Posted on 11/06/2006 4:05:45 AM PST by Truth29
BX. GI'S ARREST ORDEAL
COP'S BIG BLUNDER
By PHILIP MESSING
November 6, 2006 -- A patriotic Army private, fresh out of boot camp and walking proudly through his Bronx neighborhood in fatigues, was hauled to a police station, handcuffed and interrogated by an overzealous police sergeant - for impersonating a soldier, The Post has learned.
NYPD Sgt. James Herring detained serviceman Andrew Martin Jr., 19, for nearly two hours - and the incident last month is now being probed by the Civilian Complaint Review Board, a board spokesman said.
(snip)
"There are Marines dying every day in Iraq, and he signs up for the infantry only to be harassed to show his ID!" said his uncle, David Martin. "We want him [Herring] reprimanded."
(snip)
At about 2 p.m., Herring, 34, stopped Martin on Gun Hill Road and demanded to see his military ID, Martin recalled. "[Herring] told me, 'They don't issue these IDs anymore.' "I told him to call my recruiter, but he wouldn't." Herring drove him to the 47th Precinct stationhouse, Martin said. "He just took out his handcuffs and put my hands behind my back, and he put me in the car, and when we were driving, he said, 'You look suspicious.' ". He wasn't released, he said, until a female Army sergeant showed up with a copy of his orders and vouched for his identity.
Martin said the cop had not apologized. A police spokesman said only that Martin was released once his status as a soldier was confirmed. philip.messing@nypost.com
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
BTW Pvt. Martin .. you look every bit a marine .. thank you for your service.
NYPD Sgt. James Herring A democrap no doubt.
The cops screwed this one up big time! However, a few questions need to be asked.
1. Why NO ID (Dog) Tags?
2. Why NO DD Form 2 (Armed Services Identification Card)?
3. Why was the soldier wearing a his BDU's (Battle Dress Uniform) on LIBERTY. I am aware that the Army and Marine Corps are allowing their members to wear BDU's and Utility Uniforms (Uts) respectively, to and from the Combat Theater of Ops if they are travelling via commericial airlines. Other than than that I do not believe these uniforms are authorized for liberty or official leave?
Comments?
I don't know according to the young man, the cop said they don't issue those ID's anymore. The guy was just going to his alma mater to try to get others to enlist in the military. I am sure he never thought he would get stopped. I remember going home on my first leave after "A" School. I came home in uniform and wore it with pride. My parents took about hundred pictures in my dress blues and insisted that I wear it for church on Sunday. That Sunday I went to church and out to eat afterwards in my dress blues (I don't remember bring my military ID, just my driver's license) and must have answered 100 questions about the Navy that day. As a matter fact, a few years later one of the guys at my church joined the Navy and said my recommendations was one of the reasons he decided to join. It just looks like a young man with a lot of pride who wanted people to join the military. I can't really fault him for that, we need more people like him. Especially at a time when we have individuals like John Kerry insulting the military.
This article is so poorly written, I don't know where to begin.
Apparently, Private Martin showed something to Sergeant Herring that the Sergeant didn't recognize as a Military I.D. This, coupled with the fact that it wasn't too long ago that soldiers were forbidden to wear their BDUs/fatigues off post while on pass/liberty or on leave, and this rightfully made the Sergeant suspicious. Private Martin's attitude might have had something to do with it, and the next thing he knew, he found himself face down on the pavement being hand cuffed. As Drill Instructor Sergeants are no longer permitted to speak roughly to Privates in Boot Camp, this Police Sergeant probably raised his voice and really hurt this Private's feelings.
Welcome to the real world Private Martin; you ain't seen nothing yet.
You would surprised how many individuals from the Army and Marines I would see at grocery stores and other places out in town wearing their BDU's. When I was in the Navy we couldn't wear our dungaress out on liberty.
It was probably a CAC card (Common Access Card). All the services are using them. They have programmed chips on them and are used for identification, entry into facilities, buildings, computers, etc...
The article is poorly written. He did show an ID and the cop didn't recognize it as valid.
I know when my nephew came home from boot camp he had been encouraged to help recruit, but I assumed he would have been with a group from the recruiting station?
My nephew also wore his uniform home!
I think he should have wore his dress uniform instead, if he planned on getting people from his alma mater to join. Although the BDU's seem to appeal to young men more than the dress uniform. Some of the males from my church and hometown didn't want to join the Navy because they didn't wear the BDU's that they thought were so cool. I informed them that some parts of the Navy do wear BDU's (for example-Seabees). They preferred the Army and Marines.
Just has I was leaving the Navy they were switching around to these cards. I got one 6 months before I left the Navy. Some of the civilian places out in town initially thought I had some fake military ID, until others started coming with the ID. One guy complained that a movie theatre almost refused to give him a military discount, because they thought the ID was a fake.
I see guys dressed in BDU's all the time, I know we were allowed to wear ours when we were off post.
As a contractor, I have to go to a lot of military installations. It is damned near impossible to get on one easily unless you have one of them. I got one a while back and it certainly makes life easier.....
You called it, the private probably showed his CAC card. It doesn't look anything like the old ID card, but is today's primary military identification.
It was May of 1965.
I remember coming home on leave shortly after completing Marine Corps Boot Camp and a very similar incident happening to me as happened to Private Martin.
Back in the late 50s, the Marine Corps still issued the "Battle Jacket." It was a waist length green dress uniform jacket that the Army called the "Ike Jacket." When a Marine was young and slim, it looked good and felt good on him, but it was being phased out and it was against uniform regulations to wear it off post.
Well, I was home on leave and decided to go down town in my uniform. The nearest Marine Installation was over a thousand miles away, so who would know that it was wrong for me to wear a Battle Jacket? I was about to get a lesson that would last me throughout my coming career.
I didn't get too far down main street before a city police car passed, came to a screeching halt, the policeman got out and demanded to see my ID. How was I to know there was a former Marine MP on my hometown Police Department who was very aware of current Marine Corps uniform regulations, and was not the least bit hesitant to advise me of my infraction.
As a Private, I could get away with playing dumb, so I swore I was not aware of the uniform regulation concerning Battle jackets. The policeman told me to get my ass home and get in the proper uniform, and I did just that. Needless to say, I never again knowingly broke a U.S.M.C uniform regulation.
"A patriotic Army private"
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