Comments on: San Diego Trolley Police Prohibit Photography

By: trolleycop5150

trolleycop5150 — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 21:25:06 +0000

Well for all that wondered if those officers are still employed, they are. The use of force used in this video was justifiable based on the suspects actions before Mr. I have a camera pushed the record button. Yes the officer made a mistake by telling u that u can not video tape them. I see why she jumped into the picture right of way and believe she meant to tell you to back off. The camera guy is with in 5 feet of the contact. I have had officers on my watch get hit in the head by others with cameras while the officers were on the ground. I see where the concern was, she just blurted out the wrong orders. Yes you have the right to video tape unless posted. But in this case those officers also have rights, like the right to litigation based on violating their privacy. The camera man never asked their consent to publish his video with their faces. That is a huge safety concern for those officers who don't want to be recognized off work. Yes MTS is a public entity. Their property is considered private which is open to the public. Caution before you preach the famous quote "I know my rights". As in the case the suspect in the video was a parolee, with a violent wrap. Two he was found guilty for smoking in the station, and failing to comply with a lawful order. His fine was $380.00 from what i recall. So who is the bad guy folks, some parolee who doesn't care about the laws of society or the officers who had to deal with this guy for their $13.00 an hour salary? Officers who deal with 90% of the worst in society. If you dont believe me on the litigation part contact a private attorney and ask him or her.

Sincerely

Sergeant TrolleyCop5150

By: Nick

Nick — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 17:56:34 +0000

I worked armed security patrol in south central Los Angeles for years and it frustrating. I myself took the job not because I was an academy drop out, egomaniac or thought that I was a cop. I took the job to seriously protect and serve. OK…that sounds cheesy, but it's true. I eventually had to leave the job because it's way to frustrating. I just wanted to go to work and do my job and every 30 seconds someone is calling you a rent a cop, wanna be cop or they are reminding you that your not the police and you can't tell them what to do. It's very disheartning to people like myself who like the work. I worked for an angency that was very professional. We had the same cars, computers, weapons and were even sent through a lot of the same training as cops. We were never lead to believe that we were cops and were not trained to act as so. We patrolled contracted premises period. Yes driving the cown vicoria's from location to location, some people used to stop me and ask for my assistance, I would then inform them I was not a police officer, but I'd be happy to make the call for them. I would never deny anyone help. A lot of times LAPD would use us for traffic control during accidents and such, but that's about it. Even the Police would make fun of us and belittle our jobs. So I can see how these officers would become frustrated with this man. I'm not saying what they did was right. There is much more to dealing with people than showing them how aggresive you can be. The 5 years I worked as a white patrol officer in south central I got in one confrintation. I knew how to talk my way through situations to get what I wanted. I personally know a few of these guys and they have no training at all. They get a guard card and a firearm permit and are hired to protect. It's not fair to them or to the public. They are not trained to deal with these type of situations and that's what your seeing. I think these Trolley security guys are kicked around and laughed at a lot because they're not cops and your seeing them blow because they are not trained to deal with it. A lot of security officers do think they are cops and do act as such when they shouldn't be and that is because of a lack of training and the fact that security agencies will hire anyone with a pulse and pay them $9 hr. You get what you pay for. Trolly patrol is a very dangerous job and a huge responsability. It needs to be done by people who receive the proper training or handed over to Law Enforcement. Some stations have one officer per station, a guy who last week worked at Ikea and this week he is in charge of patroling an entire Trolley station during a night shift. I loved what I did in patrol and I bet I would enjjoy Trolley, but not for $9 with no cover unit. That's insane.

By: Zach Petschek

Zach Petschek — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 16:19:47 +0000

SD MTS is a private company despite popular belief. It is public transportation but they do have the right to setup rules as they wish. It is not illegal to stand on public property, across the street, and photograph the trolley, but unfortunately they have the right to make any rules that they wish on their property.

By: En Que

En Que — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 19:47:16 +0000

I agree with the trolley cops. thats what terrorists do before they want to blow up a place. they try to film and study the location. the cops are doing this for our safety..

By: slmma

slmma — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 12:54:34 +0000

I worked in down town San Diego for 3 years loss prevention agent you have to understand before you approach a confrontation with someone if they even understand they are doing somthing then again I have been in 100s of confrontations where I did have me knee on some ones head since I have been bitten hit with a bat, skateboard, punched knifes and guns drawn on me til you have been placed in that situation you will know why he did what he did. And how much training you thing a company is going to invest on a security officer they pay $ 9 HR they have no training watching a video and answering questions is not training

By: Reupert

Reupert — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 22:06:20 +0000

Love this clip. That's about 6 blocks from where I lived last winter and a little further from a segment that was on COPS recently…

But to the point, good sticking up for your 1st amendment rights. Go get em

By: Roger Estillana

Roger Estillana — Tue, 18 May 2010 22:24:10 +0000

Hi Rob after i post my comments,i brainstormed myself for a while,and i came to the conclusions after reviewing informations,about trolley securities,and i learned that lately violence has been on the rise, and im not sure what is causing it,but i do know one thing and the solutions is would be to find a way for us as a community to reconcile our differences lets have a three day holiday and well call it reconciliation independence week so we can all meet in groups identify each other and exchange and express frustrations to forgive and forget and go on with our lives as familys like brothers and sisters,exhange our ideas open ourselves,then talk about solutions,activities,and invite our top leaders to assist us for any kind of solutions,im positive that if things are conducted this way, i think that violence and separations would be dropped to zero.educations would be achieve in much higher rate, community would have so much abundance ,and all hands would be in much better shape.

By: Roger Estillana

Roger Estillana — Sun, 16 May 2010 05:57:34 +0000

Yes i agree with your comments,i wonder is it possible to release documents from the 80s all the way to present involving heritage securities assaulting little girls, teenagers, handicaps, senior citizen,and veterans,minorities?because i do beleive that things are getting out of hand as far as loose canon trolley cop wanna be securities i think its time that we hear the truth and to keep the community out of danger by replacing trolley stations securities with smart entries,and to inform the public what is really taking place.

By: fred

fred — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 21:22:34 +0000

Rob,

Obviously there is a huge difference from security officer compared to peace officer (police). You are acting as if this is something new. Unfortunately you are not comparing apples to apples. Yes security officers can only conduct citizens arrest. Just like any citizen in the state of california. The difference is whether you know it or not Transit security is not your typical day to day security ( believe or not) call it what you want wannabe cop, academy drop outs, or whatever but it is the truth you cannot compare transit security to say "securitas". yes same guard card is needed, and permits are needed, but the type of work is COMPLETELY different See transit security does not guard parking lots, empty buildings, or construction sites. They "police" the trolley though they are not police. this does not make them wannabe cops security has this old time persona of being wannabe cops. Many people hold them to the same standard as police because they are similiar in uniforms. Transit security does an enormous amount of law enforcement activity conducted with neighboring police agencies. Anyways I'd like to chat with you more if you have any questions……drop me a line….

By: Rob

Rob — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 22:09:32 +0000

@discarted I’m working on a post that describes the difference between sworn peace (police) officers and private security guards. Back in September, when I filmed the video and wrote the post, it was based on what I knew then. What I know NOW is much different. Since then I have indeed learned that security guards are performing a CITIZENS ARREST when they place some one in cuffs, which is something that any public commuter can do to a trolley guard. What I know NOW that I didn’t know THE is that San Diego trolley guards have no more authority to arrest a public commuter than a public commuter has to arrest a trolley guard. That being said, I want to leave my original post is I wrote it back in September 2009, not because I don’t agree with you, but because I would like this blog to show the progression of what I am learning from the experience. .-= Rob´s last blog ..Eventually He Pointed His Camera At The Sky =-.