JapanForum.com  


Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools
(#1 (permalink))
Old
MMM's Avatar
MMM (Offline)
JF Ossan
 
Posts: 12,200
Join Date: Jun 2007
US Cafe Won't Serve Uniformed Police Officers - 06-05-2010, 02:42 AM

This is a local story for me that is getting national attention.

Cafe owner kicks out police officer - KOINLocal6.com

Cafe owner kicks out police officer

PORTLAND, Ore. - It was early Tuesday afternoon, May 18th, Cornelia Seigneur was having lunch with her daughter at the Red and Black Cafe at Southeast 12th and Oak.

Seigneur had struck up a conversation with Portland Police officer James Crooker who had just picked up coffee to go. Then Seigneur said one of the cafe's owners approached and said something that stunned Seigneur.

"He looked at the policeman and said I'd like you to leave," she said.

The officer left without incident, but Seigneur says she was both shocked and disappointed that an officer was run out of a cafe simply because of his profession.

"I felt just really uncomfortable -- just really uncomfortable about it and I felt many of our customers and co workers would not feel safe in a space with a uniformed police officer with a gun," said Red and Black Cafe co-owner John Langley.

Langley says he's not trying to make a statement. Rather he says he was trying to make the cafe feel safe and comfortable for customers -- many of whom feel preyed upon by Portland Police.

Langley says many customers and co-workers feel Portland Police abuse power. Langley says many people who feel that abuse are customers.

Positive and negative feedback

The Facebook page for the Red & Black Cafe has more than 800 supporters. The page announced the Cafe received more positive than negative phone calls, but there is also a Boycott the Red & Black Cafe page on Facebook (more than 2,500 supporters).

Portland Police Bureau shootings

Aaron Campbell was shot in the back Jan. 29 after refusing to follow orders to lie on the ground. Officers shot non-lethal beanbag rounds at him first, but Campbell still did not comply and actually started to run away from officers when he was shot in the back. He was unarmed.

Jack Collins was shot multiple times by a Portland Police officer March 22 at the Hoyt Arboretum. Collins, a homeless man with mental issues, was using a razor blade knife to threaten people in the park. Collins did not comply to officers' orders to lie down.

Portland Police fired 32 shots at Keaton Otis, hitting the 25-year-old 23 times on May 12. Otis lead police on a chase through many Portland city blocks, refusing to pull over despite flashing lights and multiple orders over a loud speaker. Otis still did not comply after he was Tasered twice. Otis pulled out a gun and shot Officer Christopher Burley twice in the leg. That's when other officers unloaded 32 rounds at Otis, hitting him 23 times.
Officer Crooker's response

Officer James Crooker has been with Portland Police for two years and says he wasn't aware of the prevailing attitute toward police among co-owners of the Red and Black Cafe when he went in for coffee to go and was subsequently asked to leave because he is a police officer.

Crooker says he has mixed emotions about being asked to leave. During his tour of duty in Iraq in 2004, he grew an appreciation, he says, for people's willingness and freedom to challenge authority. In Iraq, says Crooker, people would never confront an authority figure. So in one sense he says he was slightly humiliated and disappointed. On the other hand, Crooker says, he's appreciative of a country that allows people to question who ever they want -- concerning what ever they want.

Right to Refuse Service

According to LegalZoom and LegalMatch, places of business like restaurants and cafes have the right to refuse service for specific reasons.

LeagalZoom cites the Unruh Civil Rights Act from 1959 as protection against discrimination by business owners. The law was named for Jesse Unruh, who wrote the law. According to LegalZoom, “business owners could not discriminate, for example, against hippies, police officers, homosexuals, or Republicans, solely because of who they were.”

LegalMatch says that even though restaurants may be privately owned, “the primary purpose of a restaurant is to sell food to the general public, which necessarily requires susceptibility to equal protection laws.”

Last edited by MMM : 06-05-2010 at 02:53 AM.
Reply With Quote
(#2 (permalink))
Old
manganimefan227's Avatar
manganimefan227 (Offline)
星の翼
 
Posts: 986
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: In a Starry Night with Fire flies
06-05-2010, 03:08 AM

Seeing those stories, it's understandable why these people fel a little uncomfortabe with a police who's proffession has had such a bad reputation around there, which leads to his humiliation being understandable- since the people of the area he protects are uncomfortable with him . . .Also it's good these people feel able to be this honest.

From the crazy police from the examples given, one could sum up this situation by calling it a sad good ol' example of that old but wise phrase/moral with apples and a barrel.


My Life Sucks- The kids I babysit have drooled, ripped or drawn on all of the cards and put the cars with the little people in the microwave!

I have no Friends- The cats have scratched and destroyed all of the DVDs!

I always owe someone- In fact I put two os in it!

I always ruin my clothes with Bleach!- The show is so dom suspensful I spill my grape soda on them!

But . . .I'll live.
Reply With Quote
(#3 (permalink))
Old
ParaPara's Avatar
ParaPara (Offline)
JF Regular
 
Posts: 50
Join Date: May 2010
Location: USA
06-05-2010, 03:39 AM

That is ridiculous. The owner of the cafe was not justified in kicking the officer out. He treated the officer like a criminal. Frankly, he should have more respect for the police. Police officers have one of the toughest professions on this planet. They have to deal with things that most of us will never have to. I can't believe this happened.
Reply With Quote
(#4 (permalink))
Old
Undertherose25's Avatar
Undertherose25 (Offline)
JF Old Timer
 
Posts: 246
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: USA
06-05-2010, 02:47 PM

I agree with Parapara. This is ridiculous and discrimination.


♥Proud Wife of a U.S. Airman♥

Dir en Grey
Reply With Quote
(#5 (permalink))
Old
PockyMePink's Avatar
PockyMePink (Offline)
=\
 
Posts: 472
Join Date: Dec 2008
Send a message via MSN to PockyMePink
06-05-2010, 03:05 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by ParaPara View Post
That is ridiculous. The owner of the cafe was not justified in kicking the officer out. He treated the officer like a criminal. Frankly, he should have more respect for the police. Police officers have one of the toughest professions on this planet. They have to deal with things that most of us will never have to. I can't believe this happened.
I think he was very much justified. The police have a bad reputation, and he wanted to make sure his customers weren't uncomfortable or in any danger.

It's like kicking a "suspicious" looking guy out of a resturaunt, or any public establishment. He may not be a bad guy at all, but the owner is more concerned with the rest of his customers, their safety and their comfort, than one guy who looks like he could be there to stir up trouble.

Legally justified? Probably not, since the guy was doing no harm.
Justified in the sense that he wants to protect his customers? I would think so.
Reply With Quote
(#6 (permalink))
Old
Jaydelart's Avatar
Jaydelart (Offline)
ジェイデラート
 
Posts: 777
Join Date: Apr 2008
06-05-2010, 06:25 PM

The incidents in the examples happened during certain criminal situations; officer-suspect confrontations. Unless a criminal situation had the potential of unfolding in the café, the customers shouldn't have had anything to worry about. And if it did, that would have justified him being there in the first place.

The collective concern should be of the officers' use of their firearms at crime scenes, not of their general possession of firearms, which is what this officer was kick-out for. The reasoning behind it seems pretty absurd to me.

Last edited by Jaydelart : 06-05-2010 at 09:23 PM.
Reply With Quote
(#7 (permalink))
Old
Oni's Avatar
Oni (Offline)
<3
 
Posts: 266
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: New York
Send a message via AIM to Oni Send a message via Yahoo to Oni
06-05-2010, 08:10 PM

This is kinda ridiculous. I mean, sure there can be crooked cops, but there are honest hard working ones too. I would feel safer with a uniformed police officer, than a random off-duty cop to carrying a weapon....


A Sonozaki at her finest (links may be spoilers):

http://higurashiualuealuealeuale.ytmnd.com/
http://higurashicowbell.ytmnd.com/

Aishite mo ii kai?
Reply With Quote
(#8 (permalink))
Old
bELyVIS's Avatar
bELyVIS (Offline)
JF Old Timer
 
Posts: 682
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Texas
06-06-2010, 03:57 AM

Their money is the same as everyone else's. If you are in business, this should be your main concern.


The World's only Belly Dancing Elvis Impersonator!
Reply With Quote
(#9 (permalink))
Old
RickOShay (Offline)
JF Old Timer
 
Posts: 604
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: USA, formerly Shizuoka for 7 years.
06-06-2010, 05:37 AM

While I do believe businesses and owners should have the right to kick anybody out, there needs to be a justifiable reason for doing so. Despite the bad reputation the police seem to have (clearly the department needs to be held more accountable for use of their firearms), just being in the cafe in uniform is not enough of a reason.

As an isolated incident I guess it is not that big of a deal, but there is no way I would stand for him putting out a sign that says "no police in uniforms allowed".
Reply With Quote
(#10 (permalink))
Old
Ronin4hire's Avatar
Ronin4hire (Offline)
Busier Than Shinjuku Station
 
Posts: 2,353
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: ウェリントン、ニュジランド
06-06-2010, 06:01 AM

I think if the owner made a point about the gun making people feel uneasy rather than the police officer then Id be on his side...

But he didnt and so Im not.
Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On




Copyright 2003-2006 Virtual Japan.
Search Engine Friendly URLs by vBSEO 3.0.0 RC6