PA Police Go After Rogue Lemonade Sellers

[RogerDodger]

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20090718_In_Haverford__young_lemonade_peddlers_hav e_brush_with_the_law.html

The responding officer - who was unavailable, whom Viola would not identify, and whose name and badge number were blacked out of the police report - invoked a township ordinance against vending without a permit. What the officer didn't realize, Viola said, is that the law doesn't apply to anyone younger than 16.

"The police officer would have no way of knowing this on the street," Viola said. "He acts on information he has available."



I never thought I'd see a police chief admit officers don't actually have to know the law they enforce. Just when you think you've seen it all . . .

[EnchantedFrog]

OMG. I hope the hapless lemonade vendors were black. We could then expect Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton to be all over the news for the next 72 hours.

[FidelisAdMortem]

So you have a neighbor who dimed the kids out, the cop told them they had to stop, and it ended up with them being able to continue to do it.

So thats the jist of it?

[jeepers]

He may not have had to know the law, but if I were a cop that would be one thing that I would check out BEFORE I went to read some kids the riot act.

Just my personal opinion and reaction.

Btw, my kids would be violators, too. They had a lemonade stand last week. Made 12 bucks for 1 1/2 hours of sweaty work. Street corner, not door to door.

He does make a good point about the door to door business. Woudln't let my kids do that without supervision.

[FidelisAdMortem]

I agree, however this seems a bit blown out of proportion.

The cop said they had to stop, big deal.

This is a minor thing.

[sgtmac_46]

I agree, however this seems a bit blown out of proportion.

The cop said they had to stop, big deal.

This is a minor thing.

No, NO, NO! This is NOT a minor thing, THIS is an ASSAULT on the CONSTITUTION and humanity itself by the MAN! This unchecked aggression will not stand......man. ;)

[jeepers]

No, this is about kids, some of them small, getting scared...which makes mothers unhappy.

You know what I would be unhappy about? My mother taught me as a small child, 'the policeman is your friend. If you ever have a problem, you go to him'. He's a good guy. He's Superman on your side, sort of thing. It's the same thing that I teach my own kids. They are to be respected and appreciated.

I'd actually be mad at the guy for upsetting them and probably would take him off to the side to say 'look, I'm working to have them respect you and you are making this so much harder'. And he probably would say 'look you can't have em go door to door' and I would say 'you know, thanks for pointing that out, you're probably right, but could you soften your attitude about this?'

And if I had violated some ordinance by allowing them to do that, I woudl tell them straight up, Mommy didn't know that you couldn't do this and he came to tell me that. I made a mistake. We'll do X from now on'...

Not everyone has a problem with the police.

[BillBrown]

I don't blame the officer one bit.

Unscrupulous lemonade traffickers are tearing at the very fabric of our republic.

The same for people who run garage sales more than once within 90 days. If these things aren't stopped now, soon it will be too late.

[FidelisAdMortem]

No, this is about kids, some of them small, getting scared...which makes mothers unhappy.

You know what I would be unhappy about? My mother taught me as a small child, 'the policeman is your friend. If you ever have a problem, you go to him'. He's a good guy. He's Superman on your side, sort of thing. It's the same thing that I teach my own kids. They are to be respected and appreciated.

I'd actually be mad at the guy for upsetting them and probably would take him off to the side to say 'look, I'm working to have them respect you and you are making this so much harder'. And he probably would say 'look you can't have em go door to door' and I would say 'you know, thanks for pointing that out, you're probably right, but could you soften your attitude about this?'

And if I had violated some ordinance by allowing them to do that, I woudl tell them straight up, Mommy didn't know that you couldn't do this and he came to tell me that. I made a mistake. We'll do X from now on'...

Not everyone has a problem with the police.

LOL, dramatic much?

[jeepers]

Dramatic, how?

I'm just not cynical when it comes to things like this.

[Paul31]

Shouldn't an officer and the dispatchers be familiar with the towns laws before they open their mouths? I am sure he had a book of all the towns and state laws with him. All he had to do is open it up and read it.

[FidelisAdMortem]

Dramatic, how?

I'm just not cynical when it comes to things like this.

Maybe I missed the part where the officer is accused of screaming at the poor little children.

Simply approaching a situation and letting the kids/parents know they must stop, even if the officer was wrong, is not abusing ones authority or "scaring" the poor kids.

Jeez, must be a slow news day.

[badkarma]

For 12 years, Hagan acknowledged, he has patrolled the streets of Haverford buying lemonade, paying the kids a buck and surreptitiously not drinking it.
How we allow such evils to be perpetuated on our youth by these callous and uncaring police officers I will never understand.

[BillBrown]

Originally Posted by The Article in the OP
For 12 years, Hagan acknowledged, he has patrolled the streets of Haverford buying lemonade, paying the kids a buck and surreptitiously not drinking it.

He's obviously setting them up for the bust- trying to draw in their accomplices and perhaps their overlord.

Good work on his part.

Lemonade is known to be a gateway to Coca-Cola.

[OldSchoolConservative]

What's next? Permits for having garage sales? Permits for home catalog sale partys? permits to set up a booth at a flea market? Suppose these kids were actually teenagers 16 years old trying to make summer money. Would they have to have a permit selling lemonade on private property? I can understand in a residential area. But what would be the difference between that and a garage sale?

[jimjames418]

What's next? Permits for having garage sales? Permits for home catalog sale partys? permits to set up a booth at a flea market? Suppose these kids were actually teenagers 16 years old trying to make summer money. Would they have to have a permit selling lemonade on private property? I can understand in a residential area. But what would be the difference between that and a garage sale?
Many cities and towns require a permit to hold a garage sale already. My town does, it is free but the local police want to know where traffic is going to be a problem so you must register with city hall. Actually the city publishes a listing of garage sales within the city limits with a map of all the locations.

It started as a help for the local police, but when people found out about the maps they started requesting them to locate the garage sales instead of driving around looking for them.

And a booth at flea market must be rented, and guess what, it requires a name and address of the person responsible for the booth. ;)

[AutoRacer55]

First it starts with lemonade. Then they get their hands on crack.

[Tulsa]

I was half expecting to read the cop tasered someone for lemonade stand violations.

[FidelisAdMortem]

That would make this thread worth being created.