Livingston County, NY Sheriff's Deputy Donald Plank laughs after refusing to identify himself. (SEE FULL VIDEO BELOW)
More often than not when I ask a police officer for their name and badge number, they give it to me.
As they should.
Yeah, there's always that small percentage who will refuse.
And that's ok.
Those are the ones I love turning into YouTube stars.
Take, for example, the two Livingston County, NY Sheriff's deputies who decided to exercise their 'Good Ol' Boys Club above the law, our badge entitles us to whatever the fuck we want to do because we can' card.
Here's the story.
I'm not a coffee drinker, but every now and then I could use a boost in the morning.
So Friday morning I decided to hit up Spiro's, a small diner near downtown Rochester, a block away from Kodak's corporate headquarters.
Now in the interest of full disclosure here, it's actually my first time going to Spiro's.
You see, Spiro's is a well known cop hangout and I can think of several better ways to begin my mornings than to surround myself with a bunch of cops.
But boy am I glad I stopped in for that coffee.
That's when I immediately noticed a Livingston County, NY Sheriff's van illegally parked in a clearly marked "No Standing" zone.
Now contrary to what many critics have said about me, I don't go around looking for cops committing parking violations, but if I see one, you can bet your ass I'm gonna expose it.
And that's exactly what I did.
Even though it took me 15 minutes to find parking, because I'm a law abiding citizen, and refuse to park illegally, because unlike many of these cops, I don't think I'm above the law.
Be sure to check out the video of when I approach the Livingston County, NY Sheriff's deputies.
And pay close attention to them.
Especially when they refuse to give me their names and badge numbers, before threatening me, telling me that my asking for their names and badge numbers is harassment.
In other words, implying that they would have me arrested.
Disgusting.
The length that public servants will go to in order to avoid being held accountable.
UPDATE: After calling the Livingston County, NY Sheriff's office and leaving a message for Sheriff Dougherty, I received a call from Livingston County Sheriff's Sgt. Chad Draper.
Sgt. Draper ass extremely courteous and professional, in taking his time not only to explain to me that the deputies' behavior and their refusal to give me their names and badge numbers is not representative of the Livingston County Sheriff's Office.
"I can assure you that they will not only be talked to, but also that we will take appropriate action," Sgt. Draper told me.
Sgt. Draper explained that the deputies are part of the Livingston County Jail transport staff and that he didn't know their names but he would get back to me.
UPDATE 2:
A man of his word, Livingston County, NY Sheriff's office Sgt. Chad Draper called me Monday morning, and informed me that a supervising official from the Livingston County, NY Jail would be contacting me regarding the incident involving the two deputies who refused to identify themselves.
Less than an hour later, Deputy Chief Jason Yasso, who oversees the Livingston County Jail, called me.
Deputy Chief Yasso was very professional and courteous and told me that he had seen the video and that he would be giving "stern talking to" his deputies.
Yasso explained that the two deputies are part of the Livingston County Jail's transport unit, and that their job includes transporting inmates to and from Federal court appearances in downtown Rochester.
The Deputy Chief said that while those inmates are in court, there's usually down time where in some cases, the deputies may go eat at a nearby restaurant.
Deputy Chief Yasso then identified his officers as Deputy Donald Plank and Deputy Flattery.
Yasso also stated to me that he didn't particularly agree with how his deputies handled themselves in the video.
"If I'm in uniform and someone approaches me and asks me for my name, I would give it to them, and if that person had a complaint, I'd also give them the name and phone number of my supervisor," Yasso said.
I want to point out that even though at the end of the day, I have a job to do, and the Livingston County Sheriff's office has their job, Sgt. Draper and Deputy Chief Yasso, were two professionals.
Which is a lot more than I can say for other law enforcement agencies that I have dealt with.
Primarily, the Rochester, NY Police Department, who many times have completely ignored my calls.
CLICK LINK BELOW TO WATCH VIDEO
I will be updating this piece.
Livingston County, NY Sheriff's Jail Deputy Donald Plank laughs after I confront them on video.
Livingston County, NY Sheriff's Jail Deputy Flattery
Livingston County, NY Sheriff's van 146 illegally parked on State St. in Rochester, NY
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