Any Higher and You'd Need a Blimp

Saturday afternoon, I was trying to pick up my wife and kids and some friends at Macy's. Obviously, this was not possible with the film shoot. Since I couldn't reach my wife via cell phone, I ended up driving around the block a couple of times along the Flower Street side. Fortunately, my wife caught sight of my car and I pulled over on left side of Flower just below 7th.

As I'm loading three infants and a three-year old into my car, I'm accosted by a LAPD officer working the film shoot. He points outs I'm parked in a red zone. With child seat in hand, I very politely ask him what does he want me to do. As I look him in the eye, he says with delight of a small man with authority, "Go". At this moment, as a tax payer, I'm staggered by his vacuous stupidity. I am also astonished with the officer's rudeness. He talks to me like I'm some cholo convict on probation. He is clearly oblivious to the power of a smile to smooth over these social situations. He seems to have few tactical options for handling the situation other than menacing me. Do as I say or there will be trouble.

I really wonder what his objective is here. In the legal sense, he is completely rigth. I'm parked in a red zone. Yet, with 7th Street completely blocked off, my options are limited. If this was the height of rush hour, I'd agree with him completely. However, traffic is as light as you'd expect at 5:15 p.m. on a Saturday. But, what truly irks me as a taxpayer is the zero tolerance he's talking. I'd have no problem with this if it was evenly enforced. However, I know that a few blocks over on skid row, the law is being broken routinely by drug dealers and prostitutes and all the assorted mayhem that goes with their business. The mystery of the LAPD is how they can be so zealous in enforcement over trivia like parking, yet so lax in other areas about real crime.

The upshot of the situation is I drive 15 yards down the block and continue loading. Still, I'd point out, these kinds of interactions with the LAPD are routine. I bump into them every couple of years over trivial matters like this and I always walk away with the same thought. What a !@#$% idiot. Good to see my tax dollars hard a work(!). As a dull, well-educated, middle-aged, middle-class, white guy, I can only imagine the social fireworks which could ensue with someone less sophisticated. Clearly, the institutional rot at LAPD is pretty thorough. As a taxpayer and a law-and-order kind of guy, I wish the LAPD could be a tough and effective AND smart. Alas, based upon what I've seen over the past few decades, I'm thoroughly skeptical such change will happen in my lifetime.

Now come on David. You have to know that guy was a rent-a-cop. Hired by the film company to satisfy some requirement of permitting. No actual power, just an ability to bully. Might have been an off duty LAPD but could have been a retired or even 'early-retired' ie not fit for normal duty. We interact with these numbskulls all the time around the arts district. The real police don't act that way in my experience.

Point is, it was not taking man power from somewhere else and does not represent the policy or philosophy of LAPD. Your anger is justified but mis-placed. Film crews need to be more respectful of citizens.

You're probably right. I just had to get it off my chest.

No, if your closing a street, you have to hire a LAPD officer, and he is hired thru the LAPD. So, he is on duty.

I took some photos of the actual set yesterday, it is for the upcoming Transformers movie. At one point they exploded a truck full of furbies which then went all over the street... i missed that part though.

Actually no, the shot on 7th was for a Tylenol commercial... I saw them shooting it, they had a camera spinning around a guy with green light on him... I asked if it was for the Transformers movie, but they said nope, tylenol.

As someone who at times looks like a cholo convict if I don't get my vanilla latte from Coffee Bean, I take offense David. But not as offended as the PA I met while street shooting Transformers. The technique was quaint. After telling me I can't take any photos with the casual authority of a film school grad, he tried to put his ice cream cone in front of my camera. Wasn't even a double scoop. Don't these guys know we can spot them? I'm getting a good photo essay of that moment a guard, pa, lapd-lite person is ready to do a "you can't shoot here' smackdown.

A very interesting anecdote. I have a few questions.

Since this rent-a-cop is a real cop the film production crew has to hire to close down a street, can they still ticket you? Also, what powers to a film production co. rent-a-cop have on you? Can they ticket you for something stupid like the aforementioned predicament?

Curious...

e@v, I'm puzzled why you are offended.

Friday evening around 10 p.m., my wife is walking home from Bally's. The film crew has returned to resume filming for Transformers. The block between 8th & 9th on Broadway is being dressed for the next day's shoot. There is much activity as people flit about turning my street into some war-torn apocalypse.

In front of our building are a couple of guys sitting at a small cafe table. One is gentleman is smoking a small pipe. The other is rolling himself a nice fat joint. My wife is not familiar with the pipe, although I'm skeptical it is being used the way my grandfather would smoke it. However, my wife can clearing see and smell the dope in the joint.

Overseeing this scene is an LAPD officer. He can clearly see what the gentlemen are doing and they are unconcerned with his presence. No doubt, at this late hour, the officer is alert and on the prowl for traffic misdemeanors. Broken windows, indeed.

What I don't understand is this: my husband crossed Spring Street between 6th and 7th and got a jaywalking ticket. A few days later a policeman was standing in the same spot and stopped traffic in the middle of the block to let film crews cross back and forth. Is it legal if a rent-a-cop says so?

About these "fake" cops. I don't think they need to be real cops on a street closure. I know the one that harassed me in December was retired. If these guys are just rude to you you are way ahead of the game. Try comming home from work and having one stop you on the sidewalk knowing all the details of the complaints you have made to Film LA and saying they have a right to do it because you complained. I didn't know it was a fake cop at the time and it really scared the Hell out of me. I'm still afraid of the guy as he obviously has some screws loose somewhere and knows where I live. Basically, the guy was trying to scare me so I would keep my mouth shut about an ongoing production. He scared me alright, but didn't manage to shut my mouth. Trying to get the "situation" resolved has been a complete nightmare/joke. Be very careful of these fake cops. What you may say to Film LA or a location manager IS NOT kept confidential. This nut even knew what time I went to work in the morning. So good luck to us all with the cops, real or fake.