Dear Generation,
In December of 2004, I was in a less than great neighborhood in downtown Buffalo doing some volunteer work. This was a Tuesday morning; I was parked on Virginia St. from 9 a.m. until about 11:30 a.m. When I returned to my vehicle to go to work, much to my dismay, I discovered that my car had been broken into. My passenger side front window was completely gone, there was a crack all the way across my windshield, the driver’s side door had been popped off its hinge, and my stereo had been stolen. So, I did what any concerned citizen would do: I called the police. The woman I spoke with at 911 told me to stay where I was, so, I proceeded to stand on the corner where my car had been broken into, feeling very safe indeed. Forty-five minutes later, I called back and asked what I should do. A different woman at dispatch outright laughed at me and told me that, “The police don’t do car break-ins anymore.” And so, putting in a new window and welding my door back together became fun family activities that Christmas Eve.
Now, let’s fast forward to April of 2006. While driving home from the university library at around 12:15, I turned onto Bryant Street. While a car passed me on the driver’s side, someone opened the door to a parked car on my passenger side as I was driving by. (Let’s not discuss the fact that had he waited four seconds, this whole mess would not have occurred.) As I drove by, my passenger side rearview mirror clipped the side of this car’s door, putting one dent in the car about the size of a nickel. The force from the “collision” was not even enough to dislodge my rearview mirror. After listening to the owner of the car yell at me for a period of ten minutes, I gave him my name, phone number, and insurance information and went home, about a block and a half down the street. Forty-five minutes later, I get a phone call from the police saying that if I don’t go back to the “scene of the accident,” I was going to be charged with a hit and run felony. The police (two squad cars worth) proceeded to treat me like a common criminal—accusing me of various things, threatening to impound my car, etc.
I’m a graduate student. I’m president of my student government. I’ve never been in an accident, never been arrested, never even spoken to a police officer save two speeding tickets. I’m going to graduate with honors. I have three jobs. I am NOT a criminal. I did not knowingly or intentionally do anything to damage another person or their property.
Therefore, I have reached the conclusion that the Buffalo Police are at the least, useless, and at the worst, harassing. They “don’t do car break-ins,” but they can harass an everyday citizen who was the victim of someone else’s idiocy? Shouldn’t the two squad cars have been out fighting crime?
Jennifer Levanduski
UB Student
Dear Jennifer,
Interestingly enough, three members of our editorial staff—including myself—had our cars broken into in Allentown last semester. I had a similar experience—the 45-minute wait, the uninterested 911 operators, the missing window—but it brought me to two important conclusions. The first is that mechanics will always try to dick you over for whatever kind of auto repair you need. And the second conclusion that I drew is that no matter what, I will never, ever have to worry about getting in trouble with the Buffalo Police so long as I’m not doing 90 down Elmwood Ave. during rush hour while blowing coke off my dashboard and waving a loaded handgun at a cop cruiser.
Good Luck with the 5-0,
Christopher Ahearn
Editor in Chief
Attn: All UB Students
Generation is currently hiring next year’s editorial staff. All positions are available, including Features, Graphics, Literary, Online, Photo, and Pulse section editors, as well as production manager. Interested students may submit letters of intent to Editor in Chief elect Peter Scheck through his email (plscheck@buffalo.edu) or drop them off at the Generation office (315 Student Union) by Friday, April 28. All UB students are eligible to apply.
