PrussianBleu
Senior Member
Allow me to spin you a yarn..
I've been beeping since last fall, with a long hiatus during our never-ending winters up here. In that limited amount of time, I've been stopped by lady police officers twice for hunting in public parks.
In the first instance, it was after dark (I work 2nd shift) and the responding officer said that they were responding to a concerned neighbor saying that "someone was with a metal detector in the park," so the person in question definitely knew what I was doing and yet figured this was reason enough to call the police (!) The officer said she had seen some other people doing it and other parts but wasn't aware of there being anything wrong with it. It was a pleasant interaction, she seemed more curious than anything. Eventually she called it in, the guys at the station said there wasn't any issue with having a metal detector in a park, and she said to be cognizant of what time the park closes, cover my holes (as I told her I had been doing) and to have a nice night.
The second interaction wasn't nearly as cordial. Lady police officer stopped me close to dusk and one of the older parks in town. "What are you doing?" "Metal detecting!" "Are you digging?" "Yes." "Stop that, you're vandalizing the park" *proceeds to drive away* "Officer, do you mind if I talk to you for a minute?" ... To keep a long story brief she went on to accuse me of vandalizing the park because I was digging. She alluded to that metal detectorists were supposed to just hunt for things on the surface or on the beach, and that she had stopped people from metal detecting in the past. She went on to say that they write people vandalism tickets for driving in the grass. Not wishing to just be brushed off I proceeded to politely argue with her that this kind of activity has already been approved by one police officer, and that I had a permit to metal detect certain parks in the county. She said that the other officer in question hadn't been on the force for very long, and use that as justification to discount what the other officer had said, despite the fact that it was called into the station also. She then looked at the permit and said that it was only good for the *county* not the city. A worker for the parks department just happened to be driving by and she flagged this person down. When she tried to confirm her belief that metal detecting wasn't allowed in the park, the worker seem confused and said that the issue hadn't really come up before. I was given the number of the head of the parks department and advised to call and ask him about it. The interaction ended rather strangely with the police officer telling me to "do what you want" and that she couldn't really write me a ticket for vandalism and to have a nice night.
I continue to hunt local parks anyway. This by the way is in a city which has featured metal detectorists, hunting in public parks in the local paper.
I've been beeping since last fall, with a long hiatus during our never-ending winters up here. In that limited amount of time, I've been stopped by lady police officers twice for hunting in public parks.
In the first instance, it was after dark (I work 2nd shift) and the responding officer said that they were responding to a concerned neighbor saying that "someone was with a metal detector in the park," so the person in question definitely knew what I was doing and yet figured this was reason enough to call the police (!) The officer said she had seen some other people doing it and other parts but wasn't aware of there being anything wrong with it. It was a pleasant interaction, she seemed more curious than anything. Eventually she called it in, the guys at the station said there wasn't any issue with having a metal detector in a park, and she said to be cognizant of what time the park closes, cover my holes (as I told her I had been doing) and to have a nice night.
The second interaction wasn't nearly as cordial. Lady police officer stopped me close to dusk and one of the older parks in town. "What are you doing?" "Metal detecting!" "Are you digging?" "Yes." "Stop that, you're vandalizing the park" *proceeds to drive away* "Officer, do you mind if I talk to you for a minute?" ... To keep a long story brief she went on to accuse me of vandalizing the park because I was digging. She alluded to that metal detectorists were supposed to just hunt for things on the surface or on the beach, and that she had stopped people from metal detecting in the past. She went on to say that they write people vandalism tickets for driving in the grass. Not wishing to just be brushed off I proceeded to politely argue with her that this kind of activity has already been approved by one police officer, and that I had a permit to metal detect certain parks in the county. She said that the other officer in question hadn't been on the force for very long, and use that as justification to discount what the other officer had said, despite the fact that it was called into the station also. She then looked at the permit and said that it was only good for the *county* not the city. A worker for the parks department just happened to be driving by and she flagged this person down. When she tried to confirm her belief that metal detecting wasn't allowed in the park, the worker seem confused and said that the issue hadn't really come up before. I was given the number of the head of the parks department and advised to call and ask him about it. The interaction ended rather strangely with the police officer telling me to "do what you want" and that she couldn't really write me a ticket for vandalism and to have a nice night.
I continue to hunt local parks anyway. This by the way is in a city which has featured metal detectorists, hunting in public parks in the local paper.
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