Police ticket drivers honking in support of Occupy Seattle protest

by Stephen Hui on Oct 9, 2011 at 9:42 am
Occupy Wall Street on September 26.
Paul Stein

If the upcoming Occupy Vancouver protest catches on, police in the city may look south of the border for ways to suppress the demonstration.

Seattle police have resorted to ticketing drivers who honk in support of that city's Occupy Wall Street-inspired protest.

KOMO News reports:

Starting at 11 p.m. Friday, police started pulling over and ticketing drivers who honked as they drove past protesters.

When the first car - a taxicab - was pulled over, the protesters followed and shouted at police who then formed a blockade around the driver's cab.

The cab driver was then given a $144 ticket - and protesters ended up handing him money afterwards to help pay for his fine.

"I'm really sorry this happened to you tonight, man," one protester said to the cab driver.

The protesters also encouraged the driver to go to court and challenge the ticket.

Occupy Seattle protesters responded to the police tactic by putting up a sign reading "Don't honk! After 10 p.m. you will be ticketed."

Occupy Vancouver starts on October 15.

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Comments (17) Add New Comment
Albert Howard
Oct 9, 2011 at 10:59 am
Good. Haul their liberal asses to jail too.
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Occupie
Oct 9, 2011 at 11:00 am
Wow, this is unbelievable. I wonder what the police officer's "reason" was for giving the ticket. I didn't think they could get any worse but here you go, ladies and gentlemen. When he loses his pension, he'll realize these are the people fighting for it.
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Coinspinner
Oct 9, 2011 at 11:10 am
The sign should have read: "Honk if you hate fascism". And then honk like it will save your life.
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DJBALL
Oct 9, 2011 at 11:17 am
Land of The Free ?
What a sick joke.
Poor diseased America.
A war mongering bankrupt police state that celebrates torture while it has the highest incarceration rate of any industrialized country on Earth.
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Ray I
Oct 9, 2011 at 12:36 pm
If they are going to start ticketing people who honk then I suggest they start with the worst offenders - BC Transit bus drivers!
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Easton
Oct 9, 2011 at 2:39 pm
Cops are being used to incrementally scare protestors in hope of minimizing anyone else from joining the support. They say USA is a democratic country but it's not surprising to see those in power shutting up people any way they can.
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bobo
Oct 9, 2011 at 3:08 pm
Gee, Occupie, read the story again. The tickets were given because of a noise ordinance about being loud at night. Just like noise ordinances all over the world (Canada included).
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scathie
Oct 9, 2011 at 4:42 pm
Bobo's right. This is actually a story about night-time noise ordinances, not suppressing freedom of speech. I expect this kind of spin on Fox News, not the Georgia Straight. Really disappointed, guys.
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robert C
Oct 9, 2011 at 5:09 pm
albert you must like death destruction stealing and corruptiuon
and crooked news media
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Martin Dunphy
Oct 9, 2011 at 5:09 pm
scathie:

Sorry you are so disappointed, but the Georgia Straight did not "spin" this news story. We relayed it exactly as reported by a mainstream TV news outlet.
And an aside: if you think this has nothing to do with freedom of speech, I bet that if you checked Seattle court records you would be hard-pressed to find a single ticket issued for honking a horn after 10 p.m.---until the day this demonstration started, that is.

Have a nice day.
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Ronbo
Oct 10, 2011 at 4:12 am
:-) You gotta love it!

The People's Republic of Seattle finds another inventive way to levy a tax on their very own Commies!
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scathie
Oct 10, 2011 at 8:46 am
Martin Dunphy wrote: "And an aside: if you think this has nothing to do with freedom of speech, I bet that if you checked Seattle court records you would be hard-pressed to find a single ticket issued for honking a horn after 10 p.m."

Are you kidding? This is worst, most uninformed "apology" I've ever heard. Nightime noise between Pike/Pine has been a contentious issue for years -- even when I lived there 5 years ago -- and this story is specifically about honking in Westlake Park.

http://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2010/08/02/new-rules-mean-seattle-cops...

Not only that, but the mayor even launched an online survey to DIRECTLY ask the citizens inolved what they thought of the idea. If that's not representing the people, what is? When has that ever happened in Vancouver?

The truth is that people DO live in downtown neighbourhoods, and it is not necessary to make noise at all hours of the night to get a point across.
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Heh
Oct 10, 2011 at 3:57 pm
I remember a few people cyclists who got hit by cars because the honking was so often, no one could tell the difference. Tickets make perfect sense.
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bobo
Oct 10, 2011 at 6:46 pm
I'll ask the same question Charlie asks in regard to Harper at a hockey game "Is this really newsworthy?"
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Alfonzo
Oct 11, 2011 at 1:33 am
This is the first I've ever seen the noise ordinance enforced downtown, and I've lived here for three years. The next time I need to cops to quiet my neighbors' noisy parties, I won't say they're playing loud music - I'll just say they're protesting!
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GOT
Oct 11, 2011 at 7:13 am
Honking in support of protesters, striking workers, etc. has always been an acceptable way of indicating support. Clearly America is losing it. This isn't about 'protesters'; this is about squashing the little guy who dares to question the status quo. Repeat after me until you have memorized it: the policeman is NOT your friend. Any more. He's just a tool of the state - and yes, Occupie is right...when police forces discover they have no pensions, they'll be wondering why there's nobody protesting...
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Nasty Celt
Oct 11, 2011 at 6:20 pm
It's The Noise Bylaws!!! Sure it is. I wonder if the cops have the guts to release the number of tickets handed out for the same offence in the last 50 years. I'd bet it's less than the number they handed out that night. It's simple abuse of power. Police the world over are well known for it.
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