Montreal Police Bicycle

Chris Erb: 10th Jul 2006 - 20:48 GMT

Is it true that you can drink in a park in Montreal so long as you're eating a meal with it?

I like that you tagged "bag sweat"

EvilGentleman: 10th Jul 2006 - 21:28 GMT

So far as I know, drinking in public parks is only permitted at certain events where permits are given for the sale of alcoholic beverages for that day or days, and the event organizers are then deemed to be responsible for ensuring that the public drinking does not spill over into areas not covered by the permit. Canada Day and the Jazz Festival would be good examples of this.

But now that you mention it, I am not sure if a family that has a bottle of wine with their picnic meal would be in violation or not. I suspect such things are in fact illegal, but the police must be exercising discretion, thus allowing many picnickers to have a bottle of wine with their meal. If it were truly legal to drink, so long as food is present, then I would think the street alcoholics would all be either slowly eating McDonald's hamburgers or rummaging around in dumpsters for half-eaten sandwiches to park on their laps while they drink beer on the park benches. Since they do not do that, it must be illegal to drink in parks, no matter what the circumstances.

EvilGentleman: 10th Jul 2006 - 21:32 GMT

I forgot to mention, bag-tagging is an important sport crucial to the development of male involuntary reflexes, and its origins can be traced all the way back to homo erectus.

Selig: 10th Jul 2006 - 21:59 GMT

"So I told him I did not care about him..." gold! makes me happy :)

chiamattt: 10th Jul 2006 - 22:00 GMT

police exercising discretion? now i've heard everything.

EvilGentleman: 10th Jul 2006 - 22:09 GMT

Yes indeed, it was hard at first, but once bag-tagging was taken to hand, a good stiff competition soon developed. One great prospect after another would rise to the forefront, only to be sacked shortly afterwards. Unlike World Cup football, kicking the balls was definitely frowned upon. And hitting balls with a bat, like in baseball, was definitely not approved. Yes, this sport is probably best compared to tennis, except hitting the balls with a good backhand would produce a racket, not the other way around. Bag tagging is probably the only sport to be played in every nation on earth, with the possible exception of the Vatican.

Chris Erb: 10th Jul 2006 - 22:56 GMT

Somebody had told me that he was in Montreal and was talking about how much more care free the city is compared to other parts of Canada and started telling a story about a time he was in a sandwich shop and ordered a sandwich and a beer. He couldn't understand why they passed him his order without opening his beer. He opened it and the person behind the counter started yelling at him. he told him that the resturant didn't have a liquor license for people to consume alcohol in the store and he would have to go across the street to the park to drink his beer and eat his sandwich as he was allowed to so long as he was eating his meal with it.

You have brought back many terrible memories of high school EG.

EvilGentleman: 10th Jul 2006 - 23:46 GMT

I'm honestly not 100% sure on this subject, but I know in most cases, alcohol is not permitted on streets or in parks, except for places like sidewalk cafes and the Six Flags La Ronde amusement park. I have personally seen the cops give a guy a 140 dollar ticket for drinking in public, because he was holding a beer in front of a bar that did not have a sidewalk cafe permit, when he went out front to have a smoke. He was actually leaning on the bar window when they confiscated his beer. By any chance, was your friend French-speaking? That can often make a big difference around here. Non-French speakers get a disproportionately large amount of tickets, and they tend to get arrested more often.

Sorry about the high school flashbacks, but it is unfortunately, a universal experience.

joey: 11th Jul 2006 - 02:42 GMT

that cops gatoraide bottle is probably filled with sloe gin

jeeff: 11th Jul 2006 - 04:03 GMT

funny you mention that. i was at a street festival in toronto on the weekend, in line for a can of soda behind a pair of cops. one ordered a virgin pina colada (they were only selling non-alcoholic drinks, mixed and otherwise). "my water bottle has vodka in it," he said, and turned around to grin at me. i said, "i didn't hear a thing."

EvilGentleman: 12th Jul 2006 - 15:41 GMT

I beg to differ, Ian. I was in the town of Clinton, Connecticut in August 1999, and was filming some of the local scenery with my camcorder when I saw a local cop going through the drive-thru at Burger King. Since I was close to him, I asked if it would be ok if I filmed him for a moment. He said it was a good thing I asked him, because if he had caught me filming him, he would have confiscated my video tape, and possibly even the camcorder as well.

Peter: 12th Jul 2006 - 16:01 GMT

i had a similar reaction while watching 5 transit cops overzealously enforcing a minor traffic stop in front of newark penn station (driving in the bus lane)... i was trying to photograph it with my cameraphone (to post on citynoise, heh) and one started hassling me, telling me that it was "unamerican" to jeapordize the cover of cops (bear in mind these were *transic* cops), their names or their badge-numbers as they might be "undercover".

what a joke. he insisted that i delete the photos (i didnt, but he didnt know that). frankly, they werent good enough to post anyway, so i didnt.

but i do agree with both ian and eg. though it might be true that the cops dont want you to photograph them, and it might actually be a violation to do so in certain locales, i think it should be a public right.

anything done in public is in the public domain, if you ask me. if you dont want people seeing/photographing/blogging/discussing/critiquing something you did in public, do it in private!

EvilGentleman: 12th Jul 2006 - 18:02 GMT

Hear, Hear! I applaud you, Peter. Well said.

markus: 4th Aug 2006 - 17:24 GMT

you use to be able to drink in pigeon park prior to a concert but I guess now the the good old forum is gone.

EvilGentleman: 4th Aug 2006 - 17:52 GMT

And the scariest part of those days, Markus? Good ol' "Doink" selling T-shirts. That and the late-night fights between the girls.

Man, how many times did we have to act as referees while we waited there for the bus after closing time...

markus: 4th Aug 2006 - 18:13 GMT

I will never forget the stairs going up from the metro prior to a concert it was crazy walking up them there was so much dealing and crazies it was a experience I will never forget. Also remember the guy with the pencils.

EvilGentleman: 4th Aug 2006 - 18:17 GMT

I can still hear the cries of "Hash, coke, sense-a-million, ti-quettes."

EvilGentleman: 4th Aug 2006 - 18:25 GMT

What about the guy who, back in 1991, used to live in Cabot Square (or pigeon park, as you call it) who had a plastic beer cup that lived as long as "Wilson" in the movie "Cast Away". He always refilled the same plastic beer cup, and he always argued with it, then took a sip, then argued with it some more, then took another sip. I sometimes sat and watched that guy talk to his cup for over half an hour at a time.

markus: 4th Aug 2006 - 18:27 GMT

I laughed I walked throught the crie and when I got to the top the cops were saying it to with big smiles on there faces, I forgot sense-a-million good one

EvilGentleman: 4th Aug 2006 - 18:31 GMT

I wonder if some fool actually tried to buy from the cops? Now that would be a series of photos to remember.

EvilGentleman: 4th Aug 2006 - 18:41 GMT

If only they had digital cameras around in those days, the pictures I would have had... Then again, I suppose the dealers, crazies and cops are all groups that get upset when people take pictures of them. But if I sat in the gardens at the Montreal Children's Hospital across the street with a telephoto lens, nobody would notice me, but I would get such awesome real-life shots. Especially if I got one of those days when Peter and Putu started fighting.

kanuki: 5th Feb 2007 - 23:41 GMT

realy you think those bikes are speacial i ridden every bike known to man and the montreal cops bikes are by far the cheapest ride you can get they should ask opinion lord knows the know e very well

MontrealGal: 3rd May 2007 - 11:56 GMT

FYI these bikes were sold at the city auction for 30$ to 60$.. check out the new bikes the police got. Rocky Mountains... much better
Did you ever see a Parking Controle Officer on Bike? They have the most heavy cheapest bikes ever made,(minelli 1995)plus they have to carry alot of heavy equipment. They deserver the tourcher..haha

Jesus: 19th Jul 2008 - 15:40 GMT

Not a very good bike, considering a good Montreal Police budget. They can afford good performance hybrids, Scott or Specialized, w/stronger wheels, disk brakes and much more, instead they buy cheap stuff. Montreal Police has several types of bikes, some are 90's hybrids, some are today's hybrids and some are downhill-style bikes w/dual suspension, which is not very good when you wish to catch up w/someone. Its fun to ride away from Police bike patrol (police cadets, undergrads) in montreal and laval, when you have a road bike worth over five thousand dollars, capable of reaching 55km/h on a flat road.

EvilGentleman: 21st Jul 2008 - 01:19 GMT

Heh, I used to do 50 km/h on flat roads on my clunky old $99 mountain bike from Canadian Tire. I could peak at 58 to 60. Mind you, I could only keep that pace for about 2 or 3 km before I tired out. Maybe if I had quit smoking... Ahh, to be young and fit again...