Ludington Punk'd Department

[XLFD]

Punk'd was an American hidden camera practical joke television series on MTV, produced and hosted by Ashton Kutcher, which first aired in 2003. It bears a strong resemblance to both the classic hidden camera show Candid Camera, and to TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes, which also featured pranks on celebrities. Being "Punk'd" refers to having such a prank played on oneself, and to "punk someone" refers to making someone else the victim of the show's style of prank itself.

Today I eyewitnessed a member of the Ludington Police Department do a very funny prank.  And part of me was amused, but another, larger part of me was deeply troubled.  I will relate the facts as seen by me.

At about 12:15 PM earlier today (Thursday, 8-23-2012) I was in the outer part of my palacial estate's antechamber (an enclosed porch area) on Dowland Street when I heard the familiar 'blip' of as you may hear when a police car is about to pull someone over.  Sure enough, just outside,  I witness from the window a sporty black car with a comely young lady driving it, pull to the curb in front of my house, and a Ludington Police Department Chevy Tahoe slides in behind it with lights on.

Out steps a young, tall,dark-haired, bespectacled police officer (I will call 'Joe LPD') whom I didn't recognize, interestingly there was some other gentleman decked out in normal clothes in the passenger side of the LPD vehicle (let's call him 'Jack').

The LPD officer asks for a driver's license at a volume I can hear through the window, then asks her after receiving it if she knows why she was stopped.  The lady (let's call her 'Diane') responds but I can't hear her.  Joe LPD informs her that she was going 33 in a 25 mph zone and asks for registration and insurance, then goes back to the Tahoe.

He then comes back in a couple of minutes, and as he approaches the car, Jack sneaks out of the Tahoe.  Joe LPD starts to explain about some problem (I still can't hear Diane's replies), but then Jack pops out just like Ashton Kutcher on Punk'd or Allen Funt on Candid Camera).  She comes out, with a mixture of relief and irritation, with Joe LPD explaining that Jack planned this ruse on her and was in on this gag stop.  Jack and Diane hug, and Joe LPD asks whether Jack will need a lift or whether Diane would give him a lift.

I come out of my hidey hole around this point, and I don't know whether Joe LPD knows me or not, but he says "Hi", while I sport a bemused smile, and ride off.  Now, a while back, I would probably have found this totally amusing.  But just a little over a week ago, City Councilor Kaye Holman ranted about a citizen's FOIA requests wasting the time of city officials, and LPD Chief Barnett equated that same citizen's concerns about safety and Ludington policies as 'lobbing rocks at a parade'.

That same police chief continues to block release of informationconcerning investigations by his department, tries to intimidate businesses from selling legal products, makes zoning law which 'zones-out' medical marijuana from Ludington, and condones the illegal surveillance of marina slips by the LPD.  Let us also not forget that he originally adapted the Letter of Trespass so that it could be used for a public place for any citizen and had it served on a citizen for using a link from the City's own website to show corruption within the City.

And of course, who could forget his 2008 violations of the whistleblower act and the policeman's oaths of confidentiality.  When I thought of all this background information, I couldn't help but be offended that a Ludington police officer, who gets paid well over $40 an hour (with benefits included), used the material of his office paid for by the taxpayers, the time to set this prank up paid for by the taxpayers, and derelicted his regular duties and abused his powers for at least a quarter of an hour in order to prank his friend's girlfriend.  In the end, I didn't find it funny at all.

[Brian Carlson]

This is unacceptable behavior by the police. It was a waste of the taxpayers time. What would have happened if the woman freaked out and tried to run away? Some could have been hurt.  

[XLFD]

I do have a suspicion of who the passenger, Jack, was.  I sent an E-mail to the LPD Chief (CC-ed to other relevant officials) and got a reply this morning.  If I don't get answers, we do have a City Council meeting on Monday, and I'm sure they will love to hear about this use of the public's resources from their favorite source for news.

[CLFD]

There are as many What If questions as there are flies in a pig pen. She did not freak or run and nobody got hurt.

An occasional public service action by local police is not a bad deed and can actually be good for the community. I see no more harm in this local fake stop than the Pass It On Honesty TV commercial where the kid chases the bus to return a ladies purse and the officers in the patrol car pull over to say Nice Move Kid and they offer him a donut.

[Brian Carlson]

XLFD, It all sounds like fun and a good laugh until you think about. The taxpayers are not pay these guys to play practical jokes on people. It would be interesting to see if the city council takes action or ignores this. I don't think they should fire the cop or anything serious. Maybe a comment in his work record.

[XLFD]

If the identity of the passenger is who I think it is, the LPD officer may not have had much choice than to play along. 

[Willy]

X

Aren't you going to be surprised and feel a little silly when Shay leans over that Council desk, points at you and say's, "Tom, you've been punked. We all really love you and we just thought it would be fun to play a little 4 year joke on you. And, we also want to wish you a belated  April fools. Have a nice day." Then Shay leans over to Henderson and asks "I don't think there's anything in the Constitution that prohibits practical jokes, is there, because I hear that's Holder and Obama do it all the time."

[XLFD]

Wouldn't that be something?  Thanks for the laugh and a half.

[XLFD]

Well, Shay never told me I was Punk'd at the meeting last night.  But I did file a formal complaint with the LPD on their Citizen Complaint Form, and handed it to Lindsay at the LPD counter yesterday.  I will keep you informed as to how it is handled.