Almost got arrested today for railfanning! Unbelievable.

I had a run in with the law today in Pottsville, PA. I was taking some pics of the former RDG and PRR rows (which I'll present in another post). I parked my car (was using my brother's 2009 Buick Park Avenue) on a street by the tracks (now R&N). Was taking a few pics when I hear "can I help you" - complete with an attitude. I had the window down and this woman in her 20s, total trailer trash, is looking at me all cock eyed. I said "no". She replies "I don't want you on this street, now leave".

ooooooooookay.

Then she demands to know what I'm doing. I said "I'm taking pics of the train". She says "yea right. You get off this street and away from my house". I replied "no. I'm on public property, on a public street, and I'm not leaving". Well, that sent her into ballistic mode "I think you are going to burglarize my house". At that point I told her to "f--k off" and rolled up the window. Within 5 minutes two police cars come swooping in, block my car from both sides, and I get ordered out of my car with hands on the roof.

ooooooooooookay.

The police spend 15 minutes questioning me and then run my ID. Everything comes back clean and they let me go. The woman called 911 and reported a man trying to burglarize and/or sexually assault her.

So there you have it. It's now a crime to park your car on a public street, to mind your own business, and photo trains. The cops then told me I had to leave since I didn't live on that street (even though it's public property).

If it were a crime you would have been charged with something and either posted bail or posted this from jail..

Running into mentally ill and/or severly deluded people is a risk of going outside..

I think the cops moved you along to keep the woman from calling them back 50 times.. More of a convenience thing for them to keep the local crazies less riled up.. Then again, Barney Fife types aren't known for the best judgement either.

Now if you'd been accosted by RR police while shooting from a public street/property, that would be quite worth mentioning to your local newspaper/news station..

Try to keep things in perspective.

Better luck on your next trip out.

-Micah

Barney Fife cops just about describe them. One was 300lbs the other around 18 yrs old. I didn't even know Pottsville had a police dept. Many of the smaller municipalities can't afford them or just don't need them cuz there is no crime. I know a lot of municipalities contract with the State Police if cops are needed.

you have been victimized by the paranoid frenzy Americans are fed constantly through the media.
Fear is like crack, it gives the addict a rush. the adrenalin surges,the heart races. She got off big time when she told the 911 operator you were threatening her.

If you were a hard ass lawyer with too much money, you could subpoena that 911 tape and give her a real run of trouble, sue her for slander and false accusations , lying to the cops and so on.

I suppose you'd be kinda shocked to know that Pottsville is Schuylkill County's largest municipality then.. Even larger in terms of population than anything in Carbon, and we've got a borough here (Weissport) with 600 residents, a mayor, council and their own P.D.!!!

-Micah

It's just rediculous that you are brough into a situation where you are sitting in your own car, not bothering anyone, on a public street, and you get screamed at and ordered off a public street because someone doesn't want you there. I thought this was the USA...free country.

I read in today's local paper that a man has been going around photographing kids and trying to lure them into his vehicle in the Pottsville area. Maybe the lady & police though you were the pedophile....

I don't know how you photographed R&N in Pottsville because they currently don't operate there. On the Pottsville Branch, they go through Mount Carbon, Palo Alto onto Port Carbon & Yuengling. On the Minersville Branch, they go to Westwood, onward to Minersville or Tremont. The only rail line in Pottsville is the city-owned spur from Mount Carbon to the new bus/inter modal center.

I don't understand how there is "trailer trash" in Pottsville when there are no trailer parks.....

M.T

mst145 wrote:I read in today's local paper that a man has been going around photographing kids and trying to lure them into his vehicle in the Pottsville area. Maybe the lady & police though you were the pedophile....

I don't know how you photographed R&N in Pottsville because they currently don't operate there. On the Pottsville Branch, they go through Mount Carbon, Palo Alto onto Port Carbon & Yuengling. On the Minersville Branch, they go to Westwood, onward to Minersville or Tremont. The only rail line in Pottsville is the city-owned spur from Mount Carbon to the new bus/inter modal center.

I don't understand how there is "trailer trash" in Pottsville when there are no trailer parks.....

M.T

Keep in mind that our original poster here was likely shook up by the unnecessary acts of this "lady" along with the actions of the PD--- probably an innocent mistake in his post. The "trailer trash" comment I would think is frustration/anger which IMO is justifiable because I would be pissed as well.

In short, I don't blame him for being upset......I think most anyone would be.

Charlie

Congratulations, you met an overly paranoid citizen. And....? She called the cops, so they do have a duty to perform the usual checks on you, Barney Fife or not.

There's a fine line between being overly concerned and completely care-free where "no one saw nuthin' ".

If the lady would have come out and asked me politely to leave, or politely asked me if I needed help, then I would have had no problem with it. However, when a person with an attitude problem starts a conversation by screaming obscene language at me and ordering me off public property, I do have a problem with that.

As for police checking things out, I don't mind as I know they have a job to do and I don't mind having them check me out. I offered my drivers license and said "sure check things out". No big deal. But yelling and screaming foul language off your front porch is not the way to act.

True, but first - what are the odds that this woman's mental state is perfect?

Even if it is, maybe she just is a b-----. You'll run into this. Could you go out, hire a lawyer, sue her, sue the town and make a huge production out of it? Yes, and it would be your right. But who would want the hassle and expense?

Every town has people like your crazy woman. Such is life - esp. in smaller towns and rural areas.

And Pennsylvania is "blessed" with an unusually high ratio of local crazy ladies to common folks.

It might be worth, if you have a friend who is a lawyer, having he/she write a letter asking the police department to justify their actions and/or (if the situation warrants) to cease future harrassment.

Though I am no fan of police officers in general, I would imagine that these men were just doing their jobs, probably hoping to get lucky and find the sick SOB who is out there photographing children. Hoping for a lucky catch isn't really a decent arguement for the search and detention, but I would imagine that putting oneself into their shoes (two guys hoping to catch someone before he rapes/murders a child) might lend some persepective and allow for at least some level of forgiveness. Of course, no matter the size and location of the town in which they serve these men are supposed to be professionals so if you were to sue them for an improper action you would probably be well justified.

It's best to watch "Deliverence" before visiting a large part of Pennsylvania. Kind of helps you understand the sorts of folks you'll be running into.

I am from Pennsylvania, so I can say this:

They don't call this state "Pennsyltucky" for no reason...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsyltucky

But now you have learned some of the best lessons of life:

1. its not fair
2. it don't matter if you are right (sounds like you were on a public road)
3. it matters even less when you are dealing with crazy people...( I once got chased out of a town, and swore I heard gun shots...but that is a different story)
4. nothing matters when the police show up, except getting away without a ticket of some type (or worse)

So the next time the crazies show up when taking train pics, you will....

I suppose the reason I haven't had any issues like this is because I chose to take pictures of the PNGS/GSPN when it's either active or resting in Tremont. Though I suppose now I'll use this as a warning should I decide to 'capture historical railroad items' on digital media in that area. I don't get The Pottsville Republican; perhaps I should look into that...