RUDE DRIVERS WHO PARK IN FIRE LANES AND HANDICAPPED SPOTS BEWARE.

     Beware there are numerous people who are out in Brockton taking pictures of cars illegally parked in fire lanes and handicapped spots.

Parked at the DDs in Canton

     These drivers cars will be posted on this site along with a picture that will be forwarded to code enforcement. Currently the violation is $100 fine for parking in or blocking a fire lane and a $350 fine for parking in a handicap spot. Here is one car that is illegally blocking the fire lane. A total disregard for our Fire Department. This picture will be forwarded along with the area that it happened in.

     I would urge everyone to call their State Representatives and ask for an increase of both fines to $1000 with a possible suspension of  a persons license. If another violation occurs I would ask for a 6 months suspension of the persons license. Here is another person blocking and parking in the Fire lane and also blocking the handicap ramp for people that use it for wheelchairs.

Parked at the Stop n Shop on Belmont St. in Brockton

     This one was parked at the Stop n Shop by Belmont street in Brockon again this picture will be forwarded to the appropriate code enforcement and hopefully a ticket will be given. If anyone has pictures of these violators please email them to me at:

brocktonbeat@hotmail.com

     All pictures will be posted anonymously. This has gone on long enough and if enough people take pictures and we can present hundreds of these pictures to our State Representative then maybe they will see that people really do want something done about these violations. I urge you to call our Representatives at the state levels, you will find their links to the left of our website. Keep up the good work and keep sending the pictures in. This is a battle WE WILL WIN!!!!!! 

Man opening the door for person who parked their car in fire lane

     

     I would also ask people to call the owners of these business's and ask to have their employees call the police or even take pictures or at least put a larger sign up saying WE WILL CALL THE POLICE ON VIOLATORS.

                                                                                                                                                          

Chief Conlon's response to Officer Uhlman being prohibited from posting on inbrockton.com

    Officer Uhlman of the Brockton police department has been posting on the http://www.inbrockton.com/ forum providing information pertaining to city code violations. The information being given was public and openly available to the public. I emailed the Chief of Police in Brockton Chief Conlon and asked why he was not allowed to post, in his professional manner as he always does, responded to me within a couple of hours. I am pleased with the response and understand the policy on why Officer Uhmnan is not allowed to post on such a forum.         

 Hi Rob,


Thank you for the kind words about the police department in general and about Officer Uhlman specifically. I appreciate your concerns and thoughts on these matters. Officer Uhlman is a fine officer and his heart is in doing the best he can for the city. I know that, the mayor knows it and so do the city councilors. It is unquestioned. That said however, I cannot allow each and every officer to speak or write in public forums about the specifics of their daily encounters as relates to their official duties.

As do all police departments, the Brockton PD has a written set of policies and procedures that personnel are to adhere to. Our policies and procedures call for either the chief or the chief's designee to act as the department's Public Information Officer (PIO). The PIO is responsible to coordinate the release of authorized information concerning agency investigations and operations. There is potential liability to the city and the police department every time information is released. An inadvertant slip of the tongue or typed words that turn out to be mistaken can lead to problems. Even perceptions that others may make from misinterpreting what is said can create needless angst and litigations. Scott is not authorized to act as our PIO. I would hope that the reasoning for such prohibitions is clear. It is not to punish but rather to prevent liability to both him and the police department/city.

Further in our policies and procedures under the category of "miscellaneous" are directives that "No member of the Department is to forward any typed or written communication to any agency or person without the approval of his/her supervisor, who shall be responsible for its contents". Also, under the same category is the directive that "No employee is to identify himself by rank or title, either in writing or orally, unless the matter at hand concerns police business". In the case at hand Scott was identifying himself in writing as "Officer" Scott and while off-duty, talking about specific police business, in a public forum which was not an official outlet of the police department. I can't have officers publicly speaking/writing whenever they wish about official police business. It is simply too fraught with potential liability. There is too much of a likelihood for things to get twisted around as multiple persons comment about what gets written. Please understand that we must adhere to our own policies and procedures. Scott hasn't been punished. He was simply asked to conform to those policies and procedures BEFORE anything negative occurs. I hope that this clarifies what was done and why. Officers can blog all they want so long as they do it as private citizens and don't talk about their official dealings.



Sincerely,



Chief Conlon
Chief Conlon and the Brockton Police Department.

ONLY HERE! SURPRISE VISIT TO BROCKTON OF PRIME MINISTER OF CAPE VERDE

     I was fortunate enough to be at city hall in Brockton around 2pm protesting Officer Ulhman's being prohibited from posting on inbrockton.com. This forum is a public forum and he used his name and gave the community information that we could easily access ourselves but he also got involved with the community, this is another story that I am working on.

    I was outside City Hall holding up my sign when I saw a man in a suit with an earpiece. He was asking questions and he was clearing the front street of City Hall on the School Street side. I asked him who he was and he said "police." I then asked him if he was from Brockton and he said "No." I started to get real curious because of the earpiece and asked him is he state police and once again he said"No." I still couldn't help myself and I asked him again and he said"SS." I figured it out and he was Secret Service. I asked him why he was here and he didn't answer being the professional he was and I finally saw another man in a suit and I finally realized it was probably the Prime Minister of Cape Verde and I asked him "when is the Prime Minister expected." and he said "soon."

I was excited but also a little apprehensive because of what was said by the Prime Minister over the weekend. My interpretation and many other's is that he is blaming America and our Society of sending back Cape Verdean's who commit crime back to his country and his countries crime rate is high. I was able to film him coming out of the City Hall and unfortunately I didn't have the nerve to asked him any questions. I feel I have failed as a wanna be journalist and I was right there and I could of spoke my but I didn't. I am still learning but at least I have the only Video of the Prime Minister's visit to Brockton. Chalk one up for the BrocktonBeat.

DO YOU REALLY WANT TO MAKE MORE MONEY IN BROCKTON!!

    We are living in tough economic times and Brockton has always taken the full force of a recession. Most of the downtown business are small shops and employ very few workers, while other companies in Brockton employ hundreds such as Stop and Shop and Kmart and a few others. Many Cities in the Nation have adopted Living wage ordinances that allow for a living wage and not minimum wage which can barely support a dog to live on. A living wage is an hourly wage set specifically for one that allows for a certain standard of living. One that would support a rent, food, clothes for a single person. Most people in Brockton do not make enough for one person to pay a months rent and also have the necessities of life.

    A living wage ordinance would include any business that has a contract with the City of Brockton and any Business that has more than 15 employees would have to pay a living wage of at least $12.00 per hour if they want to do business in Brockton. Many people are against this and say this will cost the City more money in the long run and scare off many business's from coming to Brockton. Brockton needs its councilors and Mayor to stand up for the people of Brockton who work everyday and work for minimum wage and cant pay their rent. The Universal Living Wage Campaign at http://www.universallivingwage.org/
is a grassroots campaign that has information regarding Living Wage and the cities in America that have adopted them and how it has had a positive impact on the economy. I would invite all to call the Mayor and their City Councilors and asked about a Living Wage.