The popo reports on the good problem we have downtown
A cop’s take on Greensboro’s “good problem to have” — our partylicious downtown on a weekend night, shortly before midnight:
“We’re charging people with smoking marijuana. We got a line of traffic that’s not moving. We’ve got clubs that have radios louder than the cars that are driving past. We were trying to talk to the guy who was smoking weed, but we couldn’t hear him because the outdoor club music was so loud. We’re charging open containers like crazy. I could stand in one place and write citations all night long. We don’t even have to move. But this is ‘a good problem to have.’ It’s ‘a win-win situation’… [pauses to listen to radio] … Now we got someone pulling a knife on somebody, so I have to go. But this a good problem to have, yeah, this is a good problem…”
Robbie Perkins at the August 19, 2008 City Council meeting (comments begin at 03:25:50):
“This is a great problem for us to have… For us to have the type of nightlife down here that we’ve got is something that is attracting the young people and the young professionals to our city, that we want to continue that trend.”
For sure. Win-win. 
UPDATE: And that’s not all. Read about more “good great problems” downtown later that night.
August 28th, 2008 at 11:08 am
“…it’s probably not the sole reason for everything that went down.”
What Sean said.
// end of david wray discussion //
August 28th, 2008 at 10:26 am
moving to rotating shifts is not the same thing, billy. and it’s probably not the sole reason for everything that went down.
not that i really care, but at what point do you think it’ll be safe to take wray down off his cross? i mean, we’ve got plenty-o-fresh over-dramatization of smalltown business to deal with, don’tcha think?
August 28th, 2008 at 6:24 am
Sean said, “if they need more cops downtown at night on the weekends, they can easily cut the daytime force to 1 without anyone except vespa owners noticing. they could also re-assign their full time revenue stream traffic cops they have vulturing the s. elm/w. mcgee st. parking lot. don’t get me started on that mess…”
Reassigning officers’ working hours is what got Chief Wray pushed out of town.
August 26th, 2008 at 9:31 pm
i hope so, ’cause there isn’t much else to do.
August 26th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
P.S. The bike cops spend a significant amount of time dealing with our homeless friends, and they are very helpful. I get referral calls and questions from them, and they help our outreach team, as well. They do a lot of good things that they don’t get credit for.