Got Kicked Out of a Local Park I've Been Detecting in For Years - What Would You Do???

[Erik in NJ]

Went to a local park yesterday with a detecting buddy - this is a park that I've detected in for at least six years. I've had the occasional cop stop by and see that I wasn't leaving any holes and tell me that I was fine doing what I was doing. Low and belold, some guy dressed up in a landscaping T-shirt comes by ast night with an attitude and tells me that I can't dig in the park. I told him that I'm not leaving any holes and that I've detected this park for seveal years. He retorts with a clever, "It doesn't matter, you can't dig holes in the park." I think this guy is mildly retarded, but he's the kind of guy that you can't have rational conversation with - apparently he's the head of DPW and thinks he's a cop. I call me friend over (who's a retired NYC cop) and the guy is unrelenting - he calls the local police. The officer starts talking with my friend about their jobs and the young cop says "As far as I'm concerned you guys are OK and there's no problem with what you're doing - and between you and me that guy is a real jerk!"

So today I was off again and headed back to the park, I knew that DPW guy would probably come back and he did! I was digging a shallow coin and he came up again with an attitude and said "I thought you were told yesterday that you can't dig in the park." Called another cop over to confront me and they took down my NJ DL number. I could tell he didn't want to be in the middle of this, but the DPW idiot claims that the Borough Administrator doesn't want anyone to dig in the park....I'm thinking - who cares what the BA wants, you're either breaking the law or not. The DPW idiot then states that some woman in Borough Hall THINKS that metal detecting in a town park MAY be against a state law - which I know is BS! Anyway, the whole mess has really got my dander up and I feel that I should stick up for my rights even if this means taking it to civil court in the town. Please tell me how you would handle the situation.

Thanks, Erik

 

[pizzacoil]

Things I would do:

- Print out laws and by-laws applicable to your location and situation, and have them handy when you go hunting.
- Take down the name of the individual (and vehicle license number) who keeps harassing you.
- If the cops say you're not breaking the law, not even the Borough Administrator has a say in it. This may mean contacting the adminitartor himself via registered mail. It would not hurt to attach "before and after" photos of your digging. Make him aware that you are aware of the law, so you don't get pushed around.

I never walk away from a good fight, specially if the law is on my side. As a taxpaying, law-abiding citizen, you may want to remind the individual that your tax dollars are paying his wages, and that his demeanor borders on harassment.

Good luck, Erik, and keep up the good fight.

Jules (pizzacoil)

 

[therick]

The first thing that I'd do is contact my local city or county representative and have a sit down with him/her ( face to face in their office ) and make sure that I was in my legal right to metal detect at ANY park in your local area. Then if nothing had recently changed and you were good to go as always, I'd ask for a letter on their letterhead stating such so that if Dim bulb approaches you again, you can present to him a copy, not the original in case he decides to bolt with it, and ask him to please leave you alone. If that doesn't back him off, I'd file a restraining order against him and threaten to sue him for harassment. But I DO like to push buttons........especially self-anointed imbeciles like himself.

therick

 

[Great Republic]

n/t

 

[daveo]

Call the park board , talk the the park commissioner , get the jerks name and license and disciption and turn he in for harrassing you , i detect a lot of public parks and have talk the the parks commissioner and around here, it is ok . sic em .....

 

[arandenburg]

I would've slipped the guy a 20

 

[Rob From ND]

I would have slipped the guy a knuckle sandwich with a kick in the sack for desert. As a tasxpayer you have the right, not privilage, do hunt in parks as long as there is no city ordinance and you are not destroying property.

 

[arandenburg]

OMG! Rob that was the funniest post I've ever read!

 

[Erik in NJ]

The chief of police, the mayor, the borough adminstrator (what the heck is this job anyway?)??? - I'm not the type of person that likes to get pushed around, especially if I'm not breaking any laws, so I will give these guys hell over this as this DPW idiot is an irrational windbag! Not even sure if the DPW has any jurisdiction in the town park. Please let me know if you have any more suggestions on how to handle this situation - it seems to me that my civil liberties are being infringed upon here....funny they don't seem to mind all of the illegal aliens that seem to have made this park their central hangout point.

 

[BlackX]

Had the thought that perhaps, at least for a while, calling the police dispatcher ahead of time to let them know you'll be detecting there and perhaps they'll just respond when he calls with "we know" and not send any officers around.

I had some nosy neighbors call the police when I was detecting near my apartment one night and I ended up with the "hands in the air" treatment. Since then, I call the dispatcher ahead of time when I detect that spot at night and I've not had one officer show up since. (I don't know if that's causation or coincidence.)

 

[Neil]

If your sure he works for the DPW of this town your talking about, they(DPW) most likely have a procedure for you to file a harrassment charge. This alone could back the guy off especially since youve had local police there saying your digging isnt affecting the parks condition.

Im in NJ also, and unfortuneately, some of the smaller towns, all the people in local government are related so be careful, you could loose some other hunting spots as well unless youve got the money and patience to work this out with an attorney.

Neil

 

[Mike Moutray - St.Louis MO]

Apparantly that moron has appointed himself ruler of the free world and he has a personal beef with you for whatever reason infects the empty space in his head that may have housed a brain, once upon a time. The best thing to do is end any confrontation or contact with him, go to the police and NOT the DPW because it sounds like the police are already on your side..... and THEY are the ones paid to enforce laws - not the DPW. If law enforcement officials see nothing wrong with what you're doing, then you're not breaking any laws. They are paid to know the laws and DPW is paid to collect garbage. A good suggestion was made here to let the police know ahead of time that you'll be detecting and be sure to contact them immediately if that moron hassles you again. That administrator doesn't own that park... he "administrates" which means he runs it within the confines of the policies and laws already set forth by elected and appointed representatives of YOU and the rest of the public. That woman who "thinks" that metal detecting violates a state law obviously doesn't know much....maybe barely enough to register a pulse and to suck air from our atmosphere and that's about it. I "think" that metal detecting is one of many, many "unalienable rights" under the pursuit of happiness clause in our great nation's Declaration of Independence. If idiots out there want to take away from us what our forefathers fought and died for then they have no business whatsoever enjoying their "pursuit of happiness". PERIOD! With any luck your antagonist will fall back down the hole he crawled out of and not be heard from again

Take a look at this: it still represents a nation of free people who are VERY proud of their rights and will fight to uphold them against enemies at home and abroad.... and against brain-dead morons, with self-serving agendas, who have their priorities WAY out of whack! Nuf said!

 

[coinnut]

Hi, I live in a small town in Mass, about 5,000 people. I would talk to the police in your town. But I wouldn't do it with two fists forward. I would approach them in a casual conversation about some nut that keeps bugging you about your detecting. Get on the good side of the police and make it no big deal. Then as the conversation progresses, you can ask them if you can call them if he bothers you again, cause he's kind of creepy. Note the officer's mane and use it when you have to call them. Then if the moron bothers you, I would say that I am going to call the police. Tell him that you already spoke to officer ---------, and that he told you to contact him immediately if you were bothered by anyone. In this way you don't ruffle the wrong feathers. Push come to shove, if you make a big deal about it and involve the police, DPW, Mayor, etc... if may backfire and they may just ban detecting so as not to have this hassle. Take advantage of the small town atmosphere and slide the conversation in as no big deal, but I NEED YOUR HELP officer. That's how I would do it. And tucked away inside my brain, I would be thinking, Get the Hell away from me you moron before I kick your butt! But to advance your cause, I'd keep it low key! Good luck! HH

 

[BigDan]

I had the same situation happen to me. I the short term you cannot challenge a PETTY BUREAUCRAT'S authority . I knew I was in the right but left the park anyway. I did not even have a digger with me at the time! I emailed my local club officers and my complaint immediately went right to the Mayor. Our rights were acknowledged by him and the Park Morons were set straight fast!

This situation happens all the time. Idiots with a very small amount of authority in their life always want to expand what little authority they have. You just have to find some person in the chain of command with a brain.

 

[BlackX]

n/t

 

[digitrich]

and go detect the parking strip (between the side walk and the street) in front of his house..... preferably dressed in some offending clothes... show a little skin, maybe some speedos. And do this every day until he comes out and says he would rather you go detect in a park some where.

 

[small change]

I don't know if I have anything constructive to add to this or say anything that hasn't already been said, nevertheless, that won't keep me from posting.
As much as I would be tempted to cause some tyrant to have some unexpected dental work, I guess in situations like these, you really have to make
an extra effort to keep your cool. I have yet to encounter any of the little Hitler types at any parks/schools, but I'm sure it will happen eventually considering I get out quite often. It sounds like just that one guy may be the problem. If you could somehow figure out when he is at the park & then just go search it when you feel confident he won't be there, that might be the easiest solution. Of course, that may not be an option depending on when you have free time to detect.
If it isn't, then I guess you'll have to talk to someone. It sounds like the police are cool about it (at least the one officer was). I guess some advice would be you really have to be careful who you talk to in city/county government. You could get someone who understands your situation & may be on your side.
Or, you could get someone more like the DPW guy who has some sort of prejudice against detecting or is in office for the power trip. If you are unlucky, someone in local government who never thought much at all about detecting could start thinking about it (too much) & then decide that since there are no laws/ordinances specifically against detecting, then perhaps there should be & hence start an effort to prohibit it in all the local parks. I'd really hate to see you try to make an effort to do the right thing, only to have it blow up in your face. I'm not trying to discourage you from taking any action. It very well be the only way to stop the kind of crap you have already had to put up with. I'll be honest, I can't cite any specific examples of what I mentioned happening, but I have read posts to that effect on other forums & do believe that although somewhat unlikely, it is entirely possible something like that could happen.
Anyway, good luck in your efforts if you decide to take some action & hope everything turns out OK.

Take care & HH,
Dan.

 

[therick]

n/t

 

[Rob From ND]

I was in Tioga ND last Tues.(July 8th) and I saw an empty lot so I parked my 18 wheeler and started detecting the boulevard. I no more than dug my 1st hole and some guy in a pick-up honked at me. I put my detector down and walked to his truck to see what he wanted. He asked me what I was doing and I said "metal detecting". His exact words were "That's my property, I own it".I apologized and said I would leave and not come back. I did'nt even get to see what was in the hole. From there I went to the school for a bit then I went to the bar to order a pizza for supper. While I bwas waiting for the pizza I struck up a conversation with the bartender. I told her what happened and she knew exactly where I was talking about, She then told me that property was owned by an old woman. I was furious. I actually looked around that town for that guy. If I found the piece of puppy dung I would have given him a huge piece of my mind and probably a size 10 shoe right up his poop chute. Oh well maybe it saved me a night in jail.

 

[Elton]

Not all tree lawns in every city is City owned..Some are owned by the property it is in front of.. be careful about that..My City does not own the tree lawn area...They only have easement rights for piping