Antics on authority II | Sushi night!

Not even 3 weeks had passed from when I played my first antics on authority, did I receive another chance do do so. This time, I was on my way to the Vancouver Art Gallery to meet up with friends for the Brian Jungen exhibit for the third time. Being vigilant this time around, I stood by the doorway at the front of the train so that I could scan the SkyTrain platform for anybody in uniform that may give me grief for not having a valid ticket as the train pulled in. I was doing quite well until the train I was on pulled into Main Street Science World, just two stations away from where I would have got off. Somehow, the police officer who stood before me escaped my peripheral vision, and when I noticed him and got off the train, it was already much too late to be conspicuous. Sure enough, officer Dummkopf (false name used to hide his real identity but to accurately portray him) stepped off the train with me and asked me to produce a valid fare.

There I was acting out a scene I had practised not long ago of searching for the ticket I knew I didn't have. When I couldn't produce one, he asked for my name, and like the first time, I used "Christopher Lowe" as my pseudonym. Learning from my mistakes from my first experiment, I was careful not to tell him that I had any ID with me or to give him any lead that may be verifiable. That meant that I had to assume someone who was only travelling in the area, so I gave him my made-up address in Tacoma, WA. I guess I need to work on my lies though, because he accused me of lying after I said it. "I could tell by your body movements and broad generlisations when asked a direct question" he said. I stuck to my guns and insisted that I was Christopher Lowe.

But unlike my first experiment in which I was only given a ticket, I was asked to turn around with my hands on my back. Not a moment sooner, I felt the cold metal bracelets around my wrists, and was escorted to the interrogation room which was also the janitor's room. This was nothing like my wild fantasies I dreamt of on occasion involving police officers, hand cuffs, and the utility room. Along the short journey down, the officers used several tactics to get me to confess by saying things like "you don't want a criminal record now do you?", "we'll have to fingerprint you", and "we could keep you detained for as long as we want". My eyes were rolling so much, I felt dizzy.

I felt that my rights had been violated when one officer searched through my bag and pockets while the other tried numerous times to extort my true information from me. When I told the officer that he had no right to search through my stuff, he responded "I'm doing it now." as if he had all the right to. I was shocked, of course, and will have to look into the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom to see if they violated me (that sounds dirty too, yech). I was astonished with what I think is a misconduct when the officer proceeded to search through my contact list on my RAZR mobile calling people to verify my identity. Fortunately, the few numbers that he tried didn't connect or went to a voice mail.

Officer Dummkopf #2 finally found my wallet in my bag which wasn't very well hidden in the first place, and pulled it out like a rabbit from a magician's hat with an "aahhaa!!" I would have clapped my hands if I wasn't still hand cuffed. Now they had all the true information they needed and proceeded to write me out a ticket for $173 for "FAIL TO PRESENT PROOF OF PAYMENT" only. Then they let me go.

If I hadn't been detained by the officers, I would have got to the VAG on time, but by the time I arrived, I caught the tail end of the tour. I was in a sour mood, so when I was denied entry through the doors on donation night, I dug up a penny at the counter and told her that this was my contribution for the night. She gave me a look of disgust, but had no choice but to stamp my hand and grant me entry.

I was in a better mood by the time we got together at Tanpopo's for sushi. Jamie and James had a German couple Kerstin and Alex, couchsurfing for the night and they came to join us too. They were super nice and were a pleasure to talk to!