Friday’s Finest: May Edition

Well, another month has rolled by and our growth is continuing to flourish.  Our Facebook page has approximately 1,850 fans, our Twitter has grown to 200 followers, and the YouTube channel has boomed to over 300 subscribers.  This is an exact reflection of the hard worknot only of the Cop Block team, but its supporters as well.

That brings me to this post, the May edition of Friday’s Finest (FF).  For those who are unfamiliar with FF, it’s a monthly post where we highlight photos, videos and other, content that is captured by Cop Block supporters.  The goal is to encourage others to record police actions (by taking pics, video or merely documenting via pen/paper) while learning from each other who do so in the process.

So lets take a look at some of the photos submitted this month.

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The first two pics (above) are of Las Vegas Metro cops who decided that parking restrictions don’t apply to them.   These photos were taken by Mark, a local, who sent these pics not only to us but also the local news station.  Mark stated to me that the officers “must have needed more than 15 mins” as there is an open stall right in front of the store (as seen in the pictures).

Next, we have the above picture taken by John Russell, a college student and Cop Block supporter. He commented that “This particular cop is part of the university police, who are arguably much more oppressive, and was parked next to the student union; probably grabbing food as they usually do.”  I wonder how many struggling college kids have been ticketed for this exact offense.  Thanks John, you should post this around campus or send in more pics and we’ll call the campus police.

The next pics (above) are good examples of simply monitoring the police.  Matt sent in these two pictures of Batesville, MS police performing their daily duties… Well, kinda.  One of the pictures is of an officer who left his keys in the trunk and was driving around. Hilarious.  The other is another officer presumably using radar to catch speeders coming over the hill.  Though there is no clear law being broken here it’s still encouraging to see people monitor the local police force.  Matt’s actions not only prepare him in case he needs to film something, but also keeps the officers on their toes.  They never know when he might pop up with his camera even just to catch the funny moments like those keys in the trunk.

Our last submission comes from a person who wants to remain anonymous. This contributor fears that the officer might retaliate or get other officers to harass them.  The picture was taken outside the person’s apartment building, a building the cop does not live in and, therefore, isn’t allowed to park outside of. After several complaints plus photos, the residents had the car towed.  Good job, folks.

Well, that’s all we have for this month,  though I’d like to remind those who send in pics or video to send along the Date, Time and location.  This way we can start making some phone calls to these departments.

People have been sending in pictures, but Cop Block wants to encourage people to take video as well.  That’s why I’m announcing a $100 reward for the best VIDEO footage submitted to Cop Block for Friday’s Finest.

A few of the rules/conditions are:

• You must shoot the video yourself; we’ll help you post and/or edit videos of finalist
• The video needs to be exclusively for Cop Block, so don’t show or post your videos on line before contacting us.
• The video has to consist of police officers performing their duties; They don’t have to be breaking the law but that won’t hurt either.
• The winner will be a video that covers a good story, is respectful, well mannered and of good quality.  Things like swearing or provoked encounters with law enforcement will be looked down upon.
• Deadline is June 7th, 2010 to submit videos;  Though we might post some sooner but the week of the 7th we’ll highlight the finalist (depending on number of submissions).
• If you have any questions feel free to email us

I’m interested to see where this leads, so tell your friends and spend the day out and about.  Have those cameras pointed at police. Just remember to be safe, keep your distance, be polite, and stay out of their way.