Not legally, mind you, it is up in the window on top of the door. It has been there for years, and, if I remember right, the wording is wrong.

I know just enough law enforcement guys who really are decent people, so I try to avoid lumping every single cop into negative stereotypes. I’ve even admitted before that I feel bad for falling into a default distrust mode because of the bad apples among them. (The really good guys don’t blame me for it because they see it, too.)

Anyway, if it were up to me, this officer would go in for some extra training.

Eric Bryant says he was sitting in the SanSai Japanese Grill on NW 21st and Hoyt on March 7 when he witnessed Officer Chad Stensgaard pull up and park his patrol car illegally, next to a “No Parking” sign.

Stensgaard walked into the restaurant wearing his police uniform, but did not make any arrests or citations. Instead, he turned his attention to the basketball game on television, according to Bryant. When Bryant asked Stensgaard about his vehicle, Stensgaard allegedly acknowledged being in a no-parking zone but asked Bryant, “If someone broke into your house, would you rather have the police be able to park in front of your house or have to park three blocks away and walk there?”

Bryant returned to his seat, and says shortly afterward he watched a restaurant employee hand the officer a plastic bag before he left. Unfortunately for Officer Stensgaard, Bryant had recently passed the Oregon bar exam, and decided to pursue the matter further.

“If he had acknowledged and corrected his error, we could have avoided this whole thing,” says Bryant. “But instead, he kept watching basketball and told me he wasn’t doing anything wrong.”

Now, using ORS 153.058, Bryant—as a private citizen—has initiated violation proceedings against Officer Stensgaard. Bryant alleges Stensgaard was in violation of state statutes on illegal parking, illegal stopping, obeying parking restrictions on state highways, and illegal operation of an emergency vehicle or ambulance—the violations carry fines totaling $540.

If the officer can’t tell the difference between responding to a crime for the burgled home and getting lunch while watching a game, then he needs extra training. Now, many of you will argue that he does know the difference, he was just being an asshole. To me, that doesn’t matter. He indicated to a citizen that he can’t tell the difference, and as a supervisor, I’d force him to do it as part of his lesson. If he knows he has to sit through shit training again every time he’s a smartass to a taxpayer, maybe he’ll think twice next time he opens his mouth.