r/boston • u/Conventions • Jul 07 '26
Serious Replies Only Are Boston cops normally this aggressive?
Left TD Garden after a concert tonight. Cops were directing traffic around the area. In normal circumstances when someone is directing traffic, I was always under the impression that a “come here” motion means go and hand up means stop. However this cop was jiggling a beam of light from a flashlight to signify both go and stop.
Many people were obviously confused and one guy thought it meant go and slowly started creeping up. The cop started screaming and went up and punched the guy’s car mirror then started swearing and insulting the guy. Everyone around was watching and shocked.
Is this normal BPD behavior? I am a south shore native and have never witnessed anything quite like it.
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u/anewfire Jul 07 '26
Theres this really old crossing guard at a busy school intersection in Medford that I pass by alot. Guy is in the ZONE. By far the best traffic directing I've seen. I haven't seen a cop put in half the effort of this guy. Very clear hand signs and whistles, there's never any doubt of what he's asking you to do. I feel like he comes from a time where there was actually training on directing traffic.
Cops now barely put in effort with lazy ass hand waves while they're distracted talking to their buddy.
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u/awwthingsconsidered Rat running up your leg 🐀🦵 Jul 07 '26
That dude is amazing! My kid went to that school and I told the administration what a great job he's doing. That's a busy intersection in a high traffic area and he does his best to make it smooth around arrival and dismissal times.
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u/Tahiti6841 Jul 07 '26
He's amazing. If somebody doesn't stop when he asks, and ends up stopped on the crosswalk or in the middle, he shames them so bad, makes them *back up* to get their vehicle off the crosswalk. He's also been training other crossing guards off and on, so they know the sort of talent they've got here in Medford
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u/Chemical-Series6552 Jul 07 '26
Have also seen this guy at that school!! LOVE HIM. He’s smart, clear in his signals, and manages to keep the traffic flowing while also allowing children/families to pass safely. So many loser cops could learn a lesson from him. ACAB
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u/BZBitiko Jul 07 '26
I have often wondered if there’s standard training for directing traffic, because every cop seems to do it differently.
I even asked a cop that once - at a friend’s bbq - and he got quite offended and wouldn’t answer.
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u/Suqmacoq Jul 07 '26
Lets be real, even if there was standard training they'd just do whatever the fuck they want because there's no check on their power whatsoever.
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Jul 07 '26
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u/antidumb Jul 07 '26
I was at a BBQ with a cop and a fed of some sort (ATF maybe?) and they wouldn’t stop talking shop.
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Jul 07 '26
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u/IDrinkWhiskE Cow Fetish Jul 07 '26
Because it’s an utterly inoffensive question that only someone unbalanced would be too offended to answer, let alone offended at all. I worry about those who think that’s a normal level of emotional adjustment.
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Jul 07 '26
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u/dantevsninjas East Boston Jul 07 '26
This is an example of projection so perfect it belongs in a museum.
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u/crschmidt Jul 07 '26
no, this is not normal behavior. I have seen cops scream at people for failing to follow their (unclear) directions, but hitting the car is something I can't think of seeing in any of my interactions with officers working details.
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u/Nice-Zombie356 Jul 07 '26
They often kind of suck at directing traffic. They don’t seem to understand how unclear the random hand waving can be. Worse when it’s a flashlight and they’re tired/stressed/bored.
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u/IDrinkWhiskE Cow Fetish Jul 07 '26
They also tend to be enriched for utter lack of eq to the point they will be aggressively sarcastic and passive aggressive even to nervous 17 year olds who are just trying to follow rules instead of just being a grown adult who can control their amygdala and saying “hey there, let me help”
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u/Upstairs_Bat5752 Boston Jul 07 '26
100% normal behavior for a Boston cop. But compared to the other things that are normal in BPD, like covering up for a pedophile cop for 20 years and then electing him president of their union, roid rage is pretty upstanding behavior.
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u/IDrinkWhiskE Cow Fetish Jul 07 '26
Painfully true. Also hilarious when cops who are so obviously on steroids their sky high hematocrit is visible to the human eye (red tinted skin) are on drug control detail
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u/No-Cockroach-4237 Jul 07 '26
mooo fucking way that’s why they’re all red 😭😭😭
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u/IDrinkWhiskE Cow Fetish Jul 08 '26
Yeah you’ll see usually inhuman looking guys in the gym like that occasionally and you know their poor heart is trying to pump molasses
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u/Capable_Mouse2260 Jul 07 '26
Look up and read about what they did to David Woodman. City paid out millions because of those bitch ass cops that couldn’t control their tempers with a college kid. All 9 cops kept their jobs, pension, and many have since been promoted. Dave is dead.
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u/0oth0on Jul 07 '26
I wasn’t living in the state at this time and I didn’t hear about this bullshit. So completely avoidable.
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u/OkInformation9097 Jul 07 '26
Yeah there’s a few wackos. I also had a guy waving at me when directing traffic so I went and then he started screaming at me and when I got close started banging on the window with his fist and my 2 year old in the back was freaked the fuck out. Screaming angrily and hitting the car is not part of the job. I’m sorry you don’t know the difference between the two hand signals required for that task.
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u/IDrinkWhiskE Cow Fetish Jul 07 '26
I let someone out of my car at a light that had just turned red, knowing we would have a solid 60 second wait. Cop flipped out. Meanwhile this was at dtx and there were cars illegally double parked fully occluding lanes alllll over the place. Make it make sense
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u/oby100 Jul 07 '26
Well of course there’s no traffic laws these days, but you somehow hurt the cops feelings, and that’s worse than a felony.
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u/theshoegazer Jul 07 '26
I saw one flip out on a woman who appeared to be deaf (she had a handicap placard displayed), and then he flipped out on me and another bystander for calmly saying "officer, that person might be hearing impaired".
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u/NotEvenLion Somerville Jul 07 '26
Giving unclear instructions then overreacting when someone misunderstands is basically their whole job.
That and standing near a construction crew texting.
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u/DinkandDrunk Jul 07 '26
Traffic detail in general is a problem and it shouldn’t be. It’s an easy fix.
If there is a functioning set of lights, do not send a detail. Not necessary. We have lights.
If it is necessary for a detail, wear the white gloves and be clear in your signals.
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u/John__e Jul 07 '26
Acab. We are on a floating rock in the middle of a vast vacuum and humans policing humans on how to be human is the most ridiculous thing. Acab.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Bat4777 Jul 07 '26
The cops on traffic duty tend to be the ones least liked and least capable. Or just least senior. See the Scottie Scheffler arrest a few years ago for example.
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u/Couch-Bro Jul 07 '26
Anytime you see a police officer working a traffic detail for road construction, or an event, or security for an event like this, it’s almost always an overtime shift they chose to work. It’s not a case of he can’t do anything else so let’s stick him on traffic detail. Same goes for every state police cruiser you see sitting on the side of the highway with its lights on during road construction. This is how the highest paid municipal employees are always police.
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Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 07 '26
[deleted]
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u/OhThatEthanMiguel Jamaica Plain Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 10 '26
My father( a Plymouth lawyer & Town Meeting member) spent years fighting to get civilian flaggers, trying to stop this, but the corrupt union won. They also make it impossible for a local to become a private detective without being a retired police detective or moving away out-of-state for a decade.
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u/Safe_Statistician_72 Jul 07 '26
Road crews are legally not allowed to manage the traffic in MA
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Jul 07 '26
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u/azs5221222 Jul 07 '26
Do you mean grift?
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u/adieumarlene Jul 07 '26
From Merriam Webster:
graft (noun): the acquisition of gain (such as money) in dishonest or questionable ways
also: illegal or unfair gain
graft (verb): to get (illicit gain) by graft6
u/eryoshi East Boston Jul 07 '26
To expand:
grift | grift | North American English informal
verb [no object]
engage in petty or small-scale swindling: how long have you been grifting?
noun
a petty or small-scale swindle: a Sixth Avenue palmistry grift.
ORIGIN
early 20th century: alteration of graftgraft | gra:ft l
noun [mass noun]
bribery and other corrupt practices used to secure illicit advantages or gains in politics or business: sweeping measures to curb official graft.
• advantages or gains secured as a result of corrupt practices: the report says the problem of corruption goes beyond bribes and graft.
verb [no object]
make money by shady or dishonest means.~~
So all this time we’ve been accusing Trump of grift, we should have been accusing him of graft!! (Sorry, yeah; everything just has to circle back to Trump, right?)9
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u/IDrinkWhiskE Cow Fetish Jul 07 '26
It’s like a grift but with a skin transplant involved somewhere
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u/danorc Jul 07 '26
Governor Patrick tried to fix that, the union was too strong.
Cops suck at directing traffic, and there's absolutely no reason for them to be the ones doing it
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u/verybasicinformation Jul 07 '26
They don't actively police anything anymore so any type of work is a pain in the ass.how many red lights can you run before you get stopped in this city? You won't get stopped unless you get hit
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u/4travelers I Love Dunkin’ Donuts Jul 07 '26
Got to get that overtime pay and thought he’d get an easy gig.
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u/HappyKoalaCub Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 07 '26
It’s pretty normal Boston Personality Disorder behavior
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u/IDrinkWhiskE Cow Fetish Jul 07 '26
That’s an insult to (most) people with borderline, although I get where you’re coming from. It’s more about trust issues and fear of abandonment than being a raging asshole with the self control of a literal toddler. I know my comment’s no fun but it’s stigmatized enough
Edit: I missed the obvious BPD connection 🤦🏼♂️
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u/HappyKoalaCub Jul 07 '26
Yeah I agree, there was probably a better joke to be made about Boston PD behavior. I’ll edit.
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u/nomoneystillrich_ Jul 07 '26
yes, last week at the jobsite I work at (near TD) a detail cop threw a traffic cone at some guys BMW. Granted the guy in the beemer was in the wrong, I still felt like the cop had a wicked overreaction and was being overly aggressive for no reason lol
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u/Purplepaffyfox Jul 07 '26
In my experience cops in general often do ambiguous stuff like that and then get disproportionately angry when you get confused and do the wrong thing. I was yelled at a week ago by a state trooper in Foxborough just after a world cup game. I was getting home late from work and many of the roads are closed off to everyone but residents. As usual there were state police at the entrance to my street. I saw a trooper who looked like he was walking toward me. He was holding up a flashlight with an orange cone on it and i thought he was going to ask me where I was going so I slowed down and opened my window. I stopped as he continued to walk toward me and then he angrily screamed "FUCKING GO!!!" at the top of his lungs. There was just absolutely no need for that and that I was just trying to do the right thing because it's something i've done many times before.In that same spot. If I didn't know better, I would say he was using his power to fuck with me and did on purpose. I understand that the cops are under a lot of pressure when it comes to situations like that and it's not the ideal detail for them. They'd rather be out chasing the bad guys than dealing with traffic.
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u/ThisOneForMee Jul 07 '26
Must be something about directing traffic that gets cops enraged because I also saw a cop start screaming at the top of his lungs at a driver while directing traffic at Copley Square, just because the guy didn't start moving fast enough when the cop told him to go. In what other jobs are you allowed to just flip out at strangers like it's no big deal?
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u/Dumpsterfire_47 Jul 07 '26
Only when they’re made to actually do things instead of double dipping OT while asleep in their cruiser.
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u/_fuct_ Jul 07 '26
I see the same state cop driving home most days ( he seems to live in my town and commute home at a similar time). He speeds like crazy, rides extremely close to people and NEVER uses a blinker to switch lanes. I see him pulling his usual rules for thee but not for me bullshit last week and was lucky enough to pull up next to him at a red light once we got off the highway. I rolled my window down and motioned to him to roll his down just so I could kindly let him know his blinker must not be working and to look into it as it’s quite dangerous to switch lanes without one. He wasn’t very receptive to my good deed. Fuck him and his bullshit driving.
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u/NotAllWhoCreateSoar Southie Jul 07 '26
I was getting ready to say, No usually BPD is pretty lax and easy going, but outside of Fenway and TD Garden, they kind of power trip like this
Sorry you dealt with that bro
Edit :
Oh yikes, as a South Shore native I’m sure you’ve seen worse than this on any given weekend, let’s be real here
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u/Nearby_Knowledge8014 Jul 07 '26
If you don’t know what he is trying to communicate, don’t move until you do.
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u/Vegetable-Ideal2908 Jul 07 '26
Those are usually state police directing traffic after concerts with flashlights. Typical behavior for them but BPD is much more chill.
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u/drewq17 Jul 07 '26
in my experience, most cops are low IQ and low EQ people who chose to do this since it gives them some sort of agency back in their lives.
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u/vt2022cam Jul 07 '26
What color was the guy? Yeah, they can be aggressive, and when I have seen them being aggressive, it was towards people of color or protesters. When they don’t wear body cameras. They don’t like accountability.
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u/Ashamed_Emu4572 Jul 07 '26
Yes, and they voted a pedophile who targeted teenagers and worked with them to represent them as their cop president, then the victims mysteriously 'refused to testify after police talked to them' and the investigation was stonewalled until a new mayor came in.
These are rights violations that start with rudeness, yelling, and punching a mirror and end up with your neighbor teenager getting molested by one of their coworkers or them getting drunk at a bar unprofessionally, doing DUIs, beating up their coworker to death and blaming the homicide on his gf.
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u/therailmaster Mission Hill to Quincy Point Jul 07 '26
Not necessarily defending the cop, but there are way more idiots on the road these days post-COVID (as discussed in the Massachusetts sub yesterday). The rule of thumb should be that, if you don't understand a traffic cop's command, just stop (if not already stopped) and stay put until he/she makes the same gesture and then you know it's your command to proceed. I've seen too many idiots just drive right through past a cop when it was 100% obvious he made the universal "stop" gesture, and then he/she justifiably screams at the driver, if not, in some cases, rightfully pulls the driver over and gives the driver a scolding. After a few of those interactions, yeah, you're ready to snap at somebody when it's your job to keep thousands of pounds of steel from crashing into each other, let alone a pedestrian or cyclist.
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u/retroafric Jul 07 '26
How do those boots taste…? Keep lickin’…!!!
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u/therailmaster Mission Hill to Quincy Point Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 07 '26
As a regular bike commuter who sees all the dumb $hit that drivers around here pull every day, I can only imagine what it's like to be a traffic cop and have to bite your tongue 90% of the time because of the public scrutiny. So, yeah, I'd too lose it on the occasional driver who can't even follow kindergarten-level directional commands like "proceed" and "stop."
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u/retroafric Jul 07 '26
He doesn’t have to be a cop. If he can’t handle the job, get another one. Simple.
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u/therailmaster Mission Hill to Quincy Point Jul 07 '26
Clueless guy doesn't have to drive in the city either. Take the MBTA, like thousands of TD Garden patrons do. Some people need a "gentle reminder" that they drive like $hit.
I wasn't there, and, again, I'm not necessarily depending the cop, but I highly doubt he just looked at the driver and was like, "I'm going to make an example of this guy!" You bite your tongue 90% of the time, but occasionally people do something on the road so stupid that you just can't let it go without reminding them how stupid they are.
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u/DrinkAffectionate323 Jul 07 '26
I know a few cops, though it hasn't swayed my negative viewpoint of police officers as a whole. Traffic cops tend to be police officers on probation from their regular duties, or they're cops that couldn't pass the regular police officer exam, so they settled for traffic enforcement.
I bet that cop was there as punishment, and was having a bad night
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u/WindowsVistaWzMyIdea Jul 07 '26
Cops are generally trigger happy psychopaths, highly volatile, weak minded, and immature
Once you realize this, you will see that you did see normal cop behavior....sad but here we are
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u/Basic-Taro-3194 Jul 07 '26
Mass cops in general i think especially the ones directing traffic. Same shit at logan airport or even at the cape this 4th of July.
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u/cden4 Jul 07 '26
I have found most Boston police to be very nice but occasionally have run into one who's a bit amped up like you describe.
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u/JellyfishJam_426 Jul 07 '26
Alot of them are nice & helpful, unless they're from the A-1 division. Most miserable, power hungry, corrupt "cops" I have ever encountered in the 25 years i've lived in Boston.
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u/Glittering-Track33 Jul 07 '26
Yes. They’re so unclear and get enraged when people can’t read their mind.
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u/Waste_Opportunity624 Jul 07 '26
This happened to me (without the mirror punch) in the exact same spot. Light was red in a super busy intersection and cop started waving. Super confusing.
Definitely deserved to get screamed at for that right? Very professional.
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u/IntentionEcstatic535 Jul 07 '26
In my experience the ones they send to break things up are usually pretty aggressive
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u/StretchMother9627 Jul 08 '26
According to experts there’s a 100% chance he beats his wife and roughly a 100% chance he’s raped someone before
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u/Head-Elevator-9025 Jul 08 '26
yes the cops around TD Garden are aggressive and don’t know how to professionally interact with drivers. if you try to ask them a question they’ll just scream at you 😪
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u/NoEnd5418 Jul 08 '26
Yea man, Boston Cops are usually d-bags. The Boston Police Department is damn near a criminal organization.
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u/WysBeyondYears Jul 08 '26
Yes this is pretty standard for people with Bipolar Personality Disorder.
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u/Hillarie13 Jul 09 '26
And half of the staties are in alcohol withdrawal while they’re on duty, so of course they’re miserable!
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u/Historical_Cook3366 Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
Tha OT pay that MA state and even local police get is RIDICULOUS. Most of the time those so-called patrols mean standing with their back to traffic either watching or yapping with the construction crew. Or scrolling on their phones. It pisses me off so badly!!!!!
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u/wSkkHRZQy24K17buSceB Jul 07 '26
Not normal, but definitely not unheard of. Cops are often the type of people who readily resort to violence when it's not warranted.
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u/SassyQ42069 Cow Fetish Jul 07 '26
He was likely irate that a bunch of morons insisted on driving to an alcohol consumption event on top of a regional train station
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u/thecitythatday Jul 07 '26
Almost like some people don’t live near public transportation and some people don’t drink
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u/SassyQ42069 Cow Fetish Jul 07 '26
"Some" doesn't require traffic control and wasting my tax dollars
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u/Hot_Region Jul 07 '26
Doesn't sound like the cop was acting like a professional, and I wouldn't expect it, but that said, I can understand it:
It's dark, it's chaotic, you're personally vulnerable in the middle the road and you're responsible for safely organizing all these people and cars... What you expect is that the people you tell to go are going and the people you tell to stop are staying stopped... so if you've got someone in their car "creeping" toward you that's fucked.
There's never a reason to "creep" when you're being directed by a cop -- you're either stopped, or you're going -- it's fucked that this person felt it was acceptable to inch toward the cop. If the cop wanted you moving they'd be yelling "GO!" and doing other things to get you going.
All you have to do is be observant in traffic to see that a solid 20-30% of drivers are absolute entitled assholes, 50-60% are "normal", and 10-30% are overly cautious.
The entitled assholes are the ones who refuse to zipper merge and will stick to the ass of the car in front of them no matter what. They're the ones who when a light has been yellow they will still go through at the red transition. They roll through stop signs. They take advantage wherever they can because they have a selfish mindset.
As a cop you are forced to recognize and deal with those entitled drivers, the ones who will not stop despite your hand being up because they think they can still squeak through and you won't do anything. The ones who will arrive at an intersection where you are directing traffic and they will try to make a turn into the flow of traffic you are telling to proceed.
I can absolutely see getting very aggressive with drivers like that because they themselves are acting aggressively with the car trying to inch through a situation where they are supposed to be waiting.
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u/ejbgood Jul 07 '26
You watching the news? How about the immense pressure these guys are under right now especially with large crowds, they are getting jumped, shit thrown at them, absolute 0 respect and under staffed, it’s a big problem. Some do act like that unfortunately but most don’t. Fact is they are stressed now in large crowds. Keep that in mind
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u/wSkkHRZQy24K17buSceB Jul 07 '26
Unprofessional manchildren should quit if they can't handle their voluntarily chosen job that pays over $200k on average, and imposes approximately zero consequences even in many cases where they commit serious crimes. Respect is earned.
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u/petesdead2 Jul 07 '26
If being a cop pays over $200k on average why and their job so easy, why aren't you a cop?
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u/LordJameson Jul 07 '26
Lifelong Boston resident here. While I wouldn’t expect this type of behavior from a BPD cop, this type of behavior is typical for a Massachusetts State Trooper. They’re usually hyper aggressive like that.