“Omygod! I’ve finally got him cornered:
the elusive Good Samaritan!”
Man Punished for Offering Assistance with Bus Token
Transit police handcuffed and cited a man who sold a $1.75 subway token to another rider who was having trouble with a token vending machine. He vows to fight the citation in court.
Transit authority spokeswoman Jocelyn Baker said Friday that the officer “acted within the law” after he spotted Donald Pirone, 42, selling the token Nov. 30 inside the West End subway station
Instead of giving Pirone a warning, the officer decided to handcuff him and give him the misdemeanor citation under a 1992 state law that bars passengers from selling Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority tokens, she said.
“What you’ve got to keep in mind is that fare abuse is a chronic problem,” Baker said. “It costs MARTA millions of dollars every year.”
Baker acknowledged that Pirone sold the token at face value and did not make a profit. But the law is the law, she said.
Meanwhile, there is doubt that the token was even sold at all:
“I gave him a token and, I guess out of his generosity, he gave me the money for it,” Pirone said. “But I didn’t ask him for money.”
Now, read this story from last month, and ask yourself where MARTA’s priorities are: Marta Rider’s Pleas for Help Go Unanswered (You may have to log in, but it’s worth it.)
Did you really think you lived in a free country?
“What you’ve got to keep in mind is that fare abuse is a chronic problem,” Baker said. “It costs MARTA millions of dollars every year.”
How is what he did considered fare abuse? And costing millions of dollars every year? Think about it. How many people would have to jump over the turnstyle with out paying the $1.75 to add up to two million dollars or more?
Anyone consider that the intercom may have been malfunctioning, the conductor may have been listening to music at too high of a level, the guy may have pressed the wrong button in a panic…..the list could go on. Just playing Devil’s Advocate….I bought the arcade version for my den.
There is another strange side to this strory… the handcuffs. Do people usually get handcuffed for something minor like this? I didn’t think so but what do I know?
I’m a white middle class guy. We don’t get ‘cuffed for anything short of murder! 😉
Sad, but makes sense…Sometimes the little guy gets crushed…
In reference to the man being handcuffed for a misdemeanor…
Any misdemeanor aresst that does not involve issues of safety to officer or subject, it is officers discretion as to weather handcuffs are used or aresst is actually made in lieu of a warning (that is according to a cop I work with,whom I showed this article.) In other words, the cop was a prick and so was the rather dishonest judge. For her to have been telling the truth the majority of the passengers would have to be crooks. If she was telling the truth then they are both incompetent.
How does this cost them any money at all? You still have one token purchased for each passenger. I don’t see how scalpers can ever benefit, unless there’s some sort of bulk discount. Fare jumpers is another thing, and it is justified to arrest people for that and hand out prison sentences.
By the time this reaches a Judge, the Police Officer will be claiming the man assaulted him and tried to resist arrest. He might even have had a gun.
But at least he wasn’t in Miami Airport having a panic attack.
To all those in earlier subjects about Police over reaction, would you believe that this happened? Would you believe that this occurs every day. Just ask a black how many times he has been stopped this month.
Basically scalpers perform a valuable economic service, moving goods from people who don’t want them to people who want them more. By all accounts, this makes the market more efficient. Instead, they are treated as criminals. Apparently they pay lip service to free markets when it benefits them, but when it benefits the consumer, or someone who practices arbitrage, well, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.
Why do you suppose they check IDs when boarding a plane? It has not always been like this, nor does it have anything to do with terrorism. Terrorists can acquire fake IDs easily enough.
To anyone who’s interested, here’s an update:
(December 13, 2005)
“….undercover officers arrested Pirone.
Today, the Fulton County Solicitor’s Office fought vigorously in a Fulton County Courtroom to make the charges stick.
Judge Stephanie Davis bound the case over to state court for trial.
Don Pirone could face up to a year in jail for the misdemeanor charge.”
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/5525874/detail.html#
Question: The next time I am at the post office and someone is having trouble getting stamps from the machine, should I check the lawbooks first before offering them one of mine, to make sure that I am not breaking a law? (I have a number of times helped someone in just this situation, which is why I ask.)