2012 Experiences with Police

[JayBobBoy]

I was discussing this with some friends who are familiar with the Pershing County's new requirements. They are asking for a huge increase in payments and are essentially blackmailing the BMORG to extract every penny they can from them. I understand times are tough for rural counties, but the increases they have asked for are ridiculous!

(Putting on my lawyers hat now)
This lawsuit will come to the court in the next year. Imagine if the Sheriffs office makes a huge amount of arrests this year or if there are significant public safety issues they have to address. This result would be very very beneficial to their case and they would easily be able to justify the increase and would have the BMORG right where they want them.

On the other hand, if things continue the way they have in the past, where the police presence clearly outweighs their usefulness, they will not have much of a defense against the suit.

If I were the Pershing County DA, I would have advised LEO's to make as big an impact as possible to help them in their lawsuit. Sound reasonable???

Time will tell if these tactics were used!

[Candybox]

I saw it too.

BTW, when I saw the fireworks on Anubis, I was a bit confused because I had seen a plea for donations to complete the project, and I know how pricey pyro is. Glad to know it was BWS's stuff that made your burn even more spectacular!

Awww, thanks for the love. I think we definitely put some of BWS' $100,000 to good use. Our crew wasn't huge, but we put our heart and souls into that dog.

As for LEO, we didn't have any encounters at all. We were usually crashed out at night, didn't frequent the sound camps, and had a quiet little tent next to some sleeper camps. Oh, there was one incident that was really weird:

We were at Grilled Cheese Camp, having an awesome time and enjoying our grilled cheese in a that orgasmic, communal, voracious way that can only be had when it's near the end of the burn. Anyway, some skittery guy approaches me, and was like, "Oh, you're with Anubis? That girl over there, you see that girl with the red braids? She... was talking to you and she's my girlfriend and she heard you may know something about... and... Do you know where I can get some acid?"

Of course I said "I have NO IDEA" and he left me. I'd not talked to anyone about drugs nor talked to anyone with "red braids" in the vicinity. I felt for sure he was probably an undercover, except he seemed more tweaked out than casual (like how you imagine real undercover cops are), and I later saw him serving grilled cheese at that camp.

[vapor]

@PatternInterrupt . . . Now what ? I'd pay the fine and be thankful it wasn't worse. You and friend freely admitted to a crime that there was no evidence you had committed, you then proceeded to hand over the evidence and were just given a ticket, not arrested. The survival guide very clearly states that Nevada does not recognize any MML licenses. It also advises to never ever consent to a search. Basically if they ask you to consent then it means they don't have probable cause. If they had probable cause they would search right away. This "give us what you've got and we'll let you go" is no more than a shakedown for people who make their jobs easy, every case I've heard of where they did search with dogs it was still the same outcome, just a ticket.

[VultureChow]

Basically if they ask you to consent then it means they don't have probable cause.

THIS. I'm amazed at how many people don't get this. Don't consent. I might have consented as I was carrying nothing. Not even opened random pills. Just sealed OTC bottles. Then they could have wasted their time on me.

Don't consent. And don't be a dick. "I'm sorry sir. I don't consent. Am I being detained or am I free to leave?" It's tic-tac-toe. If everyone knows the rules and strategy, then it's a draw every time.

[vapor]

Yeah, one more thing . . . had you not consented and not admitted to a crime then it is unlikely they would have searched based on the very weak "can't read your license" probable cause. They would likely have known that wouldn't hold up in court, and had they searched that is definitely something you could have fought - just take a picture showing the license was legible. They can and will say anything to get you to allow a search or admit to a crime. They are trained in this and very good at it, they are not at all trying to help, they are just looking for an easy bust. Once you consent or admit whatever they said or did to get you to that point is mostly immaterial.

[Lord Of Ruin]

There has always (okay, for longer than I have been going, started in 2002) been procedures for the llc (I don't know pre-llc practices) to evict persons, or camps.

Yup. Doesn't happen all that often at each Burn, but a handful of the Org departments have established procedures for doing it. Nothing to see here, move along and don't worry about it.

TL;DR: It takes extreme violations of our community standards to get evicted, but there are, and have always been, procedures for doing so just like any organized event.

[666isMONEY]

Tuesday, Sept. 4th, I was futzing around in my minivan chilling and noticed a strange-looking/suspicious car drive by (not a mutant vehicle but pretty close) and didn't want to stare so I looked away. Then I noticed a green tennis ball about 60-feet from my van on "B" near 10-O'clock. I figured they were either trying to hit me or it fell out of their car and I or someone else would pick it up later (it was HOT outside). About 45-minutes later, a golf-cart pulled up with two female, Pershing County Sheriff's Deputies, one of them said, "There's one." They stopped, she said to her partner, "take a picture". She then said, "best fuckin' job ever." They picked up the tennis ball and drove off.

[Jackass]

This very much points to the dangers of a poorly maintained RV, whether it be propane leaks, bad wiring, old suspension or tires, etc. All systems, equipment and parts that age must be checked and tested before arriving to the playa. It is quite simple and quick if you know what to look for, there aren't that many critical failure points. And man, use extreme caution when renting or buying an RV cheaply, you get what you pay for.

I had to bust out my brand new fire extinguisher on a sketchy neighbor's RV @ about 5:30 AM Sunday. I had watched the sunrise and was still hanging around camp before going to bed when I heard a loud bang followed by the screams of "fire, water, and help."
Opened the door to my trailer, grabbed the extinguisher and proceeded to put out a fire engulfing the rv's electrical panel, the owner had just managed to remove a 5gal gas can from the interior of the vehicle. Apparently he was lighting the stove for heat because it was brisk that morning, hate to see what would have happened if that fire had gone on another minute.
You gotta be on the look out for your sketchy neighbor's hazardous set up as well, it may have a detrimental effect on you and your campmates. It was exciting though..

[vapor]

"5gal gas can from the interior of the vehicle." Seriously ?!?!? Darwin still rules, but damn, yeah, I'd hate to camped next to someone on his list. Jeez.

[Galaxo Magic]

Any word on the camp trailer that burned down on Sunday or Monday?

One of the Rangers told us a propane refrigerator caught fire and burned the trailer down with all the camp gear in it, including provisions for a child. That might have been why some people saw vehicles hauling ass across the playa. It would be bad to have a fire break out and spread to other camps.

The Ranger told us that their neighbors immediately set them up with everything they could. Hope everybody involved had a good week, all things considered.

Zaphod, yeah, that trailer was really close to us and we were downwind. Folks on the Temple crew were running around their camp with fire extinguishers putting out embers. I was taking a nap in our yurt when I heard someone say "The elephant is on fire!" I jumped up and ran out and several people with fire extinguishers were dousing our freshly finished, already licensed (day and night) mutant vehicle! Evidently and ember hit the front driver leg and started it burning. We lost some of the skin, front leg, left shoulder and back of the left ear before it was doused. The PVC was melted. A few minutes more and it would have been engulfed. We found that the van was still ok and we had enough pink parachute to reskin it, melted PVC and all. I wasn't going to let it fuck my burn!

As for the couple with the 2 year-old from the completely burned down RV, we took them some blankets and baby wipes. I think all the neighbors pitched in because they planned to stay at Burning Man.

[Galaxo Magic]

As for the burned up trailer, I spoke to a guy who was camped right next to it. There was a guy and his daughter staying in it . . . they had rented it from one of the "rent a wreck" trailer/RV guys out of Reno (they have a stock of older trailers and RVs that they rent (cheap) and deliver each year). Anyway, yes, they parked it, got set up, turned on the fridge and walked out of the trailer. There was a leak in the propane system, when the pilot light ignited the whole thing blew. It was the daughter who was last in the trailer, she had left 5-10 minutes before the accident. Very scary, very fortunate nobody was hurt and nothing else caught on fire, though the guy who I spoke to had his windows on his trailer blown out.

This very much points to the dangers of a poorly maintained RV, whether it be propane leaks, bad wiring, old suspension or tires, etc. All systems, equipment and parts that age must be checked and tested before arriving to the playa. It is quite simple and quick if you know what to look for, there aren't that many critical failure points. And man, use extreme caution when renting or buying an RV cheaply, you get what you pay for.

Yeah, our MV got a bit burned from an ember that hit it and caught it on fire from the RV. Luckily the Temple crew was running around their camp with fire extinguishers making sure nothing caught. Their fast action saved our MV.

[Bob]

Propane is a hell of a drug, m'kay?

[BBadger]

My bus was pulled over after passing through the greeter station just after sunrise Monday morning. The LEO said he couldn't see our registration. (Hmmm - It's the big red paper taped up in the back window per DMV specifications) He asked our driver if we had any weapons and then ordered everyone off the bus. 12 sleepy burners filed off. Then the LEO threatened us with dogs. Our driver immediately produced his Oregon medical marijuana card and was escorted back onto the bus to relinquish his medicine. $525 ticket. The LEO said that he would then search the bus with a dog and if he found anything illegal people would go to jail. I offered to show my California medical marijuana card (they didn't bother to look at it) and relinquished my medicine. Another $525 ticket. Then the dog went onto the bus. No one asked us if we consented to a search. A small jar with less than a gram was found. I claimed that it was mine. My multivitamins were also confiscated and not returned.

Is this a photo of you two and your "medical" marijuana cards? You're lucky Moe shut his yap and didn't pay a $525 stupid tax too.

The fact that you mention the state that these MM cards are issued shows that you know they're state-specific. Outside their issued state they're at best useless, but often harmful as they constitute probable cause for police to search for contraband in your belongings.

Later that day, as we were entering the playa I saw some police rifling through a vehicle Monday around 3:00PM. Maybe Moe did get caught.

[pink]

Dumbasses can't even be bothered to read the survival guide. Darwin, step up once more.

[trilobyte]

All my experiences were casual and cordial. Pershing County Sheriff vehicles seemed to outnumber BLM ranger vehicles, but overall things seemed okay.

If you had an encounter with law enforcement that was worth noting, either bad or good, please fill out the feedback form.

[666isMONEY]

Every morning, before sunrise I'd go to the Robot Heart Bot sunrise DJ-set, which was always very good. RH parked on the Playa not far from their camp at 10-O'clock. There was always four or five BLM Ranger's cars parked at the sunrise set. I never saw them harass anyone, in fact, they would give Gator-Aide to people who looked like they needed it and Robot Heart gave some of them really nice mirror-goggles, which said "Robot Heart" on the head-band. Two of the BLM Rangers were very friendly with the RH crew and were giving/getting many hugs and posing with well-dressed men & women. I saw the Rangers rummage through their gear to repair a woman's bicycle tire.

As for the two female Pershing County Sheriff's deputies I saw with the green tennis ball (see my post, above): I saw them a few days previous having very friendly conversation with a group of burners -- that's how I knew they were Pershing County SO. I smiled & waved when they picked up the tennis ball and they smiled and waved back.

A few hours prior to the tennis-ball incident, I lit up a cig and a Ranger? went right in front of my minivan, I could hear them say, "cigarette" and they drove off. I wondered later if the tennis-ball incident was a setup and if they were watching me with binoculars to see if I picked up the tennis ball. I suspect the ball had pot inside. On that day (Tuesday, Sept. 4th), there was no one else within 300-feet of my minivan.

BTW: Are there any statistics about arrests from prior burns? I was thinking maybe the BLM permit review would have a section regarding LEO activity.

[some seeing eye]

After being very low in 2011, arrests were very high in 2012. The San Jose Mercury reports from the BLM have citations down though. That is exactly what would be expected with the LEO cost conflict.

It would be helpful to merge the 2012 LEO threads viewtopic.php?f=56&t=61372 and this one viewtopic.php?f=69&t=61360, from MacGlenver and Captain Mcguiver. What's with that?

[MacGlenver]

After being very low in 2011, arrests were very high in 2012. The San Jose Mercury reports from the BLM have citations down though. That is exactly what would be expected with the LEO cost conflict.

It would be helpful to merge the 2012 LEO threads viewtopic.php?f=56&t=61372 and this one viewtopic.php?f=69&t=61360, from MacGlenver and Captain Mcguiver. What's with that?

It's funny that both of us "Macguivers" started LEO threads . Agree on the merge.

[stinkyfoot]

Some sketch dude in a backpack and t-shirt rolled by our camp one day who was either an undercover looking for some burners to roll out with or a huge tripper, either way, he ran off after I started asking him questions about himself and wondering if he needed to go back to his camp to get a jacket because it was cold.

Most likely all I did was manage to freak out some poor kid on acid.

[psdesertrat]

My interaction with the Washoe County Police nearly ruined my entire burn... I was pulled over on a trumped up charge within a mile of reaching the turn off to gravel... It was "setup Saturday" the day before the official opening at 7am and an officer passed me about four miles from gravel, flipped a U-ey and tailgated me for three miles... A mile before the turn off to gravel he apparently was getting close to "running out of runway" (since he is Washoe Co and the Playa is Pershing Co I guess). Anyway, I am convinced he was bored and anxious to ruin some burns (since the roads were pretty dead at that point and the bulk of the crowds were still 36 hours off...) and my CA plates on an old beater were music to his Christmas bonus check's ears... A thousand dollars later for crap like my bike rack partially obscuring my license plate (it wasn't really - the front tire wasn't even on the one bike I had on the rack so you could totally see my license plate) and my insurance form in the glove box having expired 15 days prior... And of course he added a speeding violation since those other trumped up charges aren't "points" for my insurance even though I never even got up to 55 after the Gerlach "Y" yet alone the 66 he claimed... I mean jeesh.. I was carrying 470 lbs of liquids and ice alone, not to mention all of the food, camping equipment, rebar, the aforementioned bike... All in a 16 year old car... How fast do you think I was going?

I've always been so proud of Burning Man and the economic benefits it provides an area that has been so devastated by the economic downturns of late, and I am always so excited to see so many people in Reno buying their playa supplies... In fact I spent 3 days in Reno prior to the Burn and spent almost $1,000 single-handedly on supplies (okay, that included a light-up fur coat but whatever )... If 1/5th of the burners did what I did that would create $10,000,000 in commerce for Washoe County... That is monumental... But maybe we out-of-staters need to send a message... Top off our gas in Truckee and don't stop for so much as a slushee while within the state borders.. And I know what everyone will say... That would be punishing the wrong people... And that is true... But the citizens of Washoe and Pershing Counties and the State of Nevada are going to have to stand up and say that they will not stand for this anymore... The roads and even the Playa at times were a police state... I saw more State Highway Patrol carelessly zooming up and down that two lane highway (at outrageously dangerous high speeds) than I see in an entire year of driving CA interstates... Nevada needs to stop biting the hand that feeds it. The sheriffs and the judges and the state officials who provide mandates and budgets to the various law enforcement agencies are elected positions... Use your power people! In the meantime I will be making the 6 hour one-way trek back to Wadsworth in mid-October to fight this chaos. Wish me luck and hope I don't end up in the slammer...

[Timezone LaFontaine]

Tuesday afternoon, I was just beginning to feel settled in. I had my manservant, Higgenbotham, crack open a cold one for me, while I tried to get a wifi signal to check the daily performance of my portfolio. Everything was proceeding according to schedule (silent 'c' please) when I was interrupted by a young Canadian neighbor, Chris, who seemed incredibly high and visibly distressed.

He claimed to have been missing a campmate, Fractal, since late the previous night, and was concerned because he had apparently just seen said campmate being driven away, "strapped to the top" of what was probably the last water truck of the day. Chris also noted that the water truck was being "escorted" by two Washoe County Sheriff's SUVs. The absurdity of Chris's tale (which included the coda that Fractal had seemed dazed but, in a strangely happy way, had shouted out "they're taking me to the PO-lice barbeque" while being driven away) was matched by the intensity of his distress. Thinking this was some kind of bizarre put-on (what kind of Canadian uses the pronunciation "PO-lice"?), I agreed to mount up on our bicycles to follow the water truck's snail trail of caked playa dust.

As we left the outer streets of the city, the trail stopped but it was clearly headed in the direction of a small compound of trailers and vehicles that I figured was an organizational point for the team of water trucks. I told Chris he could feel free to inquire within, but for me, the adventure was at its terminus. As I left, Chris was vacillating, unsure of what to do next.

Heading back to my camp, I noticed an area on one of the more remote outer streets that I hadn't noticed before when we'd first ridden past it -- it was still considerably more wet than the rest of the street, which was now mostly dry. It was as if the water truck had stopped there while its water continued to pour for several extra seconds. Examining the site, I saw a remote theme camp called Bighouse BBQ that seemed to be modeled after a small town jail. A cartoon on the sign displayed a rather convoluted, multilayered image of a happy pig dressed in a cop's uniform with a cooking apron strapped on over it. The pig was guarding a jail cell in which sat a merry hobo-raver ready to eat, bib tucked into collar and knife and fork at the ready astride a waiting plate. Curiously, the fire pit was behind the hobo inside the cell. The whole jailhouse was designed to be somewhat ramshackle in appearance, yet upon closer examination looked as though it was of solid and secure construction, with a sturdy frame made of cedar 4 x 6s, 4 x 4s and 2 x 12s. The bars were certainly real enough. A pleasant aroma emanated from it, carried on an afternoon desert zephyr. But it seemed to be closed.

I stepped onto the porch. "Anyone home?" I called out. I heard some muffled activity inside for a moment -- then a radio was switched on, playing some egregious buttrock. A stout woman emerged from around the side -- her very aura spelled cop. At first she appeared to be quite put off by my presence, but her demeanor quickly lightened when I flashed my disarming smile, complimented her on the structure, and asked about the barbeque. She told me they were going to be serving "real pit barbeque" so it was going to be the better part of two days before it would be ready. She advised me to come back on Thursday. I gifted her a share of stock in one of my publicly-held companies and bid her good afternoon. Casually glancing back over my shoulder at the end of the block, I could see she was still watching me depart. Whether suspicious of me or genuinely lovestruck, I am honestly unsure.

Back at camp several hours later, I was into the absinthe pretty heavily and laughing at nothing in particular when I noticed my Canadian neighbor Chris returning, looking quite a bit more haggard and exhausted than before. I offered him a drink but he said he was going to turn in early -- still no sign of his missing friend. He seemed especially alarmed at my enthusiastic description of the jaunty little BBQ jailhouse. He demanded to know where it was. Somewhere on one of the outer streets was as specific a location as I could muster at that point. I began to tire of his anxious behavior, and his increasing insistence that his countrymen were being singled out for harassment by the sheriffs. "Have you considered the possibility that you might have been hallucinating the whole water truck episode?" I tried to ask gently. In spite of my attempt at softening the incisiveness of the query, Chris was clearly quite aggravated and refused my offer of a drink, returning to his camp in a huff. I could hear him and the other Canadians talking and quarreling intensely for some time into the night before ultimately resolving to get some rest and resume their efforts in the morning. They retreated to their tents, crashing for the evening in the wee hours.

My own ability to weave together a coherent tapestry from the multitudes of disparate sensory threads was fast dissolving at this point; I closed my RV airlock and drifted off to sleep. That night I had what I would describe as near-nightmares... I dreamt of loud machines crushing things, sinister chefs, yelling Canadians, snapping tent stakes, and the everpresent "beep-beep" of the water trucks' horns. At noon, when I had finally gathered the will to face the harsh light of day, I saw that my Canadian campmates had packed up some time in the night and left. Perhaps I'd genuinely offended Chris, or perhaps it was simply an effort to find a less dusty section of the city. I was disappointed to see that they had left behind quite a bit of moop -- broken bits of plastic and scraps of nylon fabric, even an entire bike frame that was severely mangled. It also seemed that a huge amount of water had been spilled all over the area -- all these bits of moop were encrusted in a hardened playa, and deep tire tracks had been gouged into the surface and hardened. I had Higgenbotham clear up the mess while I dined on a late brunch, languidly flipping through the WWW guide to make a note -- try to find BBQ Thursday.

[ZaphodBurner]

Dumbasses can't even be bothered to read the survival guide. Darwin, step up once more.

Is that really necessary?

[unjonharley]

yes

[stew]

I saw a BLM ranger play hackysack. I saw another BLM hoola hoop.

For anyone getting a citation for pot or getting pulled over for going over the speed limit - you had been warned. It's in the JRS, it's in the survival guide and they told you about the speed limit at gate. Good luck fighting your ticket, and next time, don't do stupid things and plead the fifth.

[PapaBear2120]

They said that they think a virgin camper had said something "bad" to a "hot" undercover cop who then lead a cavalry of officers into their camp.

Something really similar happened at my camp, but the Police only pulled out the RV. Our Theme Camp got to keep going all week; however, the Sheriffs dropped in constantly for next few days checking everything out with weak reasons, not to mention conflicting information, to be in the back of our camp.

The two guys arrested were taking to Pershing County. One I know got out on bail and was allowed in long enough to get his truck, then leave.

A BLM ranger from Oregon was super cool and gave us a lot of needed information and was trying to help the guy out. He didn't intrude on the back of our camp.

New rule I learned, if your camp isn't completely fenced off (as in no holes whatsoever), it's open space and not private area. Cops can walk right on in. If it's fenced off completely, they can't.

[FireTommy]

I saw more cops and searches this year, but this is the incident that troubled me... on Tuesday morning I was at the Temple. It wasn't crowded at all, just a few of us at the center and the rest of us soaking up the tranquility of that huge, airy, beautiful structure. A county guy approached the altar wearing a kevlar vest, fingerless gloves, Taser, asp, pepper spray, radio, 9mm Beretta, plenty of extra magazines... he was well prepared to go to war with an enemy that was not present. He did not remove his hat as he swaggered up to the people who were meditating. Maybe silent meditation is suspicious. Anyway, my bitch is the he did not remove his hat in the one place in BRC that he should have done so. I'm an atheist, and I uncover in a place people pray in. What would it cost this mutt to demonstrate a little respect for, well...anything? In the past my LEO encounters at Burns were pretty friendly and cordial, but this guy really wanted to show us all that he was In Charge.

[BBadger]

I saw more cops and searches this year, but this is the incident that troubled me... on Tuesday morning I was at the Temple. It wasn't crowded at all, just a few of us at the center and the rest of us soaking up the tranquility of that huge, airy, beautiful structure. A county guy approached the altar wearing a kevlar vest, fingerless gloves, Taser, asp, pepper spray, radio, 9mm Beretta, plenty of extra magazines... he was well prepared to go to war with an enemy that was not present. He did not remove his hat as he swaggered up to the people who were meditating. Maybe silent meditation is suspicious. Anyway, my bitch is the he did not remove his hat in the one place in BRC that he should have done so. I'm an atheist, and I uncover in a place people pray in. What would it cost this mutt to demonstrate a little respect for, well...anything? In the past my LEO encounters at Burns were pretty friendly and cordial, but this guy really wanted to show us all that he was In Charge.

Yeah, I saw those cops strutting around the temple on Tuesday. They wandered by and inspected some people laying outside looking them over and stuff. Seemed like a big waste of effort to me.

[Candybox]

I saw more cops and searches this year, but this is the incident that troubled me... on Tuesday morning I was at the Temple. It wasn't crowded at all, just a few of us at the center and the rest of us soaking up the tranquility of that huge, airy, beautiful structure. A county guy approached the altar wearing a kevlar vest, fingerless gloves, Taser, asp, pepper spray, radio, 9mm Beretta, plenty of extra magazines... he was well prepared to go to war with an enemy that was not present. He did not remove his hat as he swaggered up to the people who were meditating. Maybe silent meditation is suspicious. Anyway, my bitch is the he did not remove his hat in the one place in BRC that he should have done so. I'm an atheist, and I uncover in a place people pray in. What would it cost this mutt to demonstrate a little respect for, well...anything? In the past my LEO encounters at Burns were pretty friendly and cordial, but this guy really wanted to show us all that he was In Charge.

I think you're grasping at straws here. Lots of Burners keep their hats on in the temple. Most people I saw did. I know the one time I came in at night, I kept my (bear) hat on, because it was cold. My bf kept his on as well. The temple is for everyone, including LEOs. This guy wasn't being disruptive, he was dressed for his job which he was on duty for, and I think you're just trying to find reasons to peg him just for being an LEO.

[Eric]

Anyway, my bitch is the he did not remove his hat in the one place in BRC that he should have done so. I'm an atheist, and I uncover in a place people pray in.

I'm Jewish - removing my hat (or kippah) in a place of prayer is considered extremely rude. In a Jewish Temple you cover your head when you go to pray (if it isn't covered already). This also goes for Islam, branches of Hinduism, Sikhism and many other religions. Don't assume your cultural norm is the only correct one.

[FireTommy]

Good points, both of you. Grasping at straws is my hobby.