A visiting friend of NYC The Blog is detained momentarily in Times Square by the NYPD last Saturday night after being observed carrying an illegal knife on his persons. While the officer explained the law regarding carrying knives in public in New York City, the perp expressed surprise that "this little thing" was illegal to carry in public. Living with wild animals in the hills of Massachusetts somewhere, he tried to explain: "Where I live, you wouldn't go outside without it!" The officer revealed he was not being arrested nor receiving a summons but did request and record his legal identification.
As seen in the photo below, it was a very pleasant interaction. Which was somewhat surprising. Is this the new kinder, gentler NYPD?
Maybe. But one could easily imagine this scenario playing out in other ways, depending on geography and race or class perceptions, for example.
On a related note, their has been a significant increase in violent crime in New York City in the past year. As if to drive that point home, while reporting a shooting early Tuesday morning on Gold Street in Downtown Manhattan that left the victim dead, @NYScanner noted it was the 10th shooting that night. Shortly after, they reported another dead body in Washington Heights.
Previously: » Follow NYC The Blog on Facebook and Twitter. Photo credit: Paolo Mastrangelo/NYC The Blog
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