Gene & I (2 old no-haired guys) got stopped by U.S. Park Service police when we were doing the measurement by pacing contest around the Arch in St. Louis last month. They thought we were from the Occupy movement pacing out encampment layouts!
Maybe Lyman and I are painting too bleak a picture of measurer harassment around here. Actually I haven't been stopped for a few months now(!), and I have learned a few rules of the road, mostly learned the hard way.
1. Never try to use any paint on the U.S. Capitol reservation
2. Learn the boundaries of that territory (it's more extensive than you might think)
3. Don't whip out a camera on the pentagon plantation. They are watching and you will be swooped down upon! Always best to let the Lieutenant for Pentagon Police know you are doing some work there.
4. Park Police, who control Independence and Constitution Avenues as well as parks-- hit and miss, and I've actually run into some pretty nice folks but that isn't guaranteed. For the Army Ten Mile course I carry the work order right along with me and some sort of paper from the Park Police OK'ing the work.
5. DC police (MPD) usually leave you alone but for those occasions when they stop to ask you questions, it helps to give some names in SOD (special operations) Dept.
6. Don't even think about riding without ID.
Hmm. A lot of stuff to remember I guess. But on the plus side, I haven't (yet) been actually arrested!
Knock on wood.
1. Never try to use any paint on the U.S. Capitol reservation
2. Learn the boundaries of that territory (it's more extensive than you might think)
3. Don't whip out a camera on the pentagon plantation. They are watching and you will be swooped down upon! Always best to let the Lieutenant for Pentagon Police know you are doing some work there.
4. Park Police, who control Independence and Constitution Avenues as well as parks-- hit and miss, and I've actually run into some pretty nice folks but that isn't guaranteed. For the Army Ten Mile course I carry the work order right along with me and some sort of paper from the Park Police OK'ing the work.
5. DC police (MPD) usually leave you alone but for those occasions when they stop to ask you questions, it helps to give some names in SOD (special operations) Dept.
6. Don't even think about riding without ID.
Hmm. A lot of stuff to remember I guess. But on the plus side, I haven't (yet) been actually arrested!
Knock on wood.
Oops I wrote Pentagon "plantation" but it's "reservation". Sorry!
Years ago, before 9/11, I was hired to measure a course that started and finished on H Street, N.W. on the north edge of Lafayette Park. For those of us who do not know Washington, D,C,, Lafayette Park is directly across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House. Due to the traffic in the area, I had arranged for a police escort. Near the end of my second ride, the officer escorting me asked if he could leave. As I had arrived at the initially-spotted finish with just a few yards further to reach the final finish line, I said "OK". As I rode my bike the last few meters, I looked around to see if there was anyone who might see me apply a small paint mark at the finish spot. No one in sight. As I dismounted and grabbed my paint can and began applying the mark, I heard a deep, loud voice: "Sir, what are you doing?". I looked up to see a small monument of a man on a mountain bike with a Secret Service badge. I could not understand where he came from. It was as if he had silently dropped out of an overhead branch. Though the D.C. police had promised me they would coordinate my measurement with the other law enforcement agencies in whose jurisdiction I was working that morning, I learned they had done no such thing. Another Secret Service agent rode up on a mountain bike. After being detained for over 30 minutes, Secret Service was finally able to contact the officer who escorted me. It seemed he was the only person who could vouch for me. Another 10 minutes of I.D. checks, and I was freed with a warning.