Friday, December 2, 2016

ONCE ORLANDO GETS ON HIS BIKE, G'BYE CIVIL LIBERTIES

By Juan Montoya
They should have known there was trouble coming when Brownsville Police Department Chief Orlando Rodriguez decked out in his blues and bike helmet and three of his cycle sidekicks wheeled down Elizabeth St. yesterday.
Once the Bike Patrol was in  motion, it was just a matter of inertia to arrests someone, for something.

The first guy they nailed was a man (in blue shirt) who was standing across the Jefferson Street from the Intermodal Terminal (the bus station) who was watching some carpenters work on the roof and facade of a restaurant.

The man, who posed no danger to anyone, was apparently violating the city's (and B-Metro's) anti-loitering law by merely standing on the sidewalk. A police officer in a black-and-white had stopped him as the Bike Patrol wheeled down Jefferson and provided backup to arrest the perp.

The carpenters, who were watching the scene one floor up, said the man had been doing nothing but looking at them work.
"No estaba haciendo nada," one of them told a passerby. "Nomas se lo llevaron."

That was par for the course when Orlando pedals around town with his crew. Some witnesses say that a number of old guys who sit on the steps of the old post office (the new city hall in the federal building) were also admonished for hanging out in a public place by the anti civil-rights patrol who advised them to move on or else. We don't know how the old guys fared, but we hope they didn't meet the same fate of the guy in blue who just happened to be standing across the bus station doing nothing when he was picked up.

Well, apparently, he was.
Inside the bus terminal, a new sign warns the public that by violating  a number of rules in or near the bus terminal constitutes grounds for arrest or even banishment from the facility.
In fact, the list of transgressions seems endless. There is to be, for example, no use of the facility or in the B-Metro area for any other purpose than for what it was designed or designated. i.e. Restrooms - not to be used for grooming. (?) So now you know. If you comb your hair when you go use the bathroom at the terminal, be prepared to have Orlando or his bike patrol breathing down your throat.

And if you are waiting for your bus (which are always late, it seems) and catch yourself nodding off, you better be careful. There will be no sleeping on the floor or on the tables. And if you have a bottle of Starbuck cold coffee, you done broke the law  by having a glass bottle, padner.

As a matter of fact, Orlando better watch out because B-Metro also prohibits skating, skateboarding, or use of bicycles around the facility.
"Violations of the rules and regulations may result in fines, removal (banned, etc.) from the premises and/or arrest" and may be enforced by Plaza management and the Brownsville Police Dept.

In the last city commission meeting, B-Metro manager Norma Zamora said that in order to cut down on the number of homeless who congregate in or near the facility, B-Metro was restricting the hours of operation closing at 11 p.m. and opening at 4 a.m. Those arriving on buses after 11 would be left outside the facility.

So there you have it. If you are anywhere around the tto city block-square area of the terminal from 13th And Adams to International Boulevard, just forget about civil liberties because B-Metro lives by its own rules. And Orly will see to that.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Orlando is so far up Jessica Tetreaus butt he's not thinking straight. He looks gay acts gay too.

Anonymous said...

Nothing wrong with a little authoritarianism to keep the pachucos in line.

Anonymous said...

The loitering is probable cause. They ran his name and the man had a warrant. Not your regular outstanding citizen. These buns bring it in themselves. Good job boyz in blue.

Anonymous said...

Good! That will teach him to mouth off to authorities. Maybe next time he will identify himself you know failure to Id is an arrestable offense.

Anonymous said...

You can find his mugshot and charges on brownsvillepd.blogspot obviously not a model person.

Anonymous said...

The hours are good all those cubans that customs releases and all the border patrol released illegals were hanging out at the bus station for days, bathing in the restroom sinks and sthinking up the place! I know I work there!

Anonymous said...

Dude,

I believe you are way off on this story. Did you request a copy of the police report?

I don't see how metro rules would apply if they are not on metro property.

Anonymous said...

Que sabes tu de civil liberties juanito

Anonymous said...

The guy they arrested may have had a warrant, juan. He may have mouthed-off or made some threat. You just don't know, juanito! Give the cops a break, dude!

VC

Anonymous said...

He and his bicycle posse should visit the variety of panderers we have around town....usually at main freeway intersections on the frontage roads. They are pan-handling, not just watching traffic.
One wonders with all the bike trails, why shut downtown down for the afternoon so people can ride their bikes????????????

Anonymous said...

Loitering is probably cause? Where did you get your law degree?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous Anonymous said
December 4, 2016 at 6:01 PM

IN TOTAL AGREEMENT.
I am tired of being approached by people that you don't know if they are going to assault you, or you might run them over if the light changes, and YOU will be responsible.
THERE IS A CITY LAW AGAINST pandhandlers but the police is to busy driving around or in their bikes to DO THEIR JOBS and enforce THAT LAW.

Anonymous said...

The city needs a policy of providing a one way bus ticket to bums.

Anonymous said...

Si o que? Send them where? To freeze up north? Hello! They got here on one way tickets. Remember the serial killer we had downtown.

Anonymous said...

A el green River murderer. Good thing brownsville pd isolated his rights and identified him before he could kill our prostitutes kike he had in seattle.good jib boys in blue. Keep violating the beaners' rights. F' em!

Anonymous said...

Maybe Jessica can buy them the tickets to go home. Jessica???

rita