By Davy V.
After forgetting to turn in some license plates from a vehicle I took off the road before going on vacation to Miami, Florida with my sons and niece, I received a letter from DMV threatening to suspend my license, so off to DMV I went to return the plates.
As I drove to the New York State DMV branch located in the Town of Greece, NY, outside Rochester, I noticed a Rochester, NY Police cruiser illegally parked in a "No Parking Fire Lane" area.
At first I didn't think much of it, as quite frankly Rochester, NY Police officers parking illegally and abusing their power is an all too common occurence.
But, I did find it interesting, as the officer was clearly out of his jurisdiction, being that he was in a different town.
Upon entering the DMV office, which is located inside Greece Ridge Center, a major shopping mall, I noticed that the line was very long, with approximately 25 people in line.
Then, as I looked towards the front of the line, at the information desk, I saw the Rochester, NY Police officer pictured in the photo above.
The officer was filling out some DMV forms. After a few minutes of observing him, it became quite clear that there was no doubt that not only was the officer there on personal business, but that he was on the clock, and on duty.
In other words, this Rochester, NY Police officer was conducting personal business, on Tax payer money.
Throughout the entire time that I observed the officer as he nervously continued to tilt his head down in order to listen to his radio transmitter, which was located on his shoulder, whenever the dispatcher would talk.
He continued to this, as if to make sure he wasn't being called.
I then observed a female DMV employee approach the officer, put her hand on his shoulder and then escort him to a DMV window, where he conducted his personal business, and walked out, while everyone else sat on the wood benches, with their computer printed "estimated wait time" tickets.
Another example of how the Rochester, NY Police department, as well as police forces throughout the country, abuse their power and authority, on a daily basis.
I placed a call to the Rochester, NY Police department asking for the name of the officer.
After waiting for approx a half hour, I finally received a call from Rochester Police Sgt. Boily, who was extremely unprofessional, rude and curt.
Sgt. Boily interrupted me in the middle of my talking to him and in a loud, aggressive tone said to me "I can tell you right off the bat, that I am not going to give you the officer's name!"
Rochester Police Sgt. Boily then hung up the phone on me.
I called and again asked for an RPD Supervisor to call me regarding not only my original request but now, the unprofessional conduct of RPD Sgt. Boily and how he hung up the phone on me.
After approx. 45 minutes of no one getting back to me, I decided to call Rochester Police Chief James Sheppard's office.
I spoke with Karen, who took my information down.
I proceeded to tell Karen, that I had not only posted the story online, but also a photo of the RPD officer at the DMV.
Karen then asked me for the web addresses to my online posts about the story.
A short time later, I spoke with Rochester Police Lt. Jeremy Lindauer whom I have known for some time now, and who has always been very professional and courteous.
Lt. Lindauer explained to me that since the matter "is being investigated", it is RPD's policy to not release the name of the officer, as in essence, it is now a complaint.
Whatever the case, my conversation with Lt. Lindauer, who is well aware of my work, and who knows the meaning of respect, regardless if he disagrees with my work, stands in strong contrast to Sgt. Boily's unprofessionalism in hanging up on me.
Sometimes, whether you agree with someone or not, simply respecting that person, and hearing them out goes a long way.
Rochester Police Sgt. Boily could definitely take some pointers from Lt. Lindauer.
Rochester Police Chief James Sheppard
(585) 428-7033
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For the past 15 years I have dedicated myself and my passion to exposing police misconduct and corruption. Whether it's exposing injustices such as police executing a mentally ill person, or police coming to someone's home and shooting their innocent family dog, I am always working to put these stories out there, which usually are ignored by mainstream media.
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