The thin skinned Police Chief's hypersensitivity has reached an absurd level at the Greenwich Police Department. Things are so bad that David Ridberg feels the need to lash out at critics on WGCH.
Tonight as many of you know I was going to go on Greenwich Matters, which is hosted by Sam Romeo at WGCH in Greenwich and complain about how poorly the Greenwich Police Department was being managed by the Greenwich Police chief David Ridberg.
I was also planning to take Mr. Romeo to task, because I feel that he seems to demand accountability of every Greenwich governmental department except the Greenwich Police Department.
Over the last week I had been reporting that I had been planning to call Mr. Romeo at WGCH.
Last night and very early this morning I had been blogging about how I intended to call about how the four to midnight police shift is managed in Byram.
I was going to write more about how Greenwich Police Chief David Ridberg was mis-managing the Greenwich Police Department, but I had the usual illegal parked car problem in front of my wives store in Byram.
Around one o'clock an car with Virginia tags parks in front of my wives's store where there is 30 minute parking.
About two o'clock I start calling the Town Hall switchboard operator to reach Parking Services to get someone to come to mark the tires and issue a ticket. No one from parking services comes out so I again call Town Hall to get parking services again I am told that a parking enforcement officer would be dispatched.
I then call Hall again after another 30 minutes a parking enforcement officer is promised and none is delivered.
Just before 4 pm I get the same run around from parking services.
About 20 minutes later I have to call the Greenwich Police Department to be connected to the Parking Services Office, because the Town Switchboard Operator is through for the day. The operator answering the police non-emergency number connects me to the parking office and some one picks up and then hangs up the phone.
I then have to call back the police dispatcher again and explain to her that the call was somehow disconnected and then get put through to the parking services office again. This time I get an answering machine and I leave a message saying I have been requesting a parking enforcement officer for about two and a half hours.
Later I again call the Police Department non-emergency number and ask the operator if she could please send out the police officer for Byram. She says she will send him out. Later I see a police car drive by and I hope that is the Byram officer noting the illegally parked car from Virginia and not just another police dough nut run to Johnny Cakes in Byram.
I then start planning what I am going to say to Sam Romeo when his show comes on in an hour. I thinking of something smart alack to say like ...
Tommy Hillfiger's ex-wife doesn't have to call parking services and the police for four hours to get an illegally parked car taken care of in front of her store on Greenwich Avenue, but the merchants and residents of Byram complaints are ignored.
I then thought I would continue my rant by saying.....
Tommy Hillfiger's ex-wife doesn't have to put up with a poor old man drinking from open containers just down the street from her store on Greenwich Avenue, but the merchants and residents of have to put up with this everyday.
Then I was going to add that...
Tommy Hillfiger's ex-wife doesn't have street signage with gang graffiti scrawled all over it near her store, but the merchants and residents of Byram have to look at this everyday. Nor does Tommy Hillfiger's ex-wife have to worry that her car windows will be smashed or that her tires will be slashed like the merchants and residents of Byram have to.
But First, I decided to be fair I would call the Greenwich Police Department non-emergency number again at 5:40 pm and give the Byram Officer another chance to ticket the car. If he came I could tell Sam Romeo that it took about four hours to get an illegally parked car taken care of in Byram. If he didn't come I could say see what I mean, Sam.
The police dispatcher told me that the officer has noted the illegally parked car at 5:10 pm and she did not know why the officer had not returned to ticket the car. I asked her to please ask the officer one more time if he would come out and ticket this illegally parked car.
She said that she would once again ask the officer to take care of the illegally parked car.
So at 6 when the Sam Romeo show starts to come on two police officers come into my wives store asking for me. They tell me they ticketed the car that I had been complaining about and now they were going to inspect my wives's store for infractions.
They took down my name, address, social security number, date of birth, and social security number, but they did not ask for my frighten wives's information.
Then they were demanding that I give them a drivers license. I told them I did not drive, because I did not drive. I have a glass eye in my right eye and that I do not see to good out of my left eye.
Then officers started telling me that my photo ID was not good enough, They then started telling me that they were going to have to arrest me and have me make bond for the ticket they were going to write up. They started claiming that they did not know who I was.
I then told the officers that they knew exactly who I was, because one of the officers had made remarks to me previously, because I had filed a civilian complaint against a police officer, who latter sued the Greenwich Police Department for discrimination and said the Greenwich Police were inappropriately using road blocks to profile poor and minority residents of Byram.
I then added that the officer who all of a sudden did not know who I was had improperly written me a parking ticket as I placed merchandise in my wives's car a couple of weeks ago. I had to call up a police Sargent and complain about the improper ticket. The police Sargent then instructed me to go to First Selectman's Office and go before a hearing officer. My wive and I explained everything to the hearing officer who voided the ticket.
The officers were illegally searching non-public areas of our store without probable cause, a court warrant or our permission. The officers were taking pictures of my wives store, and demanding that we take down window signs.
These officers were pouring over town regulations just trying to find something wrong, they were issuing tickets and then latter taking the tickets back.
Moreover, these officers were using personal cell phones to communicate to avoid using authorized and legitimate police communications equipment during this rouge raid on my wives's store.
I had to call 911 three times to get a police supervisor down to my wives's store. The 911 operator told me that there was only one Sargent on duty for the whole Town Of Greenwich, while my wives's store was suffering a rouge police raid during the Sam Romeo show.
I guess thin skinned Police Chief was so busy attacking attorney Lindsy Urso on WGCH all day, he did not have time to make sure the four to midnight shifts was adequately, competently and safely staffed.
In all about four police cars were dispatched to my wives's store during the Sam Romeo show. I guess Glenville, Central Greenwich and the back country had no police coverage during this roguish retaliatory illegal search and raid..
When I finally, got the Greenwich Police Sargent to my wives's store he huddled with the two of the police officers. They again poured over law books and decided that there was no infraction in the store.
Then the Sargent and another officer berated me and then started instructing the officer to start taking certain actions against me in the morning.
I repeatedly asked to file a civilian complaint as the police officer I was complaining about was allowed to threaten and interrupt me.. The police Sargent refused to take a statement and denied that a ticket had ever been written.
I told him the ticket had been fully completed and said just give me the number on the ticket. The Sargent said officially no ticket was written unless I signed it and refused to give me the number of the unsigned ticket.
I called the 911 operator and told about the ticket and once again my desire to file a civilian complaint over the incident.
I was told to go down to the police department and obtain the forms. I then walked to the police department and obtained the form.
I am going to complete the form and file a freedom information request for the 911 calls and the police radio communications.
Further, I am going to file a freedom information request for the ticket that was completed and then withdrawn under the orders of a Greenwich Police Sargent.
I will probably put all of the audio and documents up here at Greenwich Roundup.
More than a few times I have spoken out on by filing complaints, calling WGCH, speaking at Selectman's meetings and have suffered retaliation from Greenwich officials and police officers.
I have had thin skinned Greenwich Officials retaliating attacking me on WGCH all day long just for speaking out at a First Selectman's meeting.
If Greenwich Police Chief David Ridberg and his police officers are going to try and do a "Lindy Urso" on me for speaking out on his poor performance, then Police Chief and the Town Attorney are going to get their butts dragged before a Federal Judge to account for violating my civil rights.
It is easy to see how the incompetent and out of control managers of Greenwich keep getting the taxpayers of the Town sued for massive amounts of money.
I have repeatedly sent letters to Town Attorney Wayne Fox complaining about the Town Of Greenwich retaliating against my self and others for exercising their constitutionally protected right to freedom of speech.
Yet, time and time again Town Attorney Wayne Fox fails to take steps to protect the civil rights of those who complain about the management of the Town Of Greenwich.