No Assaulting The Metermaids!

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

We regret to inform you it is now a felony to shove a metermaid or interrupt the issuance of a parking ticket in the once-great state of New York. TheNewspaper.com reports that the New York state legislature has extended a special protection to metermaids that was once reserved for police, firefighters and paramedics. Under the new law, physical contact for which a meter maid can claim an injury is now a Class D felony, for which you could be sent to the big house for up to seven years. "No one likes to get a ticket," says Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow, "but the contempt some persons have for the job of the TEA (Traffic Enforcement Agent. Aw) or New York City marshal does not warrant the violent confrontational approach they have taken." Pretlow was likely referring to a well-publicized incident this May in which a metermaid TEA was beaten by an off-duty police officer to the applause of onlookers. Which would lead you to believe that metermaids have it pretty rough out there, and indeed the NYPD says some sixty TEA assaults were reported last year. Of course, that is in a city which had a total 27,295 reported aggravated assaults in the same year. You'd actually expect that aggrieved dude-on-metermaid violence would make up a much higher percent of those statistics.

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Kevin Kevin on Aug 01, 2008

    Ridiculous. Assaulting a metermaid is a victimless crime, like selling meth. Just more nanny-statism....

  • Johnny Canada Johnny Canada on Aug 01, 2008

    For me it's the uniform. Around here, the Metermaids, Dog Catchers, and even the Garbage Dump staff are all dressed like Police SWAT teams. It's a pathetic attempt to intimidate the general public.

  • Tms1999 Tms1999 on Aug 01, 2008
    Yes, the cops call this “professional courtesy,” and I have been hearing increased complaints from old/retired cops that the younger set is NOT extending professional courtesy. Uphold the law, above the law. Cops don't have to obey the law anymore? Joe Schmoes get tickets when cops don't? Don't you think there's something wrong with this idea?
  • Joeaverage Joeaverage on Aug 01, 2008

    What happened to "don't do that and move on"? Why instead does he have the berate the kid like that? I've done the military police gig, done the university parking patrol gig (in uniform, not just a student ticket writer). Seldom a reason to behave like that with people. Only time I had to get ugly with anyone was when they were mean drunks. So many different ways of handling people than the ways these people in the videos did. The Baltimore dude needs to get over himself. I got mad watching that video - as a parent. Okay the city doesn't want skaters there but is that such a crime? Where is the fatherly guidance that this guy should have offered? What kind of an adult does that cop think the kid will grow up to be? One that no longer see cops as one of the good guys that is for sure. I fear the end of our society watching these videos. Really.

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