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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
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Topic Author's Original Post - Feb 11, 2008 - 12:43pm PT
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So I arrive at Castle Rock State Park on Saturday and I'm waiting for my buddy to show up. I'm cranking some Rolling Stones in my truck and organizing all my gear and drinking a beer. The parking lots are FULL. Some idiot even parked in between two trees that cuts off another 5-7 parking spaces.
I see a ranger vehicle coming and pray it's not the supertool Miles Standish (real name). Every time this guy sees me he fu*ks with me. He HATES climbers, especially dirtbags. Sure enough he parks and gets out and, yep, it's the world class a$$hole known as Miles Standish. I hide my beer as he approaches and pretend to be busy in the back of my truck. He's studying everyone's license plates and is headed my way.
He passes me (after checking my plate) and I say, "Howdy". He returns the greeting. I see a couple of climbers I recognize (Charlie and some other dude) and I go over (Stones still crankin') and say hi. They also relay stories of getting tooled by Miles. I go back to my truck and he's writing somebody a ticket. He comes back by me and says, "You know I can issue a citation for playing music that's audible at 50 feet away?". I say no, let me turn down the music. I then ask if they've ever considered putting a sign in between the trees saying, don't park here, you're blocking a section of the parking lot. He says, "I can write everybody here a ticket for parking perpindicular to the road, not parallel." I'm like, WTF? I didn't know that was a law either.
This guy just cruises around finding ways to f%ck with people. He gives law enforcement types a bad name.
A$$hole!
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 11, 2008 - 01:10pm PT
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Khanom, actually my wife recommended that. I don't want the guy to lose his job or anything, I just wish he'd lighten up a little bit.
I guess it could have been worse, though, he could've wrote me up instead issueing a dickish warning. It does seem as though he has a pretty bad reputation. I talked with other rangers about reopening the Valley Of Stone nad they say to ask the head ranger (Miles Standish) and they kinda looked at each other and said, "good luck with that", as if to say do really want to initiate conversation with that prick?
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Wade Icey
Trad climber
www.alohashirtrescue.com
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Feb 11, 2008 - 01:11pm PT
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so you WERE breaking the law but you weren't tooled? why so angry?
once had my car locked in the goat rock parking cause we watched the sunset and my partner f*#ked his ankle walking out. -no parking after sunset- so the rig is locked in. I walk to the nearest phone (castle rock parking) call the number on the kiosk and a ranger shows up, all smiles, gives me ride back to goat, unlocks the gate, verifies that my buddy's ankle is f*#ked up then proceeds to run plates and write me up for parking after sunset. When questioned, the officer, still all smiles, explained that he thought a judge might find my explanation reasonable and I should try to pitch it in court, but I was nonetheless, breaking the law and his job was to cite me not judge me.
And then, as he gives me back my ID he says "You know, you're lucky I just locked the gate. I could have had you towed."
Wonder if that was Miles Standish.
Edit-Nope, wasn't him. Doesn't every area have a resident supertool? (memories of Flat top) seems like it just goes with the territory, like PO, and mosquitos.
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deuce4
Big Wall climber
the Southwest
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Feb 11, 2008 - 01:18pm PT
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Hi Khanom-
Off topic, but I just met someone with your same name. Was told that it meant "chrome" (as in the metallic color), and was also the term for the first day of spring.
nice name!
On topic: I had all my climbing and camping gear stolen at Castle Rock once, way back in the 80's. It was devastating, took me years and years to recover (and I spent my first winter in Yosemite sleeping in an ice puddle in a cheap tent due to my expedition tent having been stolen). No "tools" there back then. So it's good and bad, though this guy sounds like he needs a life.
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Wade Icey
Trad climber
www.alohashirtrescue.com
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Feb 11, 2008 - 01:42pm PT
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Hey Riley
hope you're well.
Wish I would have had you there to set him straight. For my part though, I've had pretty good results adhering to the policy of keeping a low profile and, if I have to think about opening my mouth, I'd best keep it shut. I also try to practice what I'm always preaching to my students;
"If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging."
cheers,
wade
ps: got spring plans for the big f*#ker? EC08
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rhyang
Ice climber
SJC
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Feb 11, 2008 - 01:44pm PT
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I avoid Castle Rock SP on weekends like the plague. Weekday afternoons are much less crowded if you can swing it.
Of course I can't actually climb for 6 more months, so tell me how was it :)
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Bruce Morris
Social climber
Belmont, California
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Feb 11, 2008 - 02:14pm PT
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Miles is just a strict constructionist who enforces the letter of the law. He's also the Law on the Skyline after dark.
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Off-Width Loving Crack Whore
Trad climber
SLO
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Feb 11, 2008 - 02:15pm PT
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3 weeks ago I saw Mr. Standish hand out a ticket to a guy for having window tint that was to dark. This was after the poor guy spent 45 minutes looking for a Ranger to pay the parking fee (the box was out of envelopes).
Since I was waiting for an envelope too I walked over from my truck 8 feet away, asked for an envelope and proceeded to fill it out/pay. So I walk back to my truck to read my license plate and he walks up next to me sees that there isn't a stub on my dash and starts writing me a ticket. I'm thinking "is this really happening?". I let him know that I just got here and that there weren't any envelopes so I was waiting for him to bring some more because I'm also paying for camping and parking for my friends truck. He then gave me the look of death and mumbles something about paying first before parking. So I reiterate that there weren't any envelopes and I was waiting for him to show up, but I'm paying right now... "so ummm thanks." More look of death and mumbling about "Kids throwing away the envelopes."
For the next two days every time I saw him he would ask me if I had paid the parking/camping fee, twice on Saturday, and three times on Sunday ( bad memory perhaps???, harassment perhaps???) At one point while packing up to head off to another area he walked up to us and asked if we "Had enough?" and were "Leaving yet?"
Of course this was nicer then last time when another Ranger wanted to impound the motorcycle I had in the back of my buddies truck because it was registered non-op and accrding to him "He couldn't allow it to be seen on the roadway." I have since investigated this and found that super dick robo Ranger's interpretation of the law was way off. It's perfectly legal to have a non-op vehicle on a trailer or on the back of a truck.
I think a letter writing campaign is in order.
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kev
climber
CA
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Feb 11, 2008 - 02:27pm PT
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Bluering,
Hahaha,
We got pseudo tooled in the pinns sat pm. We were leaving to head out of the west side to camp and got stopped for not having a license plate light. Yes I know it's illegal but I suspect it was because he had just seen us and 4 or 5 other dirtbags in the parking lot. HOWEVER, although the stop seemed BS, he ran our info told and let us go. I've had a few similar incidents with rangers over the years and MOST (but not all-let us not forger "officer poopy pants" aka "crispy cream" in TM) have been these check you out run your license/plates and let you go. I'll watch out for this dude at CRSP though.
kev
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Hardman Knott
Gym climber
Muir Woods National Monument, Mill Valley, Ca
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Feb 11, 2008 - 02:29pm PT
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You guys should definitely report this idiot. He reminds me of a notorious ranger
in Marin who takes glee in busting Mt Bike scofflaws for riding on trails. The kook
actually pulled a gun on a friend of mine for riding a fuçking bike without any
provocation whatsoever. We need to hold the higher-ups accountable for such bullshít.
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WBraun
climber
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Feb 11, 2008 - 02:35pm PT
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Hahahaha LOL Riley
I so wish you would have been around on Valley Sar back in the day when Duecy, Russ, etc etc were around.
You would have fit right in .....
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graniteclimber
Trad climber
Nowhere
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Feb 11, 2008 - 03:03pm PT
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While the local newspaper was doing a ride-along, he cuffed and placed someone in the back of his patrol car, for RIDING A BIKE, and left him unattended while responding to antoher call. His excuse was that the person making the othe rall may have been "in cahoots" and just trying to create a diversion.
http://www.community-newspapers.com/archives/lgwt/08.23.00/cover-0034.html
Standish spotted a young man named Page with a prohibited item on the trail: a bicycle. Before he could issue a citation, another young man ran onto the scene, shouting breathlessly about "some dude strokin' in the bushes," apparently right off the trail.
At that moment, Standish later reflected, his first thought was that John the shouting man was in cahoots with Page and was only raising a commotion to enable Page to escape without a citation.
Standish said afterward that he interpreted "strokin' " to mean someone was having a stroke or possibly a seizure. In order to respond to this medical emergency but not lose the now-angry Page, Standish handcuffed the young man, placed him in the truck and ran down the trail with John. Along with extensive training in natural resource management, field work, first aid and park administration, Standish is also a fully licensed peace officer and as such carries a law enforcer's trappings, including gun, handcuffs and club.
Down the trail, Standish discovered a situation that was actually a 314: the law enforcement code for indecent exposure. Although only John had seen Patrick allegedly fondling himself, Patrick did make some incriminating and embarrassed remarks to Standish--not enough grounds for a citation, but enough for Standish to take down Patrick's name, address and other personal data as a matter of course.
After sending Patrick on his way, Standish returned to Page, completed the citation process and cut him loose from the handcuffs with the admonition: "In the future, you have to make certain you know which trails you can take a bike on and which ones you can't."
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Hardman Knott
Gym climber
Muir Woods National Monument, Mill Valley, Ca
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Feb 11, 2008 - 03:29pm PT
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That sums up nicely what a kook this wanna-be cop is...
He cuffs and stuffs and cites the Mt biker, and lets the BushWacker™ off with a warning.(!)
Typical M.O. of a wanna-be cop...
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Tahoe climber
Trad climber
a dark-green forester out west
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Feb 11, 2008 - 05:34pm PT
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Got a stern talking to from one of the PO's there, too.
But he didn't give us a ticket, though we were parked there - and in the park (though ignorant of the rule not to be).
He was mean, but in the end didn't cite us since we kept our mouths shut and said yes, sir a lot.
TC
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billygoat
climber
3hrs to El Cap Meadow, 1.25hrs Pinns, 42min Castle
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Feb 11, 2008 - 06:31pm PT
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If you have any complaints whatsoever, write a letter! It doesn't matter whether you want this guy to keep his job or not--that's for his supervisors to decide. What matters is that his bosses have been officially informed about his conduct. Without a paper trail, this guy is free to do his job however he pleases. Public input is vital to any sort of action.
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Hardman Knott
Gym climber
Muir Woods National Monument, Mill Valley, Ca
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Feb 11, 2008 - 06:39pm PT
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Amen, Billygoat!
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Hardman Knott
Gym climber
Muir Woods National Monument, Mill Valley, Ca
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Feb 11, 2008 - 06:41pm PT
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He was smart enough knott
to risk getting shot
by a mentally unstable
wanna-be cop...
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dirtbag
climber
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Feb 11, 2008 - 06:52pm PT
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He cuffed a mountain biker?
That's outrageous!
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Feb 11, 2008 - 06:54pm PT
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A few letters or e-mails to the person's superior may help, especially if phrased constructively and politely.
I'm not familiar with Castle Rock. (Except the one in Washington.) Do local climbers there help with looking after the place, e.g. an Adopt-a-Crag or such?
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