vision2020
Re: Snow, Ice and "Discretionary" Enforcement(LONG!)
This is not the first time I've heard the term "officer discretion" used in
referring the actions of the MPD. It may be one of the most disturbing, and
frustrating, terms I've come to hate.
John
John and Laurie Danahy
jdanahy@turbonet.com
----- Original Message -----
From: G M <herecomestheflood@yahoo.com>
To: John Danahy <JDANAHY@turbonet.com>; <vision2020@moscow.com>
Sent: Thursday, January 13, 2000 6:46 PM
Subject: Snow, Ice and "Discretionary" Enforcement(LONG!)
> --- John Danahy <JDANAHY@turbonet.com> wrote:(snip)
> > I do know city
> > code requires property
> > owners to clear snow and ice, but most property
> > owners in this community
> > seem to not care.
> ************************************
>
> Well, since John Danahy raised this subject, I'd like
> to relate an experience I had this week. Sorry it's
> so long...delete now if not interested.
>
> I live near the Junior High on property adjacent to
> "D" Street. As I have every winter I've lived at this
> location, I always attempt to keep the "D" Street
> sidewalk clear of snow and ice, safe for the kids who
> walk by each day (even though these same kids often
> throw litter on my property and, in the spring, pick
> flowers from the flower garden along that sidewalk).
>
> This past Tuesday morning as I was exiting my home to
> go and shovel that very sidewalk, following an
> evening/early morning snowfall, I found a "Warning"
> hanging on my front door, issued by the Moscow Police
> Department. The warning accused me of a "violation",
> namely "Failure to Remove Snow or Ice From Sidewalk".
>
> There was no address filled in on the warning (had
> someone taken it off their door and hung it on
> mine?!), no time filled in for when the "violation"
> occurred and at the bottom it read "IMMEDIATE ACTION
> IS REQUIRED TO AVOID CITATION". The officer who
> issued the warning only left his/her code - no name.
>
> Not good.
>
> I wondered if everyone else on "D" Street had been
> issued warnings, especially those on my block who,
> unlike myself, hadn't cleared their sidewalks for
> several snowfalls! And had warnings been issued all
> over the city in a sort of snow removal warning blitz?
>
> I walked up my block and noticed the same sidewalks
> that hadn't been cleared for quite a while were still
> not cleared, and others simply, understandably, hadn't
> been shoveled yet because the snowfall had been so
> recent. Most sidewalks for the two blocks I checked
> were not cleared.
>
> Since the warning included an ordinance # on it I
> called City Hall to check on what the ordinance
> actually said and what was meant by "IMMEDIATE
> ACTION".
>
> Here's where the fun begins.
>
> I was told I would need to speak with the City
> Attorney or the City Clerk. However the Attorney was
> gone and the Clerk wouldn't be back for 20 minutes.
> Fine. I went and worked on my sidewalk, returning in
> 20 minutes and calling back. Got ahold of the Clerk,
> read her the Ordinance # on my warning and she went to
> look it up. I was put on hold. She came back in a
> bit and said she was having trouble finding it, that
> it was "not an ordinance". Could I hold some more?
> She came back again and said "the (ordinance) number
> doesn't sound right or I'm looking in the wrong
> place...could you hold again?"
>
> Okay folks. I'm thinking this is a little weird.
>
> Back she comes one more time and says "I'm having
> trouble...can I call you back? Or maybe you should
> just call the police."
>
> The Clerk can't find the Code/Ordinance?
>
> I call the police, explain to the person answering the
> phone what had happened and the nature of my inquiry.
> I was put on hold and told that the information would
> be looked up. Sat on hold for awhile longer (probably
> was a total of 10-11 minutes between City Hall and
> MPD) then was re-connected and told "I'm going to let
> you talk to an officer". On hold again. Finally a
> woman comes on the line, tells me her name and starts
> reading sections of the Moscow City Code in question.
> She was very articulate and to-the-point. I
> understood what she was reading but questioned why I
> was given a warning on this particular day,
> immediately following a snowfall, when I had been
> following the law and keeping my walk cleared all
> winter. Had warnings been issued all over town that
> day? She said she "wasn't sure why" Officer 216 ACO
> "had issued the warning, or why he was in the
> area...maybe someone complained or slipped...or maybe
> he was called out on a barking dog complaint and
> noticed the sidewalk." She added that they would
> "love to be able to issue warnings to everyone with
> uncleared sidewalks but...".
>
> She went on to explain that issuing warnings such as
> this was left up to the "discretion of the officer".
>
> Hmmm.
>
> So...I asked what "IMMEDIATE ACTION" meant, if there
> was some MPD policy that gave property owners 12 hours
> or 24 or 36 to take care of the "violation". She said
> that was also "discretionary".
>
> I asked her why the City Clerk couldn't find the Code.
> She said something to the effect that "we have cheat
> sheets out in the field...maybe the Clerk doesn't have
> them." What? So I then asked if the person I was
> speaking to was an officer. She said yes...and went
> on to say that she could have the officer who issued
> the ticket call me but that he was the Animal Control
> Officer(!) and only worked a few hours 3 days a week.
>
> Animal Control Officer? Issuing the first "Snow
> Removal Warning" I've received in 15 years of
> shovelling my Moscow sidewalks?!
>
> I said yes I would love to speak with him.
>
> Still waiting to hear back.
>
> Meanwhile, I keep noticing how the City of Moscow
> apparently isn't required by law to keep our streets
> clear of ice and snow. However the rest of us had
> better not exercise that same sort of discretion.
>
> Greg Meyer
>
>
>
>
>
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger.
> http://im.yahoo.com
Back to TOC