ACCESS TO PUBLIC SPACE
Guest
Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2005 3:15 pm Post subject: Public parks.
Hey everyone, i'd like to share an experience i had during last summer.
So its summer time, me and my good friend are hanging out at the northwest leisure centre park at around 11:30-12 at night, we were havin fun with some of our other friends, just enjoying the nice summer night. We were playin a joke on my friend and we decided to hide in some bushes haha (dont ask why). Then i see a person with a flashlight lookin around, i looked closer and it was a police officer with his partner. My friend and I are still in the bushes lol then they hear us and shine there evil bright flashlights at us. lol. We come out and they start yelling at us asking what we are doing in the bushes, we reply calmly just saying we were going to play a little joke on our friend. Then they ask if we were drinking or on drugs etc.. we said no because we were not. They dont believe us and begin raising there voices saying how us "kids" shouldnt be in the park after 11. This totally shocked me. I asked them why, the male police officer yelled "Because we said so" and this i did not agree with at all. Since when is it illegal to go to a park and have fun with your friends at night?? I asked him this as well. Again he just raised his voice and threatened to "arrest" me if i did not leave the park immediately. Yet while we speak an older man walks by, i asked the officer.. what about that man walking? he replied "He's an old man, hes not going to cause any harm." For all we know he could be a rapist. It was completely unfair. My friends and I pretended to leave but just went back after the police left. I have strong morals and values, I love parks and two police officers will not stop me from seeing such beautiful sights of mother nature.
This curfew for parks rule is absolutely ridiculous. I totally disagree with it. Because i spend most of my summer in parks enjoying myself, painting and having fun with friends. I will not cause harm to anything in a park and if i see anyone doing something stupid i will stop them immediately. thanks for listenin to my two cents =P
shelley
Joined: 05 Dec 2005
Posts: 29
Location: Calgary and the Dunlop in Regina
Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2005 4:52 pm Post subject: curfew in Saskatoon
I hear that Saskatoon is thinking about implimenting a curfew for those under 16. Perhaps every kid will need to have an implanted barcode to go out after dark...
What happens when you babysit? Will parents have to hurry home to make sure you don't break your curfew? What about employers? Will they let you end your shift to be sure you don't break curfew?
As for curfews in the parks... Where should teens hang out? Can you only go to places where it costs money after 11?
hippy93
Joined: 13 Dec 2005
Posts: 9
Location: Regina,SK.
Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2005 5:48 pm Post subject:
wow.. curfews ? ouch. what is this world coming too. By the way that was me who posted above. Anyone should be allowed in the parks, no matter what time. Parks are a place to go and relieve stress from the every day world. It's those kids who go out at night to cause "trouble" and vandalize that ruin it for everyone else.
_________________
" When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will accomplish peace."
" WAR! -
That until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all, Without regard to race - Dis a war. "
shelley
Joined: 05 Dec 2005
Posts: 29
Location: Calgary and the Dunlop in Regina
Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2005 7:01 pm Post subject: parks
How can you change the law and make sure that public parks are for everyone?
Jash
Joined: 14 Dec 2005
Posts: 11
Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2005 10:32 am Post subject: Re: Public parks.
Anonymous wrote:
Hey everyone, i'd like to share an experience i had during last summer.
So its summer time, me and my good friend are hanging out at the northwest leisure centre park at around 11:30-12 at night, we were havin fun with some of our other friends, just enjoying the nice summer night. We were playin a joke on my friend and we decided to hide in some bushes haha (dont ask why). Then i see a person with a flashlight lookin around, i looked closer and it was a police officer with his partner. My friend and I are still in the bushes lol then they hear us and shine there evil bright flashlights at us. lol. We come out and they start yelling at us asking what we are doing in the bushes, we reply calmly just saying we were going to play a little joke on our friend. Then they ask if we were drinking or on drugs etc.. we said no because we were not. They dont believe us and begin raising there voices saying how us "kids" shouldnt be in the park after 11. This totally shocked me. I asked them why, the male police officer yelled "Because we said so" and this i did not agree with at all. Since when is it illegal to go to a park and have fun with your friends at night?? I asked him this as well. Again he just raised his voice and threatened to "arrest" me if i did not leave the park immediately. Yet while we speak an older man walks by, i asked the officer.. what about that man walking? he replied "He's an old man, hes not going to cause any harm." For all we know he could be a rapist. It was completely unfair. My friends and I pretended to leave but just went back after the police left. I have strong morals and values, I love parks and two police officers will not stop me from seeing such beautiful sights of mother nature.
This curfew for parks rule is absolutely ridiculous. I totally disagree with it. Because i spend most of my summer in parks enjoying myself, painting and having fun with friends. I will not cause harm to anything in a park and if i see anyone doing something stupid i will stop them immediately. thanks for listenin to my two cents =P
I also had a night like this...except at the lakewood lake. A couple of friends and I were walking home from a night at a friends house, and as we were coming out of the field onto Devonshire. Of course knowing our luck a cop pulls up. This is about 12:00 at night. He yet again put those bright evil flashlights in our faces and asked us what we were up to. We pleaded our story and he began the questioning of "Are you drunk?" "How much have you had to drink?". Since we only were getting high on G-O-D at my friends house we told him the bare truth. The cop was puzzled almost like we should have been drunk? Do the police in Regina have nothing better to do other then tell us teenagers that were bad and shouldnt be out at night? Terrible in my opinion.
Answering Shelley's question, I think we could show more respect towards the parks and not have "bush partys" where we destroy everything in sight. I mean bush parties are fun, but their not legal or very well kept =\ obviously theres beer bottles everywhere and what not. So if we showed the city that we are responsible when we want to be Im sure there wouldnt be any curfews set.
hippy93
Joined: 13 Dec 2005
Posts: 9
Location: Regina,SK.
Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2005 4:55 pm Post subject:
ugh. I hate lakewood park in the summer time, I had an encounter there as well. This was around the time that school had just gotten out for summer and there was a "party" there. Everyone was drinking etc.. but i stayed away from that. Two girls randomly started to fight in the middle of the gazebo area.. and i started to yell stop fighting with a few of my friends but they wouldnt listen lol. Next thing you know the police are there. Meanwhile i lost the 4 friends of mine i came with in the "run away from the cops" part of the night. lol . I think its stupid to run because i did nothing wrong so i calmy began walkin up the hill. Searchin around for my friends i see the cops right infront of me talkin to some kid who mouthed off. So i just began walkin a bit up and down through the park looking for my friends.
I get to the top of the hill and the cop looks at me and asks what i was doing, i told him i was just lookin for my friends and told him there was a fight earlier, which i believed was stupid. Then i said violence is not the answer and i hope u have a good night. Guess something there i said set him off and as i began walkin he yelled DONT STEP A FOOT ON THE GRASS. So i listened to him and stayed on the sidewalk peakin over the hill to see if i could see my friends. Then he came and drove over to me and told me to get in the car otherwise im getting arrested. I asked why and he had no reason he just said get in or i will arrest you. So i did what he told me because i did not feel like gettin arrested. I hopped in the car and asked what i did wrong, he replied back sayin "you were in the park"
i said okay? how is that illegal. This is when i learned there was a curfew on parks. I said Oh i did not know about this. He said well now you know, took down my info etc... Then as he told me to leave the car the back door was locked and i asked him how do i get out? he replied "Pull the fucking handle" i said it is locked, he got out slammed the door and opened mine from the outside. I left and on my way out i told him to have a great night, and he replied "violence is not the answer" in a bitchy way.
The funny thing is, this whole time a big "jock" type guy was going around yelling "fuck you" to the police and tryin to set off car alarms, why didnt he take that guy and talk to him instead of me? I was just walking nicely looking for my friends so we could leave. It's quite disappointing.
_________________
" When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will accomplish peace."
" WAR! -
That until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all, Without regard to race - Dis a war. "
Jash
Joined: 14 Dec 2005
Posts: 11
Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2005 10:54 pm Post subject:
Gaaah!! Thats so horrible. You know you can turn a cop down if he asks you to get into the car! He has to have grounds to ask you to get in. A while ago when i was sitting behind 241 pizza across from Knoll, our Constable thought it would be a good idea to dress up "undercover" and come behind there and bust us for eating our pizza. He made us all stand up, empty our pockets and we recieved a lecture on how "Smoking is a bad habit". Like do they think their the parents of Regina. Of course nothing better to do but stake out 4 kids eating their pizza. Honestly they should run laps around a football field at lunch instead of trying to bust kids. Nice try though and BTW - he found nothing but pens and paper on us, yeah were highschool kids, not coke dealers, jerk.
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