completly f*cked up - Has to have happened in America because thats where all the crazy/bizzare/insane stuff we hear about seems to be happening for some reason, Stuff that doesn't seem to ever happen elsewhere seems to happen in the US of A )

Yep, cops are *censored*.

that sucks! ....

I looked up some stuff.... in the state of new hampshire, it is illegal to start a fire on a state beach. which is understandible. but the part I don't understand is that fireworks are legal there. so I'm standing there out of range, with fireworks going up all over the place. my fires weren't ON the beach. theirs were. it's all BS i tell you!!!! I also heard that in a national water way, the police can't touch you. I shoulda swung my fire up to my ankles in the ocean. I wouldn't have had to go buy that expensive lamp oil from walmart. that suit and tie idea sounds alright... but I think I'm just gonna avoid the state all together. screw new hampshire with a flaming stick. goodbye

heh, outwitting cops is usually a lose/lose situation. While it's easy(and admittedly fun) to do regarding safety with fire, tools, etc it's not going to improve the situation if you go about it in the wrong way.

*still glad I dropped criminal justice major/cs minor in favor of just computer science major in college*

Hey, I don't hate cops, I've got several friends that are coppers. They're self-admitted bastards Dropped criminal justice to major in history meself. I don't have the "personality" to be a lawman.

When dealing with cops, I am always very polite, but also very firm. I also remember my rights.

1) They may not force me to go anywhere without formally arresting me and reading me my rights.
2) They may not search my possessions, nor may they confiscate anything without a warrant unless I'm driving a car when I get stopped.
3) They will tell me what law they believe I am violating and, if not obvious, what their probable cause is.

Having said that, you were spinning fire intoxicated. I'll be honest: I kind of wish that were a crime.

Yup I agree with Patrick, cops are great in most of the stuff they do but there just seem to be some pointless not-so-well-thought-out laws around... such as spinning fire intoxicated and unprepared and free parties i mean... house parties are illegal with more than 20 people? How pants! I have a big house, it's empty with less than 20 people for a party!

Though it's always nice to get one up on the police: http://gallery.squatjuice.com/gallery/view_photo.php?set_albumName=album237&id=Image_20

alright.... something came out wrong... while on the beach i was not intoxicated... but shortly there after in celebration I can't say the same. but people hire me to do parties and when they put a bottle of jager in my hand... who am I to oblige?

im not shure were you are but in califorina fire on the beach is against the law. HOW STUPID IS THAT!!!but yeah im glad you pissed the old fat guy off.

Jaero, when offered a drink, I just say "Thanks, but I need to stay sober until after I'm done playing with fire."

EVERYONE accepts that excuse.

ya i'm with patrick. i may not like cops a whole lot, but they do also protect me. sucks that they were so rude to you, but you shouldn't be spinning while intoxicated (just reiterating, i know you said you weren't at the time), and you should always check the local laws on fire spinning before doing it. otherwise you have very little room to get angry. if i decide to go spin somewhere and the cops show up and tell me i'm doing something illegal, i'll say i'm sorry, i didn't know, and then go on my merry way and check it out for myself if that were true. if i have checked the laws and have all my permits in place, and the cops show up and tell me i'm doing something wrong, then i know i have a leg to stand on.

Im also getting pretty fed up with the cops in Philly. Just cant find a decent place to light up anymore without them making threats of arrest if we're caught doing it again.

Would be a little more agreeable if their reasons werent always the same "Youll burn the park down" crap. Yes, even with the multiple fire blankets, buckets of water, fire extinguishers, years of experience, and safetys I can still set 400 acres of green grass ablaze ruining the park for years to come.

It seems like there are far to many rules over in the U.S.
I spent 7 months trying to set a business up in NJ, and no matter what I did there was some licence I had to get or some law forbidding it.
I don't think I saw a cop smile the whole time I was there.
It all seems alot easier hers in the UK.
But fairs fiar It seems easier here as I know the system alot better that I do over there.

that sucks, dude. although it's funny to read it now, i would have hated that dick... but those are american cops for you!! (no offence intended for any american cops reading this right now)

so much for the land of the free... americans only think they're free because they are so blind to every other culture on the face of the planet.

Nope. It seems that America (especially in the post-9/11 era) has become the world's most civilized police state with the possible exception of Singapore.

civilized or unorganized?
or maybe gestapo?

off topic, but, if you live in america i highly suggest that you read the Patriot act, or at the very least skim in, it is absolutely terrifiing, besides the people who voted to approve it didnt even read it, so inform yourself>>>>>>peace(like thats going to happen)

*nods* I think they passed the Patriot Act 2 just recently, screwing us even more...