The Police? Really???

[Agentaaron]

Okay...so here is my .02

I now have several friends who are police officers because of a sort of beer related incident.

I was showing them this post and basically they said...if you have and show receipts that you purchased the kegs without any knowledge of the original source, then they would tell you to have a good day and turn the investigation to the dealer/scrapyard that sold them to you.

I never understood people who give police a hard time...for most of them, its just a job they do to feed their families. I am not a police officer, and it makes me mad as hell when someone stands between me doing my job and going home. The more you push back on them the more upset they will become.

If your insurance company told you that they were sending an estimator out to look at some damage done to your house or car, you wouldn't ask them for a warrant or any special papers to do their job, why does everyone think that police always have a hidden agenda...

 

[Tinga]

why does everyone think that police always have a hidden agenda...

Well some of them do. However that is the vast minority and it ruins the reputation for the majority.

 

[ChshreCat]

Well some of them do. However that is the vast minority and it ruins the reputation for the majority.

Like most anything, the small minority are what stand out like a sore thumb making it hard for all the rest.

 

[bassmaster911]

why does everyone think that police always have a hidden agenda...

Don't you ever watch cops...when ever the bad guy gives his consent to search the car they always find thier drugs.


Years ago a neighbor had thier VCR come up missing and the police show up at my door. I let them in to do thier job they ended up tossing my sock drawer (small drawer with no room for VCR)on the floor and making a mess of the place. They even looked thru my Fridge and freezer.

 

[supermoth]

I do think you should contact the paper that originally published the article about you (and maybe a few others). That way you can control the spin. Frame it as a reminder to the homebrewing community to make reasonably sure you know that your keggles were obtained properly. The added bonus is that this AB guy will get shamed in the storytelling process.

Oh, and many congrats on the medals! I hope this all works out for you without too much headache.

 

[Sacdan]

UPDATE. I talked with a friend who works for the PD. He assured me that this is over now. I cooperated fully with the Police. I let the detective take pictures and told him where I bought them. He went to the Scrap Yard and talked to them. They said that they get kegs in all the time and that they make sure they are decommssioned kegs before they sell them. The guy from the distributor did want me arrested. He did go into the police station with the newspaper. He was tiredc of seeing kegs stolen and used for Home Brewing purposes. I am going to call AB and find out why this guy, on his own, tried to get me arrested. I am not going to sue anyone. I am not going to go to the paper, as I don't want to stir things up. I am not going to spend anymore time on this other than calling AB. I am pleased with the outcome. I have learned a few things from this. My advice to everyone is #1, Don't steal kegs! #2, If you have nothing to hide, cooperate and let due process find you innocent. I know that I could have remained silent and let no one in without a search warrant, but this was a slam dunk case. I didn't do anything wrong. The police actually were great in this whole ridiculous event. They had to do their job. I really do appreciate all the advice from everyone here. It has lifted my spirits quite a bit. I got pretty stressed out about it. Thanks again.

 

[Beerrific]

They said that they get kegs in all the time and that they make sure they are decommssioned kegs before they sell them.

How can they tell? Do they call AB and ask?

 

[Cosper123]

The immaturity displayed in this thread is staggering. The AB distributer is probably just a tool who has been pushed to the edge one too many times. His wanting to right a wrong and turn in a theif isn't the wrong here...but not contacting the OP beforehand was. That however, isn't worthy of some ego-driven revenge fantasy. How exactly did his commit defamation of character? Any of you suggesting he did have any law experience at all, or have you just watched one too many episodes of Law and Order? I'd be really interested in hearing a Lawyer's perspective on that one...if defamation did actually occur what real damages occured?

Furthermore, the whole "tell the cops to get a warrent" is disturbingly short sighted. No need to go all a-hole on them unless you're a criminal degenerate hiding something. Do the smart thing and bring the kegs on your porch, don't poke the bear with childish defiance and tempt a warrent that winds up getting your whole house searched. Hmm...hours and hours of searching and the fun cleanup afterwards...or cooperate by bringing your kegs out of the house for them to inspect. Seems pretty obvious to me. I suppose I get on some level the whole 'damn the man' mentality, but why cut off the nose to spite the face and compromise your privacy?

Ultimately it's important to consider we're all adults here. No grand ego-feeding revenge tantrum is needed. Nobody wins in a pissing contest. You just all wind as wet smelly jerks.

 

[osagedr]

...immaturity...tool...ego-driven revenge fantasy...watched one too many episodes of Law and Order...disturbingly short sighted...a-hole...criminal degenerate...childish defiance...'damn the man' mentality...grand ego-feeding revenge tantrum...pissing contest...wet smelly jerks.

Wow, that's a lot of rage in one post. Might be time to RDWHAHB.

The OP handled it well.

 

[Hatchbrew]

keg-drama.

 

[Airborneguy]

Glad it worked out. A lot of people don't know the difference between defending one's rights and exercising one's rights. I think you exercised yours perfectly.

 

[ozzy1038]

In IL it's illegal to videotape the police. Don't know if this is true in other states.

Add that to the list of reasons Illinois is a screwed up state. You guys need to secede from Chicago!

 

[Cosper123]

Wow, that's a lot of rage in one post. Might be time to RDWHAHB.

The OP handled it well.

Wow, that's a lot of assumption and taking things out of context in one line

 

[hops2it]

I think you should sue the ever living H...just kidding I read the whole thread. I got $20 says an AB explanation/apology is in the cards. Cue the rage against the machine no way it'll ever happen monopoly theorizing hater posts.

 

[ChshreCat]

I think if you act really upset when you call AB you might be able to get some free Bud Light out of this.

 

[3rdwdr]

wow..i know they feel threatened by microbreweries but now they are pickin on homebrewers too! must be because you make good beer.

 

[jiggs_casey]

I agree with the call into AB to find out why this distributor is such a ******. Just for the sake of messing with him a bit. Honestly, the situation is laughable. Sure, kegs are stolen but, what constitutes as a 'stolen' keg? One that was actually lifted off of store / distributor property, or one that somebody put a deposit on and didn't return? Like you said, AB isn't going to prosecute one guy, or a hundred, for that matter for using their kegs to brew out of... Ridiculous to even think it.

 

[Tall_Yotie]

The immaturity displayed in this thread is staggering. The AB distributer is probably just a tool who has been pushed to the edge one too many times. His wanting to right a wrong and turn in a theif isn't the wrong here...but not contacting the OP beforehand was. That however, isn't worthy of some ego-driven revenge fantasy. How exactly did his commit defamation of character? Any of you suggesting he did have any law experience at all, or have you just watched one too many episodes of Law and Order? I'd be really interested in hearing a Lawyer's perspective on that one...

Dude, I could not agree more.

Defamation of character takes a LOT more than just suspecting someone of a crime. Otherwise, police would be sued for questioning someone about a crime because people seeing this might suspect they are part of a crime.

I am tired of the whole "screw the police" mentality. They do their job, and it is to uphold laws and keep people safe. If you demand a search warrant that is immediately saying you have something to hide. Nothing to hide? Want the issue resolved? Then let the police HELP.

Too many people watch crime shows and think they can sue for anything, or that police can't be trusted, etc.

Kinda sad really.

 

[dfc]

You're in Santa Cruz, you should know cops can be douches.

The last fight I got into was in Santa Cruz. My buddy was getting jumped so I of course jumped in and defended him. He ended up getting punched in the face with a fist pack of keys and had to get 20 stitches in his lip. Cops saw the whole thing. We even pointed out who had the keys and they said "There's nothing we can do about it, it's just Domestic Combat". Really? Dude assaults my friend and we've got to go to the hospital but you can't do anything about it? That's just one example out of hundreds.

You also have cops who taze people in diabetic comas for "non-compliance" and fun stuff like that. There are some good police officers out there, but there are PLENTY who abuse their power. Hell, the Oakland cop that shot a guy in the back just got off after only 1 year served. The dude was in handcuffs and face down on the ground and gets shot in the back. There's nothing sad about not trusting police because of crap like that.

 

[Chuginator]

Glad it turned out for the best, man! Please keep us posted on what you hear from AB!

Oh, and congrats too on the awards! That must have been nice.

 

[The_Professor]

Sounds like you handled it perfectly, Sacdan. Two thumbs up to you.

 

[Tall_Yotie]

You're in Santa Cruz, you should know cops can be douches.

The last fight I got into was in Santa Cruz. My buddy was getting jumped so I of course jumped in and defended him. He ended up getting punched in the face with a fist pack of keys and had to get 20 stitches in his lip. Cops saw the whole thing. We even pointed out who had the keys and they said "There's nothing we can do about it, it's just Domestic Combat". Really? Dude assaults my friend and we've got to go to the hospital but you can't do anything about it? That's just one example out of hundreds.

If they are restricted by the law then the are restricted by the law. And as for cops being douches, maybe for the folks in Santa Cruz that are pissed off for getting written up for smoking pot.

This could go on forever, so going to drop it here. I like cops, they keep the streets safe, they came and helped me when I was getting chased in my car, and catch criminals. If you want to see them as abusers of power then fine. The **** they have to deal with is going to make them rather jaded.

Anyways, last bit on this from me.

To the OP, glad it all worked out and you handled it perfectly!

 

[ChandlerBang]

hmm, someone with a walter sobchek avatar is suggesting he walk away the better man?

ha!

sounds like you handled it perfectly, sacdan. Two thumbs up to you.

+1

 

[Cosper123]

You also have cops who taze people in diabetic comas for "non-compliance" and fun stuff like that. There are some good police officers out there, but there are PLENTY who abuse their power. Hell, the Oakland cop that shot a guy in the back just got off after only 1 year served. The dude was in handcuffs and face down on the ground and gets shot in the back. There's nothing sad about not trusting police because of crap like that.

You're going to get jackasses in every profession. Not all cops are created equal, just like all Firemen aren't heroes nor are soldiers for that matter. You get quack Doctors and Nurses you wouldn't hand your dog over to. They are human and human things happen.

In the case of the "Oakland cop" did you mean the guy from the BART police? The guy was in a stressful situation with a noncompliant detainee among various other noisey and threatening citizens creating a large amount of stressful stimulus for him. I find it very reasonable to believe him when he says it was an accident and he meant to reach for his tazer. Especially when he's on video stating the splitsecond before that he was going to taze him. The "victim" was also reaching into the front of his pants and would not comply when told not to...after being noncompilant and beligerant to the point of needing to be placed on the ground and handcuffed. It was completely reasonable to taze him.

I do think one year served for manslaughter given the various details (many of which I did not bother to go into) is more than reasonable.

But those don't seem to be things put into consideration the way you deliver the story. To hear you say it, he just shot the guy in the back and furthermore that is good reason to not trust cops...that becomes a lie of omission. It hurts your credibility when you speak of other things I have not heard about like the diabetic coma thing, and especially concerning anecdotal evidence.

 

[mrduna01]

I think if you act really upset when you call AB you might be able to get some free Bud Light out of this.

If he could stomach it! Lol I do like a miller light every now and then however

 

[Bigscience]

If he could stomach it! Lol I do like a miller light every now and then however

Don't hate on the Miller LITE. It has it's place. Wherever fishing poles, campfires, pro athletes and race cars are found, there it is appropriate. There was a movie ( I can't remember the title) where one guy vowed to only drink beer for the whole camping trip. Zombie guts got in the stream and every body else turned but the beer only guy. I think about this every time I camp but brushing your teeth with beer is just too much.