So I don’t usually do this because I think it can be distasteful but, today when I was at the dress rehearsal for the inauguration day parade and activities this one MPD officer came off very rude to me. So here is the story. Jen and I were standing down by Federal Triangle watching the rehearsal and taking pictures. The parade came to a stop probably because they were figuring out some logistics so we decided to walk down Pennsylvania Ave towards the Capitol. The whole time during the parade and our walk we watched people cross the street on the crosswalks and no one ever got yelled at. There were no ropes or anything that would give anyone the hint that you couldn’t cross the road. In fact if you look at this picture there actually are people sitting in the median of the road. [By the Yield Sign]

So when we got to a crosswalk we decided to go on the other side of the street.  We got about a little less than 3/4 of the way when a person in a Military uniform said (not yelling at all) “Your Not Supposed to Cross!” Then all of a sudden an MPD officer standing no more than 50 feet from us, who by the way didn’t notice us at all, yelled “STOP, GO BACK, YOU CAN’T CROSS THE STREET.” So as good citizens we turned around and went back.

However, here is the whole point of this rant. I was down watching the parade for about an hour and a half and saw many people crossing the street in front of other MPD officers and they said nothing. We however got yelled at. First off I think it’s kind of frighting that all the officers weren’t on the same page. If you can’t cross the road then you can’t cross the road. Enforce it for everyone! This was a dress rehearsal. A dress rehearsal is to run through something the same way it will be on the actual day. This is a huge security risk I think and a huge disappointment of trust with the MPD.

Lastly, I would like to address the edict of MPD officers. This doesn’t go against all MPD officers since I have talked to some that are very nice and treat citizens like they should. However, the cop today I think handled the situation poorly. First, yelling probably wasn’t necessary since one person already told us that we couldn’t cross and we were already turning to go back. MPD has to treat citizens with respect if they in return want respect from the community. Enough said about that.

What really got me to blog about this is that this isn’t the first time that this has happened to me. It was during that July 4th parade that this jackass of a police officer

did the same exact thing.

[At the time I took the picture because I wanted to blog about it and let people know about this officer but,  then thought it was distasteful.  Now however, since it was the second time it had happened I decided that I should.]

So Pretty much the same story that day as it was today. Everyone was crossing the street and my family and I jumped in line and started across. We got yelled at as everyone else crossed. Not told to stop but yelled at. Not just adults but all the kids that tried to cross got yelled at too! I have never really felt this way towards a police officer since they are the ones that we rely on when we need something.

In closing, I hope that no one has to experience the MPD officers that think they are higher than everyone else but I am sure that many have. It’s sad that some of the department is like this. For the MPD officers who may be reading this… Please Remember this… If you RESPECT the community and don’t think you are higher than them then they will RESPECT you back!