A Guest Post By My Manager, Michael Claymore.

 

So, after yesterday’s unpleasant incident with some Sydney cops, i decided to make a complaint to Coles over their reporting me for…er…stealing my own stuff. According to Coles, the cops seem to have been fully responsible. Seems they were running some grotesque operation wherein they check large backpacks just to, you know, harass folks. Now, while i am inclined to believe the Coles people, the fact that the cops were so convinced i was up to something suggests more than a random check. Perhaps one of the cops, all of whom were in plain clothes, was lurking around the store and was the idiot who made the mistake of thinking my box was not my box. So now, not only does it seem that these cops are jerks who go around trying to escalate situations by calling people dickheads, but at least one them is an idiot who has no idea what he is doing! I wrote yesterday that my view of cops had hit a new low — today it is even lower. Not only are these guys bullying thugs who insult citizens by asking them if they are pedophiles walking around with a hard drive full of kiddy porn, they are also a bit thick.

And what the fuck are they doing searching people just for having large backpacks?!?! Since when does that make anyone a suspect? I am truly shocked and horrified that cops are allowed to do this in what is supposed to be a free country. Searched, accused and harassed just for having a big bag? Not acceptable. As fascinating a train wreck as the US is, i really must start paying a bit more attention to the shit that goes down on my own doorstep.

Screencap of messages from Coles below. Station name has been erased to make it less likely that i will end up in a ditch with a loaded banana in my hand.